Effervescent - (Me Plus You: Prequel)

{2} School

"Mark! Thomas! Hurry, you'll be late!" Mark heard his mother call from the bathroom.

Mark quickly sat up and glanced over at the clock. 7:12 A.M. Being that school started at 8:00, and the bus arrived at around 7:30, he knew he didn't have time to properly get ready.

The seven-year-old sprang out of bed and headed to the bathroom being pushed out the way by his older brother who rushed in and slammed the door behind him.

"Tommy, no!" Mark shouted, banging on the door. He ran through the clean, narrow hallway back to their shared room and grabbed his oval shaped glasses off the nightstand before frantically sliding open his closet doors and grabbing a red tee shirt and jeans.

"Tommy!" He called, changing into the tee shirt and stumbling into his pants, "Hurry up in the bathroom!"

"Are you really in a hurry to get to school, Mark?" Tommy mumbled, standing in the doorway with a toothbrush still in his mouth.

"I don't want to miss the bus, cause mom will get mad if she has to drive us. She'll be late for work." Mark answered, running to the bathroom knowing he only had time to do the minimum to get ready, brushing his hair only a little and brushing his teeth.

"Whatever, Mark."

Mark grabbed his already packed backpack from his room and ran to the kitchen, stopping in his tracks at the sight of his dad asleep on the living room couch. He shuddered ever so slightly, surprised the man was still in their house. He felt a bit bad for not hugging him the night before, but he also felt uncomfortable with the man's presence.

Mark glanced down at his growling stomach and ran into the kitchen, snatching a package of cinnamon Poptarts from the cupboard and heading out the front door behind Tom. Neither of them bothering to preoperly say goodbye to either of their parents before they left, and within seconds they'd made it to their bus stop and onto the yellow school bus. Upon entering the bus, Mark instantly missed the warm, humid Hawaiian air on his deep tan skin, now feeling shivers up his arms.

He plopped down in an empty seat - the same bus seat he'd sat on by himself all year, and let out a content sigh as he leaned his head back.

~

The school day went on as it usually did. Mark hadn't seen his brother since they got off the bus, but that was normal. He was on his own most of the day, being that he didn't have any friends, and by the time lunchtime rolled around Mark shyly shuffled through the loud school hallways, praying that none of the other kids would talk to him as they all headed to the same place.

I guess it was a lie of him to think he didn't want to be bothered by anyone, because there was one person who he wished would talk to him. Hanale Keilani, someone whom he'd admired from afar for as long as he could remember. There was just something about him that Mark really admired, and he wasn't sure why he admired him at all. maybe it was his long, curly black hair, his light brown skin, and cute facial features. But Mark didn't dare talk to him.

Mark plopped down at his usual lunch table, an empty one farther away from the others. Opening his backpack, he grabbed his book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and flipped it open to where he left off, every once in a while glancing up to stare at Hanale, who sat at a table with his friends, including Tommy, at the opposite end of the room.

"What are you looking at?" Mark heard a familiar voice snap in his ear. He felt his hair being pulled slightly, confirming it to be none other than his ten-year-old brother. The older boy must have noticed him staring.

"N-nothing. W-why?" He stuttered nervously as he felt his cheeks become warmer.

Tommy frowned with growing suspicion, breaking his eye contact with Mark and mumbled something to himself as he walked away.