Angels Like You

High, Nice to Meet You

I skipped the rest of my classes up to lunch, hiding out in the restroom. It wasn't my ideal spot, but I didn't know where else there was to hide and not be found. My dad would be pissed if he found out, but I didn't care. It was what he deserved after the cruel trick he had played.

I needed to go to the office during my lunch period, but I didn't want to face any questions about not being in class. There were probably about a thousand kids in the school, so the chances were probably slim. Or maybe not since my dad had got me into those classes without me meeting any prerequisites.

After turning the taps off and on a dozen times, I finally sighed and pushed off the wall. Maybe they'd just kick me out. That was what I needed to figure out. How far I could push before they got rid of me.

I only took a few wrong turns getting to the office. It wasn't nearly as packed as it had been in the morning. The uninterested secretary from before was gone and was replaced with a student worker who told me to take a seat while she found out who was available.

My legs bounced as I stared at the crumpled schedule in my hands.

"This place fucking sucks," the boy a few seats down from me said.

I nodded but didn't look up at him.

"What'd you do to earn a ticket to the punishment center?" he asked. I finally looked over at the sandy-haired boy.

"Nothing yet," I replied. "You?"

He shrugged. "Just the usual being a menace to society."

"What other way is there to be?" I asked.

He smirked. "None." He slid over on the seats until he was next to me. "Toby Moz."

"Rhys Snyder."

"You new?" he asked, nodding to my schedule. I let him take it from me. He let out a low whistle. "Damn. Smarty pants."

I scoffed. "Hardly. My dad's half-assed attempt to keep me out of trouble. I'll be flunking out by the end of the week."

"Ah. So you are a fellow fuck-up. I was right." He handed my schedule back. "You want to get out of here? Because I sure could use something to take the edge off and it looks to me like you could, too."

I looked down at the paper. My dad most likely wouldn't know I was gone until I didn't show up for the after-school program. Keeping the schedule for one day wasn't going to be a big deal since I wasn't going to be at the classes anyway.

"I'm in," I said.

Toby glanced down the hall before he stood and motioned for me to follow him out.

I shoved my schedule into my pocket and followed him through the main foyer and down the series of halls that led to the gymnasium. He took an abrupt right past the locker rooms and pushed open the door wide enough for him to stick his head out to make sure it was clear before he pushed it open and we stepped outside.

"The key," he said under his breath as we walked down the sidewalk to the student parking lot, "is to not act suspicious. If you act like you're supposed to be here, they leave you alone. That's pretty much how you survive high school."

"What do you mean?" I asked, following him through the sea of cars to where he was parked.

"Well...you just stay under the radar and people leave you alone. Make waves and you're fucked," he said. A car chirped as he unlocked it. A shiny black car that still had temporary tags. I'd been expecting him to drive something like my dad's car.