True Story [Complete]

Chapter 4

Four immediate bounces, a pause, and two more bounces. Morse Code for hi. Only one person in the neighborhood knows Morse Code: Finn. I don't know a lot of it but he taught me some of the basics such as hi, good night, are you there? I even looked up some words myself such as... I love you (dork).

I go outside (biting the inside of cheek), pick up the Cavs ball he won for me at the school's Great America trip last year. Well, actually he didn't really win it for me. Finn had won two balls and said that it was convenient to use me as his" trash can."

But this ball I'm holding is not just a Cavs ball that my crush had given to me, but it's basically a bomb that'll explode in my face one day. Where I live in, is Warrior territory. I nearly choked Finn myself when he gave it to me (I love you, Iguodala).

I bounce the ball at the same rhythm he had done just moments before.

He sees me over the fence and walks closer to the barrier with the ball tucked to his side. "Ready for Lincoln?"

I look down at my outfit hoping it's good enough for a First-Day-of-School-Impression. As if he had read my mind, he blurts out, "You look great." I look up at his turned face and I keep a smile to myself. I had dressed in a black skirt (whoa and with shaved legs!) and a tucked-in white t-shirt with a red-and-black flannel. I went light with the jewelry and I kept my everyday earrings on and a jade bracelet (for "good luck" mom says). As usual, I'm wearing 1 out of 3 of my shoes (all converse). I went for the gray ones. For my black backpack I had sewed on small patch flowers and on one of the zippers, the cat charm dangles.

I nod. "Are you?" Today he's wearing a shirt with a Nike logo and jeans paired with Nike sneakers. So much for good impressions.

**

Lincoln Manor High is basically salad drowned in black, white, and blue. Hint: we're the salad. The minute we walk into the school, older kids scream into our ears and drizzle us in the school color's confetti. I hate this place already.

I head over to my assigned locker. Since my last name is Rodriguez and Raina's in Regmi and there aren't a lot of people with a last name that starts with an R (surprisingly), our lockers are pretty close. We also have first period Biology with someone named Ms. Rosenbottom, so we go together.

The minute I walk into the class, I see him, sitting with my neighbor (and old friend) Melvin Wong and other guys we went to school with. Raina sees him too, and we take a seat in the back of the room that just happens to be where a skeleton is at.

The bell rings and the teacher still has't shown up (while all the students have?) So our teenage instincts kick in and we all turn our chairs to get into our "respective" groups. But me being the social awkwardist I am, I open up my phone to the WritersCorner app and begin reading Calidora and the Chaos in Manhattan, a fanfic by TheMotherTruckerCalledEarth. It's basically a cross between the Marvel universe and Percy Jackson.

But Raina, being the encouraging stubborn type, nudges me to look at the pictures of some k-pop band called BTS on her phone. Then she scrolls down on her Instagram and we find these new pictures and videos Melvin has posted about his recent adventure over the summer, featuring Finn.

One of the videos shows him drinking out of the Slurpie Fountain at 7/11 on Free Slurpie Day. Finn tries it too, but he's too big that his head keeps hitting the nozzle. So Melvin and another asian guy just got a cup and poured it into his mouth. The horror.

We laugh and watch more videos. Another video shows them dancing in the middle of the street. While another is taken from the other guy, while Melvin and Finn follow this cat around (bestiality). Then they go off trying to hitchhike on passing trucks (and btw if our asian parents found about this, we would be locked in our rooms with nothing but medical books). The last video we watch is of Finn. Getting a tattoo. A TATTOO!

"What is he doing?" I say in a serious tone, I stare at Raina with terrified eyes. In the corner of my eye, I see Finn flinch, but otherwise stays calm and laughs a few times. Raina looks at me and smirks.

"Aww, his bicep is being hugged by a dragon. Now you actually have an excuse to look it," she jokes. I say nothing and lower my bangs to hide my face. 

Thirty minutes have passed and the teacher finally comes in. She's a middle-aged lady wearing a coat (in 75-degree-heat) but is wearing a simple dress underneath with open-toe shoes. You would think that she had been running to her class but she looks to have taken her sweet time. She calmly acknowledges us, as we rush around the class to get back to "normal," then she sits at her desk.

"I see you all already have gotten along," she nods like one of those wise martial arts teachers in Jackie Chan movies, "good. That's good." The class waits for her to say other things but she just sits there. Then she rolls her eyes and gives us a "shoo" motion. "Well? Go on," and with that she turns to her computer.

I think I have just met my favorite teacher.