Ask Me Anything // (calum hood)

1: sinisterstrawberry119 Sent You a Private Message Request!

Ding, ding!

God, finally. The dismissal bell is like some type of symphony to my ears. I've been sitting in this class for what has felt like an eternity, staring at the clock on the wall with hands that have been broken since the beginning of the year. If you can't tell, I despise school and all its quirks. The people, the halls, the food... It's a prison of sorts. The only difference is they let us go home at the end of the day. The issue is that I'm an introvert; there's no way a building full of strangers that crowd around me for hours could be to my liking. Going home fixes everything, though. I've uncovered refuge in websites and apps to communicate with others, so going home to my computer is basically just reaching my happy place.

It's anxiety inducing spending all day without social media for me. Sometimes the lack of internet at school makes me feel like a withdrawing addict, and I promise that's not me being dramatic! After all, I have way more friends online than I have in real life, and nothing provides me more comfort and confidence than the digital realm. It's so much easier to meet new people there and you don't have to be around all those people you detest in real life. It's especially handy if you're like me; an awkward high school recluse that nearly forgets the entire English language when speaking to someone new. I do have some friends at school, though. Speaking of friends, I need to find Luke. He's my best friend. We live right next to each other, and we have since we were teeny little toddlers, so we've been stuck with one another for as long as I can remember. He's a pain in the ass, but he's my pain in the ass, you know? Really, though, where the hell is that guy? It's about to be-

"Time to get on the bus, Calum! Come on, we can't let it leave without us again!"

There he is. Son of a bitch took the words right out of my mouth. Well... not quite from my mouth, but right from my thoughts. You get the point.

I head his way, pushing through a crowd of rowdy teens that resemble an entire herd of animals being released from captivity. It's almost impossible to survive these hallways if you're not prepared to put up a fight. I swear sometimes it feels like I'm going to get smushed by a stampede of eager freshmen when I attempt to go against the current. Ah, I digress.

I pat Luke's shoulder, smiling over at him. "So what's the deal, dude? Anything interesting happen today that you'd like to tell me?"

One thing about Luke is that he has a copious amount of stories up his sleeve at any given time. They range from slightly stupid or mildly peculiar to absolutely ballistic and absurd. This kid always seems to end up in the strangest circumstances at the worst times, so take caution when asking him for a good story. You've been warned.

Observing a sly grin slowly creeping up onto his lips, I let out a chuckle. Definitely means he's got something good to spill today. He then begins to recount his experience in an exaggerated manner, "You'll never believe me. Today when I was in English class, I was fooling around with my notebook paper and made a few paper airplanes. I tossed them around the room when Mrs. Gonzales was out picking up copies next door, and when she came back in she FREAKED! She said whoever caused the mess was gonna get written up, but thank goodness nobody ratted me out. She couldn't prove who did it so I got out clean. Ha!" He let out a hearty laugh, widening his eyes and outstretching his arms, his face adorned with disbelief.

All I can do is shake my head and try to keep in my laughter. I'm keen on not letting my friends know I think they're funny. Being an ass is kinda what I'm known for, and it's how I show my affection. It's not insanely brutal, though, because I'd much rather damage my own feelings than those of anyone I love. So, don't get me wrong, I definitely can be charming and sweet and all those other lovely things... I just choose not to.

I voice my opinion, raising my brows to exaggerate a look of false surprise and sporting a higher pitched tone, "Wow, Luke! You're the biggest rebel I know! You must be a hit with the ladies."