Ballad of a Broken Boy

First tutoring session

So, I guess you could say I was having a lousy start to the school year. I had to tutor the guy I hated most in the world, and now the guy I hated second most in the world had joined our school. What's worse is that he was probably going to be the most popular guy in school. Ej is the stereotypical jock; tall, strong, smart, a great player, and gorgeous. Like, movie-star gorgeous. Maybe not quite as gorgeous as Ricky, but still. I had met him over the summer while I was staying with my aunt and uncle in New York. I ran into him and his posse when I was strolling through Central Park, clearly not watching where I was going. One of the girls said something snide to me, and I replied. They must have thought it was a good comeback since they all laughed and started talking to me. One thing led to another and I spent the rest of my vacation partying with them. I'm not sure what happened to me that summer, but I definitely wasn't acting like the goody-two-shoes geek I am.

After a while, Ej asked me out. I agreed, mostly because I, like every other girl that knew him, fell in love with the guy he pretended to be.

Sweet, caring, and totally gorgeous.

We dated for a while, and during that time he was the perfect boyfriend; constantly calling and texting me, always choosing me over his friends, always saying how much he loved me. In fact, I should've suspected something a little sooner- he seemed almost too perfect, but I felt so loved and wanted that I didn't suspect anything. One night he asked me to a party and managed to convince me to drink more than one glass of vodka and sprite. I wasn't completely drunk, but I was under the influence enough to make some decisions that I seriously regretted. Well, long story short, I woke up the next morning missing two things; my clothes, and my virginity.

I was worried for a while about whether I might be pregnant or something. Ej hadn't been there when I woke up, and I avoided him as much as I could. That lasted about three days because suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore and I picked up the phone. He didn't answer on the first few rings, which set off warning bells in my mind. He always answered on the first few rings... always. No matter what.

"Hello?" he has asked, sounding out of breath and a little frustrated.

"Uh... h-hey Ej. It's Nini." I said nervously. I heard a sigh.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply.

"Well, I- look, I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, and I get if you're angry, but I really need to talk to you. Face to face." I said. He scoffed.

"Neens, I really don't care about you avoiding me. I'm not angry. But you might as well say what you have to say now."

"Why? If you're not angry, why don't we just pick up where we left off?" I asked him.

"Because I never really loved you, Neens. I thought you would have got that by now, since you're so smart and all. I just wanted one thing, and you gave it to me. Thanks for that, by the way. It was... I had a good night. And yes, I used a condom. I'm not stupid." He said, and my throat closed up. I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. The tears were spilling down my face, but I couldn't say a word. All I could do was sit there, staring into space.

"Hello? Nini? Neens?" he said. Then I heard a sigh, and he hung up. That was the first time I had ever been truly heartbroken. And I hoped to God it would be the last. I was supposed to be in New York for another week, but I went home the next day. I couldn't stand to be in the same city as him anymore. I tried to act as normal as possible, and no one had suspected anything. But then, of course, Ej has to turn up at East high and ruin my life... again.

LINE BREAK

I told Kourt everything, albeit condensed down into a two minute explanation, and promised to tell her more that night after school. She rubbed my back comfortingly while I cried, and wrapped her arm around me as we walked back to the lesson. Even after all that, we had only missed ten minutes. We walked in, all eyes on us, and I walked over to my seat with my head down. Kourtney rattled off some fake story to Mr. Mazzara, who luckily accepted her explanation without comment. She sat next to me, not saying a word, knowing I wouldn't be in the mood to talk.