Blind Beauty (Preview)

Chapter 6

Brett

Leaving the wing of the school where my locker was located, I entered the cafeteria, where the sound of microwave's and dread filled conversations filled my ears. While one group seemed slightly livelier, then the others and those were the people I was going to. They had called themselves The Republic, which was a unique name for them. The group consisted of six main members with the occasional outcast passing through. The only thing that separated me from them, however, was that they were all one year older then I was, which in turn meant they would be graduating this year leaving me alone to fend for myself when I became a senior.

Walking up to them, the scrawny little man who sat in the middle of the group, with jet black hair, completely flat on the top of his head, looked up at me, as a shine crossed his glasses and he licked his lips sloppily. Nielsen was the leader of the group, and also very eccentric with the way he portrayed himself to others around him. That being said the other five members of The Republic didn't share the same sort of eccentricity, but that didn't stop Nielsen from calling Jakob, Randy, Donner, Alec, and my best friend who happened to be part of the group Mason his friends or as some might see it his subjects.

Mason and I went back the furthest and practically grew up together, which was mainly because we lived a couple blocks away from one another. Which I guess is what earned us the title of best friends, but Nielsen was still someone I was trying to understand. The kid was a mystery, and once you thought, you had him figured out he'd do a one-eighty and you'd be back at the start. However, that was also what made him interesting.

"Hey, guys." Addressing the group all of their heads turned to examine me, while Nielsen was already aware of my presence and he quickly made it known.

"Hey, babe." It was the signature phrase Nielsen used to talk to any of us when we arrived to his little crew, but he'd never tell us why. It was yet another one of his many mysteries.

Acknowledging Nielsen's attempts at flirting with me, I simply took it as a joke and as usual I merely looked at him dead in the eyes and just said his name, giving him that little bit of satisfaction he craved before I turned to Mason.

"Sup bro." The generic little greeting left my mouth as I took the seat beside him while letting my backpack fall off my shoulder and placed it at the side of the table.

Attempting to blend in with the group, Nielsen bantered back and forth with everyone sitting around him until inevitably the bell rang and signalled all of us to proceed to our first class. This was the worst time of the day. Picking up, and throwing my bag back on my shoulder as I stood up from the table, I turned to Mason.

"So what's your first class today?" I asked him as I tried to delay the time it would take for me to get to mine.

"Art, you?" He responded, and I was really hoping for a longer answer as we started walking down the hallway.

"English," I replied, and he merely nodded as we arrived at the door to my classroom, Mason had to go to the third floor, so we had no choice but to depart.

"Nice, well I guess I'll see you back in the cafeteria at lunch."

"You know it." Giving him a quick but cold answer, my emotions for school finally came out.

He continued down the hallway and through the set of double doors at the end of the hall where the staircases were. While I merely stood in front of the English classroom, taking a deep breath and letting it out of my body, I mumbled to myself. "Here we go again."

The words were the last thing I'd say before crossing over the threshold, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Crossing the border of classroom two twelve, I was merely just another one of the lone wanderers who it had the luxury of witnessing over the years. Upon entering the room I looked over at the regal styled desk, and then the older woman sitting behind it. She was staring down at some papers, as the red pen in her hand flicked back and forth scoring our fates.