BEEPBEEP BEEPBEEP. Zack's clock blares like a fucking fire alarm. I sit up and turn it off, then look outside the attic window to see the tops of buses drive by on the other side of the hill. Surprise! It's Friday. Fuck. I walk over to Zack and kick his sheets off.
"WAKEY WAKEY, MOTHERFUCKER!" Zack took his hand out of his boxers and stood up to stretch.
"Waddup?" He asks sleepily. I look at him, wide-eyed, then chuck a pillow at his face.
"WE HAVE FUCKING SCHOOL TODAY YOU FUCKING FUCKER." I yell in panic. He burps in response.
"Well, that's a problem." I fume, grab my backpack, dump out the remainder of the bottles and sling it around my shoulder. Zack grabs my shoulder and points to the clock. "It's not even 7, dude. Brush out your hair, squeeze in some eye drops and we'll still make it in early." He's right. I take his hand off my shoulder.
"Okay, okay, sounds good, but I have a question."
"What?"
"Do I smell like weed?" Zack walks closer, inhales dramatically, then grimaces.
"You kinda reek."
"Well, what should I do?"
"Uh...." His eyes dart around the room until they find a can of Axe on his dresser, a gift from his mom. "Twirl around." He orders. I do little pirouettes like a fucking ballerina while getting covered in odorous body spray. When I face him again he looks relieved.
"Uh-oh."
"What?"
"That." He said, poking at a constellation of drool and Cheeto stains on my shirt.
"Fuuuuck." I groaned. He threw a black AC/DC t-shirt and some Rohto eye drops at me.
"There's gum in the car. We need to hurry." I nod and escape through the attic window to the driveway next to Zack's house.
I try to open the shotgun-seat door of Zack's black Camry, also a gift from mommy dearest. It's locked, so I sit cross-legged on the hood and wait. It occurs to me that I am still clutching the shirt that Zack gave me, so I quickly take off my own.
I pull Zack's shirt over my head and pop in the eye-drops. The minty burn stings and my eyes water, but at least they'll be white. I take a rubber band off my wrist and tie my fucking rat's nest of hair into a bun.
Zack came 'round to the driveway with his keys in hand. He ran up to me and put his hands on my shoulders and stared intently into my eyes.
"Good, you look sober." We hopped into the car and Zack starts to drive to the building. "You know that everyone there is going to think I'm fucking you."
"Yeah, but anyone who gives a shit has already been thinking that since school started."
"True enough." We pull into the school parking lot and Zack turned towards me. "I was gunna ditch first period anyway, do you want me to drop you off at the front door?"
"That'd be great." Zack nodded and turned the car toward the building. "Zack?"
"What?"
"Thank you."
"No problem, Darcy." I walk to the entrance of the school and notice a pony-tailed bitch waiting by the door for me. I averted my eyes and tried to pass through the door undisturbed.
"Livy!" She called. I ignore her and hope she lets me pass. "Livy!" I speed walk away from her. "Olivia!" I give up, turn around, and smile wide.
"Alexa, how are you?"
"Your mom texted me you weren't home when she woke up... She thought you were with me." She said, eyeing Zack's black Camry as it parked somewhere off in the distance next to a van painted like the Mystery Machine. I tried to call her attention away from him.
"I headed out really early... I wanted to study somewhere silent." She accepts this answer and starts rambling on about how worried my mother was and how she'll tell her I'm safe.
"DARCY!" I hear, as Zack sprints so close to us I thought I'd get knocked off my feet. He was out of breath and his hair stuck up even further than usual due to wind resistance. Zack looked from me to Alexa, nodded, gave me a stick of gum, winked, and then ran away.
Alexa couldn't help but question this. She looked at me, slack-jawed.
"Olivia!" She said, like a stern and annoying mother.
"What, Alexa? What is it?"
"Are you sleeping with Zack Livingston?" I scrunch up my eyes, pained yet again by the frequently asked question.
"No, I'm not."
"That's not what it looks like."
"He just gave me a ride."
"You're wearing his shirt!"
"Alexa, why the hell would I be fucking anyone?" She looks at me incredulously.
"That's Zack Livingston, Olivia! Why would I believe you didn't? You know what he's like! You know what his mother di-" I, against my better judgement, put my hand in front of her face to silence her.
"He is not his mother. We are not fucking, I am perfectly fine, and make sure my mother is clear on that." She looked back at me in shock, like she's somehow surprised she got me so pissed.
"Okay, sorry." She muttered.
"See you later." I finally passed through the door, a stick of gum pressed between my lips. This day is going to be shit. Zack walked up to me, scratching at his pierced ear with one arm and holding a Kit-Kat with the other. "Going to class after all?"
"Zaca texted me there's a sub, I'll just watch Netflix. You really cussed her out back there."
"You think?" I asked jokingly.
"Is it because you're still mad at your mom?"
"How should I know?" I said, then headed off to class.
~
Smokin' in the Boy's Room-Brownsville Station
