Fighting Thrasher Jones

{9} Battle Scars

As Benji and I approached Jackson's house, it became apparent that my boyfriend was not present and was most likely at school. I was able to quickly slip inside, hastily shove my belongings into a duffel bag, and run out of there as quickly as possible.

Benji had been waiting for me outside of the house, undoubtedly keeping watch for any signs of Jackson should he make a surprise visit home. I slipped on the wide-rimmed glasses I'd left at my boyfriend's house, and allowed the world before me to sharpen.

Benji glanced at the duffel bag, nodded once in satisfaction, and headed down the narrow street, stealthily stepping over the cracks.

"Uh, my school is that way," I said, pointing in the opposite direction that Benji had been walking in.

Pivoting to face me, Benji pointedly questioned, "And?"

"You're going the wrong way," I said.

"I'm not going to school."

Oh, oh. I'd automatically assumed he was going to walk me to school. My embarrassment made its appearance by the way the red tint blotched my cheeks in patches. I awkwardly untucked the dark bangs from behind my ears to hide the fact that the tips of my ears were flaming a brilliant red as well.

"Okay," I said, coughing into a fist as I turned around, "I'll see you later, then."

I'd taken not even three steps when a voice directly behind me spoke up, "Why bother, hm?"

I paused, taken aback when Benji's purposeful strides brought him to my side. He squinted his hazel eyes in the harsh glare of sunlight beating down on us, and adjusted the red bandana around his forehead.

"Why bother what?" I asked for clarification.

He shrugged, proceeding to take steps leading to the school. "There's no point in going to school. It's a waste of time, honestly. Good for you, you know how to read Shakespearean language and create chemical formulas, but can you file your taxes and budget your money appropriately?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. The thing was, I agreed with what Benji had said, but there wasn't a single thing I could do about it.

"Well, it's not like I have much of a choice if I want to actually succeed in life," I decided to say.

Benji didn't say anything for so long that I feared I might had stricken a nerve. I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck, instantly regretting the words that had carelessly spewed from my mouth.

As far as I had been aware, Benji did not have a job and lived in a rundown apartment building that looked two solid shoves away from toppling right over.

Crestbrook High loomed just over the horizon, increasing in size as Benji and I continued to move forward in strained silence. The tension in the air was suffocating and I itched to arrive at the school to escape it.

Benji dragged his feet and slowed down before coming to a dead stop in his tracks. Squinting at the modest school building, he scratched his head and frowned.

"Have you seen Dreams Last for Tonight?"

Shaking my head, I tucked my long bangs behind an ear, asking, "No, but I've heard it's funny. Was it any good?"