The Boy Sitting Next To Me/TylerJoseph

1.Ready for a new member to the flock?

I tossed and turned under the blankets, unwilling to agree to even the smallest of interaction. But, my mom had other plans. The lights flicked on and the tapping of a foot proceded, letting me know I was in trouble. "Loren Wayne Peterson, you get your rump down stairs and eat breakfast so you can leave for school!" She shouted. I groaned and stood, stretching as I woke. "My name is Raven, rump isn't a correct term in this household, and it's seven-twenty five!" I whined, slipping on a shirt and pants. My mother rolled her eyes and left, heading downstairs. I pulled on my combat boots and headed down the stairs, dread overwhelming me as voices filled my ears.

"That's mine Ethan! Mom!" My second youngest brother, Joey, screamed as my youngest brother, Ethan, snatched his DS away. How many brothers do I have? Let's see. In order from oldest to youngest, there's Ron, Tim, Leyton, Me, Joey, and Ethan. So, in total, I have five brothers. Tim moved to Alaska last year to start a family with his wife, but he's pretty much the only one who left, not including buying a house. I took the DS from Ethan and handed it to Joey, ruffling his hair. I walked to the island and grabbed a piece of toast off of the tray. "Raven, can you drive me to school?" Ethan asked, his young eyes filled with hope. I shook my head and bent to his height. "I'm riding with Amber, she won't let you come buddy." He sighed and waddled off, going after Joey's DS again. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my backpack off of the ground. The sound of tires screeching next to the house indicated that I had to go. "Bye munchkins, see you later!" I did a two finger salute and rushed out the door, hopping in the white Chevy. Amber flashed me a pearly white smile, flipping her blue hair. "Ready to go Raven?" I nodded and the car took off.

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I jogged to my locker, nearly slamming against it in the process. Amber walked quickly beside me, unlocking her locker. I unlocked and opened mine, grabbing my sketch book and pencils. "All you care about are your sketches, never anything else!" Amber rolled her eyes and leaned against her locker. I shook my head, grabbing my textbooks and shoving them in my backpack. "That's not true. I care about you and Alice." Alice is one of my closest friends. "But these sketches are important because they hold a different meaning for me." I flipped my hair and smiled, waving as I strode down the hall to literature. I opened the door and sat at the back of the class, although it didn't matter where I sat. The classroom was always separated, but not by the teacher; by the students. Sci-fi geeks sat in a group of tables, romance swooners sat together, each different genre basically had it's own group. Well, except for me. I sat all alone in the back of the classroom, a group of empty tables around me. Last year it was depressing, now it's just something I have to wait through. Mr. Sebastian cleared his throat, the entire class hushing. A student stood next to him, twiddling with his thumbs and looking at the ground. He had short brown hair, and dressed like it was Sunday church. Most kids dressed with button ups and sweatpants, an odd combination if you ask me. I, however, wore long hoodies and denim jeans.

"Class," the teacher started, "we have a new student. You may begin, Joseph." The student looked at the class, pinching his eyebrows together. I expected him to just sit down or to go on with what he was saying, but he didn't. He started crying. Someone started to laugh at him, and it quickly went to almost all of the class laughing. Even Mr. Sebastian. Something inside of me prevented me from laughing at him in this time of distress. I shot up from my chair and slammed my hands on my desk. "Shut up! Do you have no common decency?" Dead silence fell as I screamed. One of the Sci-fi geeks gaped at me, shrinking back. Mr. Sebastian cleared his throat and messed with his tie. "Ms. Peterson, step out of the room please."

I sighed and moved from my desk, the entire class watching. I slammed the oak door and sat against the wall. About a minute passed before Mr. Sebastian came out of the class room, standing in front of me. "Loren, what was that? Normally you're quiet in class." I was surprised he didn't send me to the principle or scream at me for a few minutes. I folded my hands together. "He started crying, everyone just laughed! It wasn't funny! You have to apologize!" I stood. Mr. Sebastian sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Loren, I already said I was sorry to him. Come back into class so we can continue." We walked in the classroom and I walked back to my desk. The boy sat in the desk next to me, staring at my desk. I sat down and reached in my backpack, pulling out my sketch book and pencils. A finger lightly tapped my shoulder. "Thank you for standing up for me. Nice sketches by the way, they look like they have a deep meaning to them." He smiled. I nodded and kicked back in my chair, waiting for the class to start.

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Students rushed through the lunch room, everybody screaming and shoving. I sat at the circle table where I always sat, my friends filling the seats. "Hey Raven, have anything new today?" Jordan asked, setting his laptop on the table and sipping his Caprisun. "Yeah Jay, new kid in school. He was in my first hour literature. Last name Joseph." Jordan's fingers danced across the keyboard as he squinted at the screen. Amber, who's nickname was Sparrow, looked at me with wide eyes. "There was new kid in our class, too. His name was Josh Dun, he was hot." I smacked her arm and laughed, waiting for Jay to have his 'ah-ha!' moment. As if on cue, he made the loud noise. "His name is Tyler. Straight A student, he's in choir with you as well. There are several records of depression medication, even counselor sessions. He even has our lunch." I scanned the room, eventually spotting him sitting alone. I looked back at our table and smiled. Jay, Sparrow, Eagle, Owl, and Falcon all returned the smile. "Ready for a new member to the flock?" They all nodded.