Seventeen

1

~John POV~

Here we are, first day of senior year.
How exhilarating.
Note the sarcasm, please.

I've never been fond of the first day of school, but it appears the feeling has increased tenfold this time around.

I stand in front of these depressingly grey doors, sighing.

I know school is important, and I know it will help me down the line, but right now- I would rather be anywhere but here. Preferably in a 7/11.

I take a deep breath, step forward and push open the doors.

I'm immediately met with chaos.

People talking, yelling, greeting old friends, harassing old enemies, catching up, shoving each other about playfully... for the most part.

Dad's right. This is the shit that killed the dinosaurs.

I begin to get overwhelmed and frantically look around for my best friend.

I don't see him anywhere.
Shit... he better not have forgotten that it's the first day back.

You may be thinking,
'but John, how could he forget that it's the first day back? It's September first, and no other teenagers will be on the streets, how will he not notice?'

And my answer would be- I don't know.
Marty can be... oblivious at times. He gets it from his father.

Just as I'm starting to give up hope, a loud voice rings in my ears.

"JOHN! JOHN! OVER HERE!"

Ah.

I turn my head to the right, seeing none other than Marty Sweeney.

I smile lightly and make my way over.
Marty is... A character. To say the least.
He's oblivious but kind, He means well, really, but often doesn't come off that way.
He tries to do good things but often fails miserably.

He does, however, have a track record of failing upwards. Something that, as of late, I am particularly jealous of.

For example, last year, he tried to ask this girl out, he had a whole speech prepared and everything- (prepared by me, not himself)
It was this beautifully written soliloquy, romantic, sweet, passionate and honestly- some of my best work.
I even included some T. S Elliot, just for good measure.

After practising the speech for an entire day, Marty went to go and talk to her.

And of course, he immediately forgot the whole thing.

He just about managed to awkwardly spit out

"Date- uh- you- me- please?"

The girl, Ellie Tripp, just scoffed, rolled her eyes and walked away.

However, her best friend, Kiera Kelly, stayed.

She and Marty ended up talking for a while, and now they're dating.

Now, I've never been particularly eager to be in a romantic relationship with someone, but as of late, I've actually been rather lonely.

I'm not sure if it's the lovey-dovey books we've been forced to read in English, or the sappy romantic media we're all forced to consume on a daily basis, or even just foolish adolescent hormones messing with my head, but I feel the need to find a partner. Someone who gets me. Someone to share my interests with who actually understands them. I may not like it, but what I desperately want, is to be in love.

And I don't just mean fleeting sex hormone-driven love. I mean, the kind of love my parents have. They met in their senior year, and they've been together ever since!