How to Save A Life (On Hold)

1. The Beginning

Lucas
"I never wanted to fall in love, actually I hated the idea of it. When you fall in love, you fall out of control."
Everyday is the same for me and you know what? I like it.
I wake up, get out of bed, go to school, come home, go to work, come home, do my homework, go to sleep, and then wake up and do it all again. It's nice really quiet, but comfortable.
I don't have very many friends, so I don't go out on the weekends and party like a "normal" 18 year old boy would and I value sleep more than I value eating. In my spare time I read "How To" books and work in my uncles body shop. I like movies and music and I visit museums regularly with my girlfriend, Alexia.
I know, hard to believe a guy like me has a girlfriend, but it's true.
Alexia and I have dated for nearly six months. She's smart and beautiful, her sense of humour is a little off and sometimes she's a little rude, but she means well and I really like her.
Like I said, I work in my uncles shop, doing oil changes, repainting and doing repairs. As a result of working in my uncle's shop, I'm a muscular guy, pretty tall too, I guess. I'm maybe about six feet tall, but I haven't measured myself in forever. I have dark brown hair and eyes that match, you know, just like the other 98% of the population.
I'm just like everybody else, and you know what? I like that too. I don't want to stand out or draw attention to myself, I'm comfortable in the shadows.
I'm Lucas Callahan, just a regular guy.
And just like everyone else, I start my day like I always do, I wake up.
Usually, I wake up ten minutes before my alarm clock even goes off, I don't know why, I just do, but today, I slept through my alarm.
I pulled my head up, which had been buried in my arm and took a long look at my alarm clock. Usually it makes a loud beeping noise that quickens if I ignore it, but today it was silent.
Today, I was late for school.
"Fuck!" I shouted as I flipped the blankets off of me and slipped on the same clothes I wore yesterday. I put on my glasses and ran down stairs into the kitchen to find that nobody was home. Then I remember that my parents are already at work. My dad is professor at a university who teaches English, and my mom is a realtor who had a showing early this morning. She would have woken me up if she was home, but unfortunately, she wasn't .
I have an older sister, Kari, who goes to the university that my dad teaches at, but she doesn't live with us. I'm expected to go to the same university, I just don't have the heart to tell my parents 'no'.
I don't know what I want to do with my future, but I'm pretty sure it isn't following in my sisters foot steps. I mean, I adore my sister to death, but she and I are totally opposite people who want opposite things. She wants to be an engineer and, I like I said, have no idea.
I hop into my crappy little car I call "Yoda", because it's a Toyota and race to school. I run up the front steps and straight through the doors. I slowly jog down the hallway to my locker and collect my books, then walk quickly to my class. I'm 15 minutes late to my morning history class, which unfortunately, is taught by one the strictest teachers in my school, Mrs. Burrows.
"Misstter Callahan," She draws out "Mister" for emphasis. "Why are you so late to my class?" Her greying hairs poke out of her tight bun on the top of her head, her glasses rest on the bridge of her nose and she a little over weight, but she's a good teacher and a good person.
"Sorry, it won't happen again." I smile and try to make my way to my seat.
"I certainly hope not, but to guarantee that it doesn't, you have study hall, right now," she says writing on a slip of paper and I stop walking.
"What?" I take that back, she's not a good person. She hands me the piece of paper which I now see is a late note. "Really?"
"Get out of my classroom Mr. Callahan." She says in a very angry tone and I leave without talking back. I'm not one to ever talk back, talking back draws attention. So does being late.
As I make my way down to study hall I pass the office and the secretary glares at me. She's an elderly woman named Gladys, she's hated me ever since I threw a baseball through her kitchen window. I was only nine years old and I didn't have very good coordination, I still don't; that's why I don't play sports; poor coordination and of course sports draw attention to you.
I knock on the door to the study hall classroom and wait for someone to say "come in," but no one says that, so I just enter.
I'll never understand the public school system, punish someone for being late for a class by telling them they have to go somewhere else and miss the class even more. It's just weird.
