BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
uGH, I shut off my alarm and sat up in bed. I grabbed Rose's necklace and put it on my nightstand before getting up to shower. I headed into the bathroom and turned on the water and waited for it to get warm. I looked in the mirror and sighed. My eyes were still puffy from last night but make up will cover it up.
After my shower I put on some black skinny jeans and a Beartooth t shirt. I have about an hour before I have to leave for school so I grab a piece of leftover pizza and head back up to my room. I put my hair in a quick pony tail before grabbing my drum sticks and practice pad. Dad said he would help me set up my set soon, which will take forever but I'll badger him until he does it, but I can deal with just my pad for now. It's all I had until I saved for about a year to buy my set. Which is pretty slick if I do say so myself. The drums are black and it's a 5 piece set.
I was in a band back home, but we never really did anything except screw around. I wonder if Nat plays any instruments. While I did my rudiments I couldn't stop thinking about her. Why did she run away like that yesterday? She barely said goodbye to me and we were having such a good time.
I look up at the clock and it's 7:10. I should probably get going. I pull on a black beanie and my high top black converse and grab my skateboard. "BYE DAD SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOL!" I hear him grumble from his room, his work doesn't start until later. "NIMROD!" I call to my huge German Shepard. My dad and I both love Greenday. He comes running into the kitchen and I feed him and throw a few treats into the living room for him to find before heading out.
I notice Nat walking out of her house as I'm getting on my board. I turn around and skate next to her on the street. "Hey dude" she jumped like she didn't even notice me. "Oh hi" What is up with her, oh my god I forgot to take Nimrod outside. "Hey do you like dogs?" She perked up a little "I love dogs" "do you mind being a little late to school?" "Not at all" I picked up my board and grabbed her arm bringing her to my backyard. "Okay he's huge but don't be scared he's a total goofball." She smirked at me "I'm not afraid of anything" I opened up the sliding back door." NIMROOOOD!" I heard his claws rapidly tapping on the wood as he runs out the door and straight to Nat. "Excuse me, sir who's the family here." He completely ignored me and jumped up on Nat, she was laughing and petting him. I'm so glad they get along I can't help but have the biggest smile on my face. "Alright buddy get off her and do your business." I sat on top of the picnic table and once Nimrod ran away Nat sat next to me. Her hand was just millimeters away from mine and it's like I could feel electricity in the space between them, and I think she could do because she pulled it away and onto her lap. Is she straight? Why is she being so weird. She makes my gaydar go all crazy, and I felt like we had at least a little connection, so I don't know. I get up and grab Nimrod's collar and pull him back into the house. Nat's completely zoned out, is she okay? "Hey wanna do something fun? I wouldn't mind skipping today?" She just nodded at me. Okay wait out front I'll be right there. I watched her walk there. Jesus she has nice legs. No stop it Hazel stop being a fuckboy.
I went into the garage and got my Harley and revved up the engine. Dad's pretty chill, he bought me this on my 16th birthday last summer. I'm a year older than most people in my class, I flunked 7th grade, when my mom died I kind of stopped caring about everything. I used to be a straight A student, perfect behavior, except my sarcasm and occasional sass. The only highlight of 7th grade was Mr. Wyles. He was the music teacher, and one day he walked into the closet that I was skipping class in. I was cutting myself. That's how I used to deal with my frustration and anger and sadness. Not my brightest moment,he didn't scream or run away or send me away like most people would. He cleaned up my wrist and got me a bandage and took me to the music room. He handed me a pair of a drum sticks and put me by his drum set and said to beat out my anger. At first I was hesitant but after a few minutes I fell in love. After that he gave me my own pair of drum sticks and a practice pad and he let me stay after school every day and play his drums. On my good days he would teach me a lot and even began to teach me bass and piano.I can honestly say he saved my life, or at least my well being.
I drove my bike around to the front and laughed when I saw the expression on Nat's face. Her eyes lit up right away and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. " you have a moTORCYLE?" I just smirked. "No it's actually a big wheel, I'm a magician." She hit my shoulder and hopped on the back. "Nuh uh not so fast go get a helmet from the back and put our bags back there while you're at it." "Fine then you're wearing one too." I took my black one from her hands and slid down my visor. She put on the pink one, I smirked. "Shut up I didn't choose this." She looked my bike up and down before hopping on. It's pretty slick if I do say so myself, all black with dashes of green on the wheels. I revved the engine and she wrapped her arms around me. I felt a warmth crawl up my stomach into my chest. What is it about this girl?
I had heard that there was a decent size lake around here, so I had Nat give me directions as I rode. I sped up at times a little more than I should've, and she didn't even tense. This girl is going to drive me crazy. I loved the feeling of the wind against me and the speed and her arms around me. I felt so free while on my bike. Finally we arrived at the lake and she hopped off first and took off her helmet, and put her hair up in a bun. I must have been staring at her longer than I thought because my bike started tipping. "Oh shit" I put up the kickstand and hopped off. I grabbed my bag from the back."We have to walk a little down this path to get there, there's another way but it's always crowded." I just nodded and started walking.
We had been walking for a few minutes when Nat pulled out her phone. She dialed a number and held her index finger to her lips. "Hello this is Ms. Larson Natalie Ramirez's mother. She's sick and won't be in school today." She had taken on a completely different voice and inflection. Impressive. "What about me?" She threw her phone to me. "the number's already dialed figure something out." Oh shit oh shit oh shit how am I supposed to take on my dad's voice. "Uh hello this is Mr. Tremolo Hazel Trepple won't be in school today she has the flu. Vomit everywhere not good that is all bye." I had a fake deep voice that wasn't nearly as slick as Nat had done. I look over to her my face red and she lets out the loudest laugh. "Come on it's not that funny" she is basically doubled over laughing and I cross my arms. "Vomit everywhere no-not good tha-that is all b-bye" she manages to get out between laughs. I began to giggle, "okay it's a little funny." She puts her hand on my shoulder and looks like she's about to say something but begins laughing again and leans forward, painfully close to my face. I smirk at her and she pulls away still slightly giggling. I start to fake pout as we walk, my arms crossed. "It's not funny" "it really is" I puff out my bottom lip and look at her with my best puppy dog eyes. She punches me in the shoulder."cut it out" we both smile.
Not much later we reach the lake. It looked beautiful, it was a sunny day and the water was all blue and shimmery. I look over and see the reflection of the sparkles in Nat's eyes. I sit on a bench nearby and she follows a few minutes after, still looking at the lake. I lean my head on her shoulder and she tenses a little, but doesn't pull away. That's a start I guess.
"So do you play any instruments?" I ask after a while of silence looking out at the lake. "guitar and some piano, you?" "I play piano as well, and bass. But mostly I'm a drummer." She smiles at me and I reach in my bag. "Mind if I show off a little?" "Go for it" I pull out my drum sticks and practice pad and start doing some of my fastest rudiments and a few cool beats I can do on there. I look up at her eyes just completely focused on my hands and laugh. "I was in a band back in Maine, but my mates weren't as serious about music as I am... Maybe we could start something together?" "I- I don't really know. We would need a singer right? And bassist." "It's just an idea I guess. We could look for one." She looked down at her feet. When she looked up she had a smile on her face. "Let's do it"
