The Broken One

Chapter 5

AND WE'RE BACK

Rudely intruding my somewhat peaceful slumber, my alarm obnoxiously goes off indicating for me to get up and get dressed for school. My head abruptly whirls back to last night's events. 

My parents were, I shudder at the thought, killed?

I let myself relieve the thought for the time being so I could focus on the task at hand. Getting ready. Picking out anything close to arms reach, I carelessly got dressed for another gloomy day, I was never really someone to really care about what I were to wear in the morning, not because of my I-don't-care-attitude but it was because I genuinely couldn't be bothered anymore. I mean I don't get bullied in school or anything but I wasn't popular either and plus I had no one to impress. Pheonix? He couldn't care less about what I wore, we've been friends for years now and he still would be seen with me if I look like something out of an Olive Pit trash can and he looked like an America's Next Top Model contestant. 

Leaving my moderate house, I walked on in the direction of where my knowledge inducing premises was, otherwise known as school. A few minutes into my calm morning, an obnoxiously energetic Pheonix caught up to me putting me in headlock while claiming to 'hug me' but what I thought was just him being annoying. 

"Morning sunshine." He giggled like a little school girl.

"Hey." I said flatly.

"Yo." He stopped walking. I looked back at him in confusion.

"What?" I asked.

"You're acting weirder than usual. What's up, buttercup?" He said, trying to lighten my mood. I smiled at his adorableness he was always one to hype things up. Either it was me or a stranger, when Pheonix Melville is around, there is no way you are staying sad and gloomy to him that was a vow. He poked my prominent dimple and emitted his own.

"I didn't even do anything and you're already smiling." He cheered.

"You're adorable." I said, walking forward. 

"In what way may I ask?"

"The way you always try to make everyone feel happy by just existing." He blushed at my comment and walked next to me. For a few minutes we walked in a comfortable silence. Up until he starting humming a tune to a Frank Sinatra song we had been listening to earlier last night. Honestly, I had never heard exactly what Pheonix sounded like when he was singing. At least not in a serious way because we obviously had dance parties and we'd sing along to some songs but he would always make his sound off-key just for the laughs. This was one of those rare times when he would sing or hum when he wasn't even thinking. Now that I'm actually paying attention to what he sounds like, he wasn't bad. At all. In fact, I pretended not to notice just so I could hear him sing. After he was done I looked over at him with a smile plastered on my face.

"What?" He asked.

"You have a really nice voice, Nix." 

"Nah."

"No, I'm not joking. You actually do sound amazing." He blushed at my comment and I 'awed' at him.

"Thanks, Red."

"No problem, Birdy." I winked. We approached the front gates of our school and realized we were a bit over twenty-five minutes early so we just hung out by the ping-pong tables messing about for a bit with the other kids that were early. There were a fair few because Our school was an all grades school. Not just a High School, there were kids from all ages and grades, some playing Football, some just walking around, killing time. Pheonix and I were talking when I noticed a fairly new face to our school. I watched him look around for a bit looking a bit lost. I decided to go up to him and introduce myself.

"Hi." He was actually kinda cute. He had slightly curly brown hair. His hazel eyes glistening in the morning shine. His features were strong and sharp. He gave me a smile showing his pearly whites.

"Hey, I'm Griffin." He said.

"Ruby. You're new here aren't you?" He nodded.

"Well I know what it's like being a new kid. If you want you can hang with us. Me and my friend, Pheonix."

"Oh thanks, I didn't know I would be included easily." He smiled shyly. I smiled warmly back at him. 

"No problem," I looked over to Pheonix who was walking towards us. "Pheonix, meet Griffin. Griffin, meet Pheonix."

"Hey dude." Pheonix said.

"Hey."

"You new here?" Pheonix asked patting Griffin's shoulder and urging him to the ping-pong table our bags were sat.

"Yeah, I'm an exchange student from London. My dad travels a lot and drags the rest of us along with him."

"But you don't have an accent." I said.

"Yeah because we never really stay in one place much. Well that is until we came here. I mean this place is really cool and my dad agrees." He smiled.

"Well welcome to the land of Pryshore, California my friend. Where one is to embark on amazing and lengthy journeys and encounter a whole lot of famous people that are disguised assholes." Pheonix laughed. Griffin and I laughed along too. The morning bell rang, indicating class is to start in five minutes. 

"Hey Griffin let me see your schedule real quick." I said. He dug in his bag and got it out handing it to me. 

"Well would you look at that! We're almost all the same classes. That's a sign from the guys upstairs saying that we're going to be the best of friends." Like a little girl meeting her new best friend for the first time, Pheonix happily linked mine and Griffin's arms with his own, dragging us to our first class of the day making me and Griffin chuckle and giggle at his childish act. Once we reached the upstairs hallway to our classrooms, we departed as I take a Second Language class that they didn't. I walked into my class, hoping that it'd pass by fast so I could just go home an repeat said day.