The study hall room is practically empty besides the desks and the one prehistoric computer over in the corner. I walk in, set my books down, and try to take my seat for the second time today, but just like before, I am interrupted.
"Hey you, what are you doing here?" I hear a male voice from behind me and I turn around. A teacher by the name of Mr. Morgan stares suspiciously at me. He's a large, but muscular guy who has a red hair and a thick beard to match. He must be in his thirties and I know he is married because of the picture of him and his wife on the desk in the front of the room on their wedding day. I also know that he teaches math.
"My teacher, Mrs. Burrows, sent me here, I was late." I explain slowly.
He still looks confused, "yeah, but what are you doing here?"
"I just told you," I raise my eyebrow.
He chuckles softly, "Dude, nobody actually goes to study hall, they just go home or something."
"Oh," I reply feeling like an idiot.
"Well, I guess because you're here you can help me with these new textbooks. Come on," he gestures for me to follow and I do as I'm told.
I follow Mr. Morgan out of the classroom, past the office and glaring Gladys, and all the way down to the other side of the school.
We walk outside to a semi-truck where the textbooks are waiting. He hands me several books and then takes some himself. We walk to the library to drop the books off.
"How many are left." I whisper because we're in the library.
"Only a few," he replies in his normal voice and tone because he doesn't care.
"I'll go get them." I whisper again.
"Then you're probably going to bail after, right? By the way, why are you whispering?" His voice remains the same except for the last part. I assume he is trying to mock me.
"Uh, this is a library, and no, I wasn't going to bail," I whisper once more.
"Uh, okay. Go get the books then." His voice has returned to normal, he smiles awkwardly and walks in the other direction.
I walk back to the truck and grab the last few textbooks. Slowly, as to waste some time, I walk back into the school, but not before something catches my eye, or rather, my ear.
A cruiser motorcycle pulls into the student parking lot with a loud rip. A girl dressed in all black hops off and removes her helmet.
Just like a scene from a movie, things went slow motion.
Her helmet came off and slowly she whipped her long black hair back and forth in the sunlight of the new day. Her hand went to the zipper of her leather jacket and slowly she unzipped it to reveal just a regular black t-shirt. I stared at her while still walking. She flung the black leather jacket over her shoulder and strutted into the school. She looked so cool.
I, on the other hand, accidentally ran into the door and dropped all of the text books onto the pavement. "Shit," I say as I dropped to my knees to pick them all up. Mr. Morgan opened the door to help me, or mock me, I'm not really sure, but he gets to his knees too.
"Kid, you should have just went home," he sighs and I look up. The girl is gone, just like my pride.
I go to the library again and drop off the last of the new textbooks alone and then I look at a few books and leave. They don't have 'how to' books here.
I make my way back to study hall and once again I pass glaring Gladys, only this time she isn't alone. Motorcycle girl is with her. I don't want to stare, but I have to.
As I walk by I take note that she's about five feet and nine inches tall. From the side I notice that she is very thin and very beautiful. Besides the black t-shirt and leather jacket she's dressed in faded ripped jeans and tall black boots.
I must have caught the attention of Gladys because she stops the conversation, and looks at me, this causes motorcycle girl to look back at me too. I make eye contact with motorcycle girl which causes me to catch my breath.
Her eyes are piercing blue, her eye lashes are long and her lips are full and red.
As quickly as I make eye contact with her, she takes it away, like she barley even noticed I was there. I continue to stare until I can't anymore, just in case I will never get the chance to see her again.
I open the study hall classroom door once again and see Mr. Morgan sitting at his desk working on his computer. He doesn't say anything, doesn't even bother to look up, so I make my way to a desk and sit. I continue to sit in silence for the rest of the hour.
When the bell rings I collect my books and make my way to the door, and Mr. Morgan begins to speak, "Hey, kid,"
"Yeah?" I reply turning around quickly.
"What's your name?" He smiles.
"It's Lucas, sir. Lucas Callahan," I reply and walk out of the door, so I don't have to see his reaction.
I make my way to my next class, which is English, trying my best to blend in just like everyone else.
Well, not everyone.