Hand-Cuffed to My Enemy

Joseph Hallows

"Hey, could you, like, hurry up with getting your stuff so I can?" I ask, impatiently. "Sure, it's not like I asked for a locker that's above yours." Hank mutters. He grabs the rest of his stuff, sticks his tongue out at me and walks away. The nimrod. I wish I could get him. But, I can't because I'm just a nerd. An ordinary nerd in a stupid school. I grab my stuff from my locker and walk to class. "Wait up, Joseph!" a voice calls out. I turn around to see Rajeev Malaski. "Hey, what's up?" I ask. "Oh, y'know. Running from bullies who want to snap my glasses again." he replies. It's no surprise. He's basically a wimp. Short, afraid and uncared. Unlike Hank Philips. Hank is that kid who's always had that early growth spurt. Like right now, he's 6 ft. I'm 5 ft and a half. He's 'the man'. I'm the one unwanted. He's that prefect in every sport. I can't even play golf. He's the one who's just perfect while here's me, the kid with glasses and buck teeth. Stupid buck teeth that make me look stupid when I'm vise-versa. Compare me to the man who has nice, black hair and is cool . Everyone would choose him over me. Rajeev and I head to Geometry. It's stupid. Tell me a scenario on how someone's life was saved just because they explained how many faces a cube has. It's six, if anyone but me wants to know. "Hey, do you have an extra pencil? I think the bullies stole mine." Rajeev says. I shake my head. "Hey, Hank. Do you have a spare pencil?" I ask. "Yeah." he replies. "Can I borrow it?" I say. "Nope." he tells me. I sigh and turn to Rajeev. "Sorry. I don't know what to do." I tell him. Hank then tosses it on my desk. "If it's for the kid next to you, fine," he says, "Take it." I hand the pencil to Rajeev. "Thanks, Joseph." he tells me. "No problem." I mutter but, it was a problem. I had to rely on my own enemy just for a pencil. I sulk for the entire day. Soon, when the school day ends, my phone buzzes. I take it out from my pocket. "Meet me at the coffee shop near the park", Mom texted. "Okay. I'll be there." I text back. I turn off the phone and turn away from the buses. Suddenly, I run into Hank. "Why aren't you on the bus?" he asks. "Why aren't YOU on the bus?" I retort. "I asked the question first. Answer it." he says. "Fine. I'm supposed to go to a stupid coffee shop to meet my mom. Happy?" I tell him. "Yeah. Totally." he mutters. We walk to where we're heading. Surprisingly, we don't break paths. "Hey, are you trying to follow me? That's 10 crush points on you." I say. "No, I'm going to a cafe to meet my dad. Besides, I hate you. I wouldn't follow you even if it would kill you." Hank replies. We keep walking. When we arrive at our destination, we're in pure awe.