head in the clouds

one; tyler

"Look, I'm not saying you're a pussy, I'm just saying you need to get over your fears and go fucking ask her out!" I hear Ryan say.

I chuckle to myself as Jenna walks near us. "Jenna! Thank God you're here to save me from these assholes!" I whine.

She laughs as she sits next to me. "Hey!" Ryan says. "We're fantastic people, thank you!"

I roll my eyes as he goes back to his conversation with Pete. "What's going on?" I ask her.

"Not much. Dad told me if he couldn't find my mom again." She frowns.

"Oh Jen, I'm sorry. I'm sure she's going to turn up soon, how long has it been?"

"Only two days but I'm still worried." She says softly.

"I understand, but the longest she's been out was a full month. I'm sure she's okay, Jen."

She nods and gives me a small smile. "Well what's going on with you?"

I shrug. "Not much. Zack's gone off to college, Maddy's starting high school and Jay is just starting school."

"Where's Zack going? And Jay's already starting school?! What the fuck, how long have I been gone?" She laughs.

I smile and drop my head on the wooden wall behind me. "He's going to University of Arizona, studying to be a nurse still."

"That's crazy."

I nod. "Yeah. I can't believe we only have one year left here."

"Technically two, as today is our first day of junior year."

I roll my eyes and smile. "Yeah, you're right. But still, time has flown by."

"We still have two years bub, making yourself worry about the future before it even gets here just makes you worry about the same thing twice as much. Live now, enjoy the present before it's too late."

I chuckle. "What are you, 40?"

She laughs and pats my arm. "After staying with my gram for a full six months, I feel like it."

"Well now you're back!" I smile, giving her a side hug that she returns. "I missed you."

"I missed you too bub. I'm glad to be back."

"Ew, why are you two hugging?" Pete says.

I break the hug to flip him off. "Because my best friend just got back after not seeing her for six months, ass."

"Hey, I thought I was your best friend?" Patrick asks, faking the hurt in his voice.

I laugh and shake my head. "No bud, it's always been Jen."

The first bell rings inside the brick building, indicating it's time to hurry up and get to our classes. We all stand up and walk away from the supply shed, going towards the school.

"Hey," Dall says catching up to me. "Do you wanna come over after school? I need help with the math homework."

I shrug, looking at Jenna, who has a concerned look on her face, for a split second. "Uh, sure. I have to help my mom with home shit though so I'll just drive over to your house around like, 4."

"Okay sweet, thanks!" He pats my back before running off to his group of friends.

"Uh, since when the fuck were we talking to Dallon?" Jenna asks me.

I shrug. "He apologized."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "What he did is not something you can just apologize for, Ty. He basically ruined your life!"

"He put an end to the rumor and apologized. We're grown, and my life is going okay so far."

My group of friends scatter as we walk through the front doors, all of us saying bye to one another. Jen and I stay together and start walking towards her locker.

"Okay..." She says, stopping at her locker. "If he fucking hurts you again,"

"He wont Jen. And it's not like we were dating or anything." I say, the last part in a whisper.

"Right, because you're not gay." She says in a sarcastic tone.

"Jesus Christ Jenna, I'm not! I don't fucking know how much I have to say that for you to believe me!"

She looks at me with a 'calm the fuck down' expression as she closes the door to her locker. "I don't know why you're getting so defensive bub, I'm not even accusing you of anything. If you're not gay, you're not gay."

"I'm not!"

"Okay!" She says, holding her hands up in defense.

I roll my eyes and start walking down the hall to our homeroom; the pitter patter of her footsteps following behind me echo in the half empty hallway. She catches up to me quickly and we continue our way in silence. We make it to our designated class and she walks in first, choosing our seats in the second to last row. I slump down in my chair, letting my bag do the same on the floor.

The teacher, I believe her name is Ms. Ryan, steps into the class and instantly starts writing on the whiteboard. "Okay, hello everyone." She says. "I know we had a brief meeting at the end of last year, but as a reminder, my name is Debby Ryan, but you guys will call me Ms. Ryan." She turns back to face us with a soft smile on her face. "I'm going to be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year, also the science teacher. I only have three rules that you must follow and they're posted on the door if you ever get confused. They're simple, easy rules. Number one, do not disrupt the class for pointless bull. If you have a question, great. But if youre interrupting to try and be funny, I will not have that. Number two, don't talk while I'm talking. Number three, be nice to your peers. If I see any bullying of any kind I will instantly send you to the principles office. Any questions?"

A few people raise their hands and she calls on one. "Are we allowed to swear? Last year none of our teachers cared about it." A kid asks.

"I honestly do not care, just don't abuse it. Don't call people names, slurs of any kind are not allowed in this classroom. Anyone else?" She calls on a few other people and answer their questions.

I zone out for the whole time until the last bell of the morning rings. We all stay seated as today, our first class is here. I like science class, I've never failed any of them my entire school life so I'm hopeful for this one.