Teach Me!

Teach Me! Scene 2

This story talks about Michael's past about his life and his friendship with Matt. It's unedited but I hope you'll get to enjoy it! :D 

SCENE 2

“Moving?” I asked my mom confoundedly. I’ve been here in my hometown for so long. But for us to move to a new place would be difficult for me to adjust. “Yes, your father has to transfer to another branch. He wants us to go with him," my mom answered as she touched my shoulder and smiled at me. For her, it was easy to move out. But, how about me? “I don’t want to move to another place. I’ll stay here and take care of the house!” I said while having a determined look on my face.

“We can’t. You’re still young and a minor at that. We can’t have you living alone in this house. You’ll be lonely and who will cook for you?”

True.

 Matt Clyde lived a few blocks away from us. We were very close friends before I moved. When it was time for my family and I to leave, Matt appeared in front of our house and gaped at us in disbelief. “This is not what I think it is, right?”

“We’re moving, Matt. Don’t worry. You can always have a chat with me on the internet. It’s not like I’ll delete you as a friend or anything.”

 “Yeah… I’ll miss you, man!” Matt looked like he was about to cry but I ignored the pained expression on his face. It’s normal for two bestfriends to be sad when they won’t be seeing each other for a while. I just hoped to make some new acquaintances once I reach the place where my dad will be working. I put my things at the back of the van and got in. Matt and I both exchanged our farewells and he walked off.

 We arrived at our destination and I looked outside the van’s window. The ambiance of the place wasn’t to my liking. It was a simple town but it felt gloomy. We rented an apartment and set all the things we brought to their respective places. My dad immediately left for work after. I went into my room and set my laptop on the table. I opened my account on a social site and Matt sent me a chat message and I replied back. He asked me what school I was taking but I answered ‘I’m not sure yet’. He logged out minutes later. While I was thinking about what school to go to, my mom knocked at the door. I opened it and she said with perfect timing, “Tomorrow, I’ll accompany you to Drake Nat High. You’ll be studying and experience your new high school life in that school.” She smiled at me like a mother sending off her child on his first day of school. “I’m sure you’ll be able to make new friends there.” “Yeah.”, I replied.

 My first day of class in my first year of high school came. My classmates were unruly, not like my previous school back in my hometown. I was unaccustomed to the kind of behavior they were displaying. The girls were staring at me while giggling. I knew that because of my handsome looks, naturally, goddesses will fall. I laughed to myself and smiled back at them. The teacher’s arrival beckoned the class into silence. He was old and looked boring but at least he looked normal. He didn’t have any distinguishing features or personalities. My first impression of him was that he was a rigid character.

I got tired after a long day in school and I wanted to go home quickly. When I was leaving the school, some of my male classmates tried to call my attention. I went to them and they insisted me to join an organization that would help me escape the dullness of the town. One of them said that it was just a simple group about friendship. They were quite shady then again I didn’t want such a monotonous high school life so we came to an agreement and I joined them. Then, they took to some place they described as “a lot of fun”.

 We reached the commercial part of the town and went into an alley. By that alley, there was a club that played techno music. Together with my classmates, we entered it. They grabbed drinks even though they were still minors and they flirted with girls. The girls were hot and dazzling. They were so rare, I didn’t think that I would find them in a place like this. Some were dancing and most of them looked rich. There were also a few who were in business attire. Several of the people who were chatting gave off a kind of aura like they were celebrities because of the dresses they wore. The place gave the impression that it was illegal but it was hidden so nobody would just find it. There were also other students like me in that club.

I ran up to one of my classmates. “Don’t you know that minors aren’t supposed to drink?”

“It’s fine. Besides, nobody can easily find this place.”

I was grimaced by what he said. If my parents saw me here, they might report me to the police. I didn’t want that, of course. I took a glimpse of the individuals who were there then I told him, “Umm … I’m leaving here. Consider me kicked out of your little group.” And just as I was about to leave, he caught me by the sleeves of my uniform. “Aww… c’mon, just a little longer, okay?”

“No!” I rejected him flat out.

I went straight home after that and promised to myself to never fully trust anybody living in this town.

The next day at school, I saw them again. They all ignored me and didn’t say a word. They might have suspected that I told my parents or the police about them and the club. I let them go that time. They still had a chance to change.

During lunchbreak, some girls from my class invited me to the cafeteria. They were really cute and I couldn’t resist their charm. I went along with the flow and we exchanged conversations about different topics. They were really interesting to talk to.

After lunch, a group of male classmates called me. We headed to the back of the school and I noticed their faces filled with maddening jealousy. They cornered me into a wall and one roughly tried to threaten me, “Just because you’re the apple of the girls’ eyes doesn’t mean you can go around school happily walking around! You’re only one person, Michael Summers and we know how you rejected Drake Nat High’s top gang’s offer to let you join them!”

“I don’t want to join them! I’m not like them. I’m different. And I’m certainly not like you, losers.”

I ignited their anger and one of them punched me hard on my stomach. They also took my allowance and left me with nothing. It was then that I decided to become somebody who can control them, a person who had a lot of influence. I stayed there for a while and when I recovered, I went back to the classroom.

I talked to the guys again who wanted me to become a member and I decided to join them. I told them that I want to have lots of power, influence and the skill to bend losers to my will. When they accepted me, I was proud of myself. We ridiculed weaklings and stole their money, flirted with girls, went to a club hidden in an alley and got drunk even though we were still minors.

Weeks passed and I became their leader. It felt fulfilling but deep inside, I despised myself. I wasn’t able to shout out my real feelings but I needed it in order to live through. All the helpless were being treated like trash whereas those who had authority and wit can protect themselves. Some of them even transferred.

My grades were high even though I was like that. My school life was stress – free and the guys who bullied me before never did the same thing to me again.

Matt still sent me chat messages but I never replied to anyone of them. Yet, he still didn’t give up so I deleted him from my friends list.

A time occurred when a teacher saw us beating up a student. Because of that incident, he called up my parents and I was in for a scolding. We moved back home again but my attitude was never the same as before. I had more contempt for the losers. I treated girls differently and I got used to drinking.

I expected that I would see Matt again. He would see me in a new light.

 He was delighted when he saw me again and he asked me, “How were things in that town? Did something trouble you? You even deleted me from your friends list. Maybe that was just a bug on the site.” I didn’t show any signs of happiness or emotion. All I said was, “Cool people like me don’t hang around with nice guys like you. Girls would love me more that way. And I did delete you from my friends list intentionally.” Matt gawked at me and answered me jokingly, “What weird things are you saying? I suppose you’re just tired from the trip.” I sighed and told him bluntly, “I’m not joking. I don’t want to be friends with you anymore. Don’t’ you get it?”

 “You … it’s like you really hate me now. It feels like I don’t know you anymore.” Matt’s voice shivered.

 “Then maybe we didn’t really know each other. I’m a leader of a gang now. We can never be friends, Matt.”

“Why did you join?” Matt asked nervously. I replied, “Because I hate idiots like you…”

I walked away and left Matt standing alone on the sidewalk.

We didn’t make contact with each other anymore after that.