Ulysses G. High School: Broken Friendships, Broken Hearts, Broken Bones

Evan's Eyes

*Damon’s POV*

At lunch, my best friend Carson and I sit at our table, waiting for the company of our other friend Avery and my girlfriend Scarlet. Soon, they appear, but with two other students. One is a tall girl with curly hair and chocolate-colored skin, and the other is a boy with messy brown hair and bright sapphire eyes. The girl sits down next to Avery and the boy sits next to Scarlet.

“Hey, guys!” Scarlet greets us. “Avery and I got put on welcoming duty and these are the people we got assigned to. Meet Jewel and Evan!”

They both greet us warmly, and Evan extends his hand to shake mine. As he does this, I see his eyes flicker. Something about it sends chills down my spine.

“So are you guys enjoying it here yet?” Carson asks sarcastically.

“Actually, everyone here has been pretty nice to me. I’ve met some pretty sweet people,” Evan answers. His eyes flicker again.

Wanting to avoid eye contact with Evan, I turn to Avery, who seems mesmerized by every word that comes out of his mouth. Even Scarlet’s expression seems relaxed as he talks. I immediately decide that I do not like Evan.

“This school’s not that great,” I announce in a manner that Carson normally would. “The people aren’t all that warm either.”

“Your girlfriend’s been pretty warm toward me,” Evan responds innocently.

However, when his eyes flicker yet again, my dislike for Evan grows. “Excuse me?” I ask, annoyed.

“What? She’s just been nice to me,” Evan answers sweetly.

I provide no response and stay silent for the rest of lunch.

*Mackenna’s POV*

Ah, school. I hate it just as much as I love it. Although the learning is drab and irritating, being queen of the school has its perks. I basically spent all of first marking period becoming the big girl on campus. Now, no one messes with me.

At the end of the day, I wait for Alicia by her locker, eager to find out what new drug she has for me this time.

She comes to me with a bag of white shavings. While I examine the contents of the bag, Alicia smiles at me widely.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I don’t even know!” she exclaims excitedly.

“Do you, like, snort it, or…” I begin

“I don’t even know!” she chirps.

Gotta love Alicia.

*Bradley’s POV*

As I pack school supplies into my locker at the end of the day, Tessa tells about how her day went. However, I am not really listening. Although I care, Thanksgiving break’s influence has not left me yet, so I start daydreaming. I think back to the time when I hated Tessa because I thought she was the one who told the whole school what horrible things my mom used to do to me. Kailyn recently figured out that it was Mackenna, but I have no energy left to be mad at her for it. I am in enough feuds already.

Frequently, I have been avoiding Kailyn because of our breakup. She makes it blatantly obvious that she still likes me, but I have decided to give up on love. Taylor and I are not talking either because of our breakup also.

As I am keep track in my head of all the people I stopped talking to, Tessa’s words suddenly become audible again.

“Well what do you think?” Tessa asks.

“Huh?” I reply.

She laughs. “I had a feeling you weren’t listening. It’s okay, I’m still in Thanksgiving break mode too. Well, I gotta go to cheer practice now. Have fun at football practice!”

I wave to her and make my way to the gym locker room to change. When I get there, I see that Seth is having a conversation with a kid that I have never seen before. The stranger has brown hair and blue eyes, and is about the same height as Seth. When I enter the room, Seth looks at me and so does the stranger, and it is evident that the stranger’s eyes are penetratingly bright.

“Bradley, would you please tell this kid that he’s not on the team!” Seth shouts to me.

“I am, though. My dad is the principal, so I told him that I wanted to be on the football team and he let me in,” explains the unfamiliar kid.

Confused, I squint. “Who are you, exactly?” I question.

“I’m Evan Jettison. I’m new here,” explains the kid. Instantly I realize that his story is true, because he shares the same last name with the principal.

“So Principal J. just let you hop right on the team?” I ask, puzzled. Since I am the captain, it shocks me that I was not informed of this.

“Yep. I wanted to be captain but he wouldn’t let me ‘cause he said you guys were having a great season so far and he didn’t wanna mess with anything,” responds Evan.

“I’m the captain,” I state.

Evan’s eyes flicker. “Varsity football captain, huh? You must be the big man on campus then. Bradley, right? I think we could be good friends,” he tells me, shaking my hand. I decide to receive his words with openness.

After a while, it is silent, and the three of us just stare at each other.

“So is there, like, some other important position I could have?” asks Evan.

Seth glares at Evan. “Do you even know how football works?”

Evan shrugs. “I’ve played it in my backyard with friends before and I’ve watched the Super Bowl, but there’s probably a lot I don’t know.”

Seth turns to me, annoyed. “And you’re just gonna let this scrub be on the team?!”

“Whoa there, buddy, I’m not a scrub, okay? I could school you in football any day,” replies Evan. Evan turns to me. “So am I on the team or what?”

It does not take me long to think about my answer. “It’s not like I have a choice. Your father is the principal.”

Evan smiles but Seth groans. “I don’t even believe this,” mutters Seth, walking away to his gym locker.