Textbooks & Teardrops

1: The birds & the bees

September 1st 2019...

The sun was beaming, as it gleefully began to peak out from behind the cotton like clouds. The sky was a radiant azure shade and the air was filled with alpine freshness. The light breeze swept throughout the emerald branches of the blackjack oak making them rustle, the indigenous trees were scattered around Abbey Mount Academy. Despite the tranquil setting, the area was anything but peaceful. Instead it was overran by bustling teens showcasing a wide range of emotions: some tearfully hugged their relatives goodbye, others were talking and laughing with fellow nervous students, and the rest were glued to their phones seemingly unbothered by the fact it was the first day of the school year.

To be fair to all the anxious students, they had good reason to be scared, it was THE Abby Mount Academy it had been branded the most sophisticated and respected school in South Carolina. Although, not all was so "perfect" about it, many had complained over the years that it was 'classist' which... well was absolutely true... for decades it had valued students lineage (the richer the better) over their academic ability. However, this year they had decided to select over 100 students from public schools across the state, the board of administration claimed it was to 'diversify' the student body. Everyone knew that was bullshit.

As fate would have it that 100 happened to include JJ Maybank and his two best friends John Booker Routledge and Pope Hayward, And much to the distain of the Pogues it also meant the likes of Sarah and Rafe Cameron and their kook friends. Which leaves the newbie, Kiara Carrera, the only one to secure a place from her school.

So for Kiara starting the new year alone in a totally new place was nothing short of daunting...

--- JJ pov ---

"Damn!" I knew this place was for kooks and I'd seen a few pictures on the flyers Pope had unwillingly forced me to read. But actually having the kook academy in front of me as I parked my bike was something else. 

It's fancy as shit! Is this what going full kook feels like? Coz I could sure as hell get used to it.

I went to get off my bike, but as I was pulling my leg over my rib spasmed sending a pain down my whole left side. I checked my shirt no stains, well only a classy mix of toothpaste and burger relish, I really need to wash this fucking shirt. Eh I'll do it tomorrow.   He won't

 "No ripped stitches, that's a good start to the day" I mumbled to myself.

Thats when the thought dawned on me...

Boarding school means no Luke. 

And no Luke means less broken bones and well rested nights. Something I haven't had since I was like 8. I just hope my room isn't shared with some nosy kook, if not it will be hard to hide all my scrapes, cuts and bruises from someone I will be getting changed next to. 

'No point in stressing' I tell myself especially since I can smoke up a J and have all my problems float away. Speaking of J's I plan on forming a lucrative somewhat illegal business, who better to overcharge for shit than kooks with a stick up their ass.

Looking at all the parents hugging and kissing their kids seems so foreign to me. The only hugs I've received from Luke in the last decade were in my good dreams which I rarely have. 

Most nights I wake up sweating, gasping for air, my heart thrashing against my rib cage. The worst nights are when I wake from those dreams of Luke almost killing me, to realise it wasn't a dream at all. I can always tell if its reality by where I am, if I'm in my bed it was typically just a dream. But if it's a recollection of haunting memories, I eventually come to on the floor surrounded by broken beer bottles; the plan of action from there is to attempt to crawl to the bathroom to asses the damage of my ghostly reflection. Which got even harder since Luke shattered the glass of the mirror in blind rage, after the one and only time I bested the bastard.