A stack of books are placed inside a cardboard box, alongside a few framed certifications and awards. The flaps of the box are then folded shut before being covered with clear packing tape.
"Can we take that as well?" a man asked, gesturing towards the box.
"Yeah, it can go... thanks." Thomas replied, stepping out of the way.
Standing near the entry of the addition that was once his own private studio in his parent's yard, Thomas watched as all of his belongings were loaded onto a truck. Only a few items were left behind near the corner of the empty space. He grabbed a trash bag from the doorway and made his way towards the front of the main house, where the trash bins sat near a curb. Taking the lid off, he placed the black bag inside, before covering it entirely.
"Thomas...?"
He looked up slowly to where he heard his name being called, almost in shock as he was sure he was mistaken at the voice he heard, only to find that he wasn't at all.
"Alan..."
Thomas stared blankly at Alan as he stood a few feet in front of him, his signature glasses nowhere to be found. His hair was styled handsomely away from his face as he wore a long-sleeve dark green sweatshirt, cuffed denim jeans and white converse.
There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other. This was the first time he had seen Alan since their very last encounter at homecoming seven months ago. The end of the school year had just wrapped up last week, but Thomas had not stepped foot on school grounds after homecoming, considering he was expelled.
After the incident during the homecoming, where he was pretty much exposed to the entire school, Thomas was escorted to the principal's office, alongside someone he never thought he would see again in his lifetime: Jonathan Cruz.
He recalled their interaction as they waited outside the principal's office in two cushioned chairs. Their parents, Thomas and Jonathan's separately, were in the office, talking with the principal in very heated discourse.
"Pretty nice high school... would've been nice to attend it if I had stayed in the area." Jonathan stated passively as he gazed around the administrative office, which also had a large window to peer out into the hallways of the school.
"How... in the hell... did you do this?" Thomas asked, having been silent since he stepped foot off that stage.
"Oh, I can't take all the credit for this master plan. It was sick as hell the way they came up with everything." Jonathan said with a smirk.
"Who did this?" Thomas forced out between clenched teeth and a glare.
"I can't tell you that. It was part of our agreement." Jonathan spoke calmly, that same smirk never leaving his face as he settled back into his seat, arms crossed.
"What did they promise you? You can't believe you won't get out of this unscathed." Thomas threatened, eyeing him closely.
"Unscathed? HA! You fuckwit, I've already been screwed! I have been since you shoved my ass down the stairs and broke my arm. You ruined my entire sports career. My arm was never the same. It took a good two years of fucking therapy to finally get my mental state back to normal, so that my grades finally improved. I can at least attend a decent state school for college once I graduate, as I'm more focused now. My family moved to a different fucking state to make sure I lived a normal damn life. So, when an opportunity to return the damn favor you gave me came up, I fucking took it. The punishment I'll get is to never step foot on these school grounds again, and a good yelling from my parents." Jonathan spoke harshly, returning the glare back in Thomas's direction. "You, however? Well... now you'll see how it feels to be outcasted and shamed."
YOU ARE READING
The Nerd and The Frog
Teen Fiction*COMPLETED* During his AP Biology class, Alan is presented with an unexpected request: a talking bullfrog is desperately asking him for a kiss. To his surprise, that talking bullfrog turns out to be Daniel, his crush of 5 years. *Awarded First Plac...
