Stroke of Luck

02

The boy walked up the driveway, and I found myself frozen still on the porch step. When he stood a few feet away from me and I still hadn't responded, he said, "You are Greer, right?"

Instead of answering his question, I asked, "Who are you?"

He laughed to himself, as if just now realizing he hadn't introduced himself. I wondered if it had occurred to him how creepy he seemed right now. "Sebastian James Lennon Junior," He returned. "But call me Bash."

"Bash," I echoed, the word feeling odd and clunky in my mouth. "Well, Bash, do you mind telling me what you're doing on my front porch?"

It felt odd calling this place mine, especially when it most certainly wasn't.

Bash held up a pile of mail, and I raised an eyebrow. "For Sylvia," He said simply. "I bring her mail from her mailbox to her door every day."

I furrowed my eyebrows. I hadn't expected my grandmother to be on a first name basis with anyone, especially not some messy wannabe hipster named Bash. Seriously, who went by Bash? And who named their son Sebastian, other than English people from the 1700's?

"How do you know my name?" I inquired skeptically.

"Sylvia," Bash answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She told me you arrived today."

"Yup," I popped the p. "I live in Wells now. Aren't you going to offer me your condolences?"

Bash chuckled, running a hand through his tangled locks. "I like it here," He shrugged. "It's quirky."

I scrunched up my nose in distaste. I had known this guy for all of three minutes and he already seemed unbearably pretentious. "It's boring," I retorted, leaving out the fact that for me, boring meant having no substance abusing mother to take care of.

He shook his head. "You just haven't seen it yet. Walk with me."

My eyes widened in surprise as extended his hand, a silent offer to help me up. Immediately, I shook my head. "No thanks, Bash," I declined, not bothering to mask my repugnance.

Shrugging, Bash said, "Another time then."

He was gone before I could tell him not to hold his breath.

• • •

The next morning, my grandmother and I awkwardly maneuvered around each other in the kitchen as she made her oatmeal and I attempted to find something salvagable to make into breakfast. Ninety percent of her food was expired, and the other ten percent was just downright gross.

The only time we had spoken was when she informed me that the school was within walking distance. Somehow I knew that even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be getting a ride.

Remembering what my grandmother had said about the coffee shop down the street, I slammed the fridge shut. "Grandmoth-" I began, but backtracked. "Um, Grand...ma?"

She looked at me, an unreadable expression on her face. "Sylvia is fine," She said, and I nodded, relieved.

"Okay, Sylvia, I'm going to grab breakfast at the coffee shop before school," I told her, and she shrugged.

"That's your business," Sylvia reminded me.

I supposed she was right. For some reason, I still felt obligated to keep her updated, but she obviously had no interest in me doing so.

Hitching my bag - which was just full of empty binders and a pencil case - over my shoulder, I slipped out of the house without another word.

• • •

It took under five minutes to walk to the coffee shop, which I noticed was literally called, "The Coffee Shop." Huh.

I pushed my way inside, removing my hood as I entered. The shop was warm, especially compared to outside, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of satisfaction once I was inside.

Walking up to the counter, I did a double take when I caught sight of the barista. Bash glanced up, and I caught a hint of 5'oclock shadow on his face that I hadn't noticed last night. "Hey you," He greeted me, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Hi," I responded dryly, before a thought occurred to me. "Don't you have school?"

"Don't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm just grabbing breakfast. I'll take a veggie bagel, untoasted, and a large black coffee."

"Fitting," He commented, beginning to pour the coffee. "Anyway, I take online schooling."

"Online schooling?" I echoed. "Like, 'Get connected for free at education connection?'"

Bash snickered, grabbing a veggie bagel with a gloved hand and dropping it into a bag. "I never knew you were so musically talented, Greer."

I glared at him, accepting the bag and coffee as he slid them across the counter. "How much?"

After punching a few things into the register, Bash said, "Three dollars and forty-six cents."

Nodding, I fished around in my bag until I found my wallet. I opened it to find three wrinkled dollar bills and an expired Walmart coupon. "Shit," I muttered at the realization that I was forty-six cents short.

Bash must have noticed this, because he said, "Give me what you have and don't worry about the rest. Friends and family discount."

At the word 'friends', my stomach lurched involuntarily. I shook my head rapidly, digging deeper in my bag until I finally stumbled upon two quarters. Sliding the money across the counter, I said, "I'm not interested in making any friends."

• • •

Wells High was nothing like my old school. Less than 500 students were enrolled, and everyone knew everyone. The place felt like a real community - like the kind you would see on a Disney Channel show. At my old school, the hallways were chaos. People got into fights and showed up to school drunk and shouted at teachers. Here, it seemed like everyone was a big happy family. I was utterly uncomfortable.

A short, curvy girl named Liv was in charge of showing me around, although there wasn't much to show. Liv was the most optimistic person I had ever met - she even skipped.

She must have noticed the look I was giving her as she pranced through the hallway, because she furrowed her brows and asked, "What?"

Laughing slightly, I shook my head. "Nothing."

I didn't bother telling her that the only skipping most high schoolers did was skipping classes. Somehow I knew it wouldn't affect her cheery demeanor in the slightest.

"Vamanos," Liv called, clapping her hands together. I followed her as she walked backwards through the emptying halls. "I believe congratulations are in order."

"Why's that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"You survived your first day at Wells High!"

Grimacing, I said, "Unfortunately."

In all honesty, surviving at Wells seemed like it would be easy. It made me wonder why Bash did online schooling. The teachers here were so nice that it was creepy, and everyone got along with everyone. Three other people had offered to show me around today, and I had to tell them all that Liv beat them to the punch.

It was concerning because I meant what I had said this morning. I had no desire to make friends here. I would be gone in six months, so I was better off if no one here even knew my name. Besides, if my relationship with my mother was any indication, then getting close to people only got you hurt.

"Are you coming?" Liv asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"That's okay," I declined. "I'll find my way out."

She had offered to show me to the doors before she went to her meeting for the school newspaper, which was beyond unnecessary. Not only was I completely capable of figuring out how to leave this school, but I was completely capable of doing almost anything all on my own. I had always been this way, and I always would be.