St-Stutter

Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

I wake up Monday morning still wearing my jeans and sweatshirt. Everything seemed the same: waking up early on a weekday, sleeping with my clothes on, still hating Monday's. The only things that didn't seem the same was: the bed I was laying in, the house I was sleeping in, and the country I was living in. My name is Shawn Lewis and I have just moved from Soldotna, Alaska to London, Britain. A long ways away? Yea I know, but the thing is I wanted a fresh start, I've been bullied my entire life and was thinking maybe this time it would be different. I walk down stairs towards the breakfast table where my big sister Bridget was eating cereal. "Morning dork." She says without even looking up from her Cheerio's, "Morning doofus" I say as I walk past her. This was our everyday routine and our everyday nicknames, once again everything seemed the same. I grabbed a Nutri-Grain bar and headed out the door to the bus stop, towards my first day at a new school in a new country on the other side of the planet... this otta be good. When the bus arrives I am greeted by a senior opening a bus window and throwing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at me, bouncing it off my chest. "Welcome to hell new kid!' The senior yelled and a bunch of his buddies laugh, "Well that's a great start...." I think too myself as I get on and sit near the front.

We ride for about 20 minutes before pulling into Saint John Highschool near the center of town. I step off the bus and start walking towards the front doors when I notice many unwelcoming eyes watching me as a enter my new highschool. I stop by the office to get my classes and my locker number and combo. "822" I think to myself as I look at the piece of paper they gave me with all the information I need. I arrive at locker 822 too see another junior about my height with short black hair and brown eye two lockers away from mine to the left, "Come on Shawn this is your chance too make a friend" I think to myself as I start to walk over too him. Out of no where someone grabbed me by the collar of my shirt with one hand and pinned me against the locker right next to the other junior's, who was rummaging through his locker not paying any attention to what is going on. I turn to see a jock wearing a football jersey smirking at me while holding me down, "Hey your new here huh? Good, then let me be the first to welcome you too hell!" He says. "Uh sorry, a senior on my bus already did that..." I said shrugging, he glares at me "Oh well then, let me be the first too demonstrate to you what it feels like to piss off a king!" He says as he punches me in the stomach just hard enough to make me cough a few times. "P-Please s-stop," I say trying to get my breath back, "Huh? What was that? Did you just stutter? Oh you must be one of those retards with a speech impediment huh? Well that's no good, my kingdom has no room for pathetic retards like yourself." he mocks while leaning his left arm on the lockers, slightly placing four of his knuckles in the other junior's locker.

"P-Pleas-" The jock spits in my face, "Don't you talk to me you retard. You need to understand something, your life means nothing to me, you are worthless!" "You are worthless!" The quote plays over in the other junior's head as he clenches his fist and grinds his teeth. The junior grabs his locker door and before anyone could do anything he slammed it as hard he can on the jocks fingers, the jock screams, and then without missing a beat the junior puts his hands together by interlocking his fingers and hits the jock in the back of his head so hard the jock's head flies forward and he hits face first into a locker directly above my shoulder. Hearing a agonizing crushing sound coming from the jocks nose and blood spraying onto my collar, the other junior grabs me by my wrist and runs pulling me along, leaving the jock behind us holding his now very bloody nose and cursing at us as we run.

We keep running until we can no longer here the jock's screams, we take a break in what looks like the freshman hallway. "T-Thanks dude I owe you one!" I say to the junior, "No problem, Hunter is an asshole anyway and I've been wanting to do that since middle school." He replies and puts out his hand, "The names Luke," I shake his hand "Shawn, nice too meet you." I say. Luke nods in agreement, "So where you from? You're certainly not from around these parts that's for sure." Luke asks me, "Yea, I am actually from Alaska, USA." I answer as Luke becomes wide eye'd "DAMN DUDE! That far!?" He wonders curiously. "Yea.... As you witnessed a few minutes ago, I have a speech impediment known as stuttering, which sucks, and I have been bullied my whole life about it and so I decided to hit the restart button and move here hoping to start out nice and fresh. This is not what I was expecting..." I answer looking down. Luke shrugs "Once you learn how too deal with the jockstraps, drama freaks, gossip girls and basically every other popular piss-off, this hellhole doesn't seem so bad." He says with a smile on his face, "Everyone likes to stay in there own gang or groups. There are 9 main groups in this school and so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding some place to fit in. Hell if you want you can join with me and I will be your tour guide through this oblivion." He says.

I look up at him, "Really? You'd let me join you? What are you in?" I ask, a grin spreads across Luke's face "We're what you can call: Gamer Geeks,". My face lights up, "Oh hell's yea!" I answer. Luke puts out his hand smiling, "It's settled then!" I shake his hand, "Starting today and from now on, you are officially a Gamer Geek!"