A Change Of Site

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

          School was one of the only places that I felt like I was safe from my own thoughts. There was too much going on to think about guys. I was soccer captain, student council vice president, on yearbook staff, and did the morning announcements. I was building up my college resume. Carmen and I planned to go to Duke together in the fall. I had already been offered a soccer scholarship. Scouts had come out to see me play a few times and after a while it was just about who was willing to offer me the most money. Duke won. So needless to say I wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of my plans, especially not some homoerotic thoughts.

          I killed time with the guys before first period, and then headed to class. I had first period history with Josh. He was definitely my closest friend. We had been friends since elementary school. He was on the soccer team too. With me and him, we were unstoppable. We already had two championships under our belt and were hoping for a third this season. He also had a way with the ladies. I liked to think I was the one with all the right moves but I knew it was him. Carmen was really the only girl I had been with, while he had multiple girls throughout our high school years. He had this boyish charm and this mischievous smirk that the girls couldn’t resist. I had to admit, he was a pretty good looking guy.

          “Hey man, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to soccer today,” said Josh.

          “Why not?”

          “I have a date.”

          “Nice. With who?”

           “Marcy Lopez.”

          “Is she the one on the volleyball team? The one with the huge—”

          “Is there something you’d like to share with the class guys?” Mrs. Mathis chimed in, ending our conversation.

          “No, we’re done,” replied Josh.

          “Good. Now I’d like it if we could continue with the lesson and everyone would pay attention.”

          “Bitch,” whispered Josh.

          We laughed quietly and pretended to pay attention until class was over. The day dragged on slowly and I just wanted the last bell to ring so I could go to soccer practice and then head home. I sat in seventh period and tried to focus on my physics assignment but I couldn’t help but watch the clock. When the bell rang I was the first one out the door. As much as I tried to get involved, sometimes school felt like torture.

          I thought soccer practice would have been better, but my hopes were shot down when I noticed Coach yelling at some of the guys. When Coach was in a bad mood, practice was guaranteed to be shitty. We ended up running laps and doing pushups. It was unnecessary and we barely got any actual practicing done. I was pissed. When he finally let us leave, I wanted to kick someone in the throat. I was even more pissed that Josh had skipped practice and didn’t have to suffer through it. All I wanted to do now was go home.

          I headed out to the parking lot to get into my car and as I walked up I noticed something on the side of my car. It was a huge scratch that ran from the front tire all the way to the back door. Some dumbass side swiped me. There was no one around and no note or anything. I cursed them out loud, whoever they were. This day just kept getting worse and worse. I was so over it.

          At home Mom was starting dinner and Dad still wasn’t home from work yet. He was a consultant for big media and entertainment companies so he usually worked pretty late and traveled a lot. Mom hated him not being there. So did I, but you get used to it. My little brother and sister were fighting over the remote in the living room.