Halfway Through the Scale

What is Truth?

Chapter Six

It is Monday. Everyone hates Monday's no matter what it is you partake in this world. Whether you are a student, a teacher, a parent, a lover, a lonely pathetic loser, whatever the job description may be, we detest Monday's because it's a constant reminder of the pain we must reside to for the next four days.
Since I left with Jasmine yesterday, as my mother puts it, with no permission, I have no better leverage on my side to not go to school. Besides, I'm sure she just forgot that something inside school grounds is eating up her daughter. It's this types of distress that I would much rather exchange with the misery I feel for the absence of my father. Always so gone and far away, but at least I know he cares for my well being, and his country's.

Mother doesn't even try anymore, she just drives in silence to school, it's only a matter of time until she hires a chófer to take me to school. Not that I wouldn't mind it, I'd have access to the world, and my very own personal human slave. In reality, however, I wouldn't even ask the chófer for anything. It would have to be my mother who calls the shots.

I open the door and disattach myself from her silver and black camaro. A materialistic world. It doesn't matter, she won't notice that I'm gone until she's halfway home. Her brain is so stressed that she can literally text and drive without crashing while her brain recognizes where to go next. I guess you can say that her brain is her own little GPS.

I enter through the back of the school, where we have to walk down hill, through the land we don't use, small soccer field, and beneath that the track field, and finally the black top for P.E. As I'm reaching for the gate, my peripheral vision detects a tall human with hair covering the face. Well more like the person is facing down, and so the small curly hairs reside to the side of the face. It's him. He isn't so far from the gate, so I decide to wait for him. As he's ready to enter school grounds he looks up and meets my gaze. He frowns but hinders a silent laugh.

What am I thinking?

I go through the gate, where he stands just eyeing me from above.

"Ladies first." He says as he gestures his hand through the gate.

I go through and decide to walk the hill in silence. Jasmine always enters school from the entrance for her grand attention break. Seeing as how everyone will see the display, I much not rather be seen.

"Shouldn't you be with Miss Queen Bee at the front if the school? You know, get part if your recognition?" It's him. Apparently, he did see me. He looks below me, waiting for a response as he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. Inhales the tobacco, and exhales it. Same thing over and over again.

"I could use one of those." He released some more towards his left, to prevent it from being aired to my face. He looks down at me with a bemused expression. Eyebrows narrowed, eyes almost squinting at me to portray my idiocy.

He hands me the lit cigarette, which is between his index and middle finger. It's halfway finished and his fingers are covered in dry dirt. The smell, though, it sticks everywhere. I gaze at it, and then focus on making a right turn as indicates in the path we continue to walk on.

"Thought so." He inhales it again and throws it on the concrete, to where he steps on it with his shoe.

"I wanted a new one, not a used one." It is true. I don't care if movies claim it an ordeal to smoke a used cigarette.

"Uhu. Well, what about Jasmine?"

"What about her?"

He stops me by gently placing his hand on my arm. Other students pass by us, and I can already hear their noisy gossip.

"People are looking at us." I mumble as I face down on the dirt as I continue to dig my feet in the dirt.

"So what?" He asked carelessly. He throws his hands a bit in the air to display the fact that other peoples opinions don't matter.

"Didn't you hear what happened yesterday? You wouldn't want to be near me. I'll be lucky if Jasmine even recognizes me." I'm embarrassed for replaying the pain I feel to a semi-complete stranger.

"I did hear. Two things that need to be said here." He claims as he raises two fingers.

"Okay."

"One, Jasmine is not your friend. If he was she wouldn't treat you the way she does." Clinging to the second finger. "And two, I think you already know that although I look like the guy who told you off, I am most definitely him."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the asshole's cousin."

"You both look really alike."

"Yeah, I don't see the resemblance." I laugh ah his remark. They're basically twins.

"Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, he's been going crazy the past couple of days. Like paranoid crazy."

I didn't think I would be talking to him about HIM. I didn't even know what to expect when I saw him. I stay in silence as we reach the black top. The bell rings, and I have Health for first period. Which is B Hall. A hall that is in the middle between A Hall and D Hall for some strange reason.

"I have to go."

"Where to Sunshine?" I chuckle. I am not sunshine. More like I block the sun.

"Health. What about you?"

"I don't know. I just came to school to tell you that." We stop in front of each other. His eyes. How did I not see it before? Their red, and his facial expression is so down. I'm sure he hasn't slept, and I can tell because I have a lawyer as a mother.

"You should get some rest." I casual remark as I slowly step back to the right side of the gym to get to class. He eyes me in suspicion and with a devious smile.

"What are you my mother?" And I'm assuming just for the thrill of it, he takes out another cigarette and lightly places it between his front and bottom teeth. He ends it with giving me a bright smile. Oddly, his teeth aren't yellow, they're actually white.