(BTW frank and gee way from I'm not okay era in this book)
Frank's P.O.V.
***
I don't want to be here.
I don't want to be here. I hate it so much. The neighborhood is already confirming my worst fears: for one, it's chocked full of spiders. Also, I'm surrounded by stupid teenage boys who insist on partying every damn night. Teenagers are fuhking terrifying. Shit, I even scare myself sometimes.
Plus, my mother is making me go to the private school just outside of the neighborhood. So imagine my terror when I go to an interview with the headmaster of the school and immediately, his reaction is: "Is this the child you want to enroll?"
Okay, so I may not look like the first choice to enroll into a private school... But if you picture me without my eccentric earrings and lip ring, I'm private school material. And also, picture me without the eyeliner. And the greasy hair.
Nevermind. I'll never fit into this dumb school.
"FRANKIIIIIE!" calls my mother from downstairs. I whine and roll out of bed, failing to catch myself before I hit the floor with a resounding thud.
I stand up and run my side, which is sore from the impact. I simply cannot function today.
Or ever.
I open my door, which is basically my dreamscape, and fly down the staircase. Our stairs lead directly to the living room, which is pretty open. Just beyond the living room is the bar area place, and behind that is the kitchen, where my mom is tossing a pan of scrambled eggs.
"I am so proud of you!" my mother squeals as she empties the whole pan of eggs onto a paper plate for me. I grimace at the thought of eating, because my stomache is already flipping and I'm too nervous. I hesitantly sit down behind the bar, and my mom pushes the plate my way.
I don't eat breakfast on a daily basis. What meals I miss out on I compensate for later, decking out on chips and Nutella and other high fructose crap that could get me killed in thirty years. But I really don't care.
With a tall glass of orange juice comes a long fork. It has to be at least two times the size of my hand, because it seems heavy in my hand. "Thanks," I mumble, stabbing at my scrambled eggs. My mom watches me intently, as though my eating habits were suddenly the most interesting things on the planet.
"Mom," I say after three minutes of me picking at my breakfast and my mom just staring at me. She blinks an couple times and smiles sincerely. "You still hungry?" she asks, and I shake my head. I still haven't finished my first plate if eggs, or my orange juice.
"Your uniform is hanging in your closet, and your comb and toothbrush and toothpaste are all laid out on the bathroom counter. Oh, and–" my mother tells me, wearing her huge smile. I nod to cut her off, and she stops talking.
I push out from the counter and slide out of the chair, walking through the living room and back to my bedroom.
Sighing, I race back up the steps. My mother is a wonderful woman; don't get me wrong, I love her more than anyone ever, but she's very overbearing at times. Like now. I open my closet when I reach my room, taking out the new school uniform. My mom and I had gone out yesterday to get it pressed and ironed professionally, and it's wrinkle-free. I don't usually wear anything that'll wrinkle, so I don't care that the surface of the white shirt is clean and flat. I don't care that the nearly black blazer is nicely pressed.
I put my arms into the armholes of the white shirt, buttoning the buttons nearly all the way to the top. I leave two undone, because I'll be wearing a red and blue tie that'll hide it. I sit down on the edge of my bed and pull down the shorts that I slept in, replacing them with the gray pants I have to wear.
I walk to the bathroom and brush my teeth, making sure to reach every tooth. Hey, I have a great smile. These teeth need to be cleaned at least twice a day. I spit and rinse, and then work at my hair. I decide to just brush it, parting it to the side as usual. When I'm done, I slide an earring into each piercing hole. I look at the mirror and observe myself, convincing myself that I'm at least presentable.
I run back to my room and slide on the blazer, its emblem kind of matching my tie. I know how to tie a tie because I've been to a Catholic school before, and we had to wear ties every day. So tying a tie is the least of my worries right now. After that, I put on my lip ring, deciding on a small silver ball one. It won't be too much, I hope.
I grab my backpack and check my reflection once more before returning to the kitchen.
My mom is waiting behind the counter, a brown paper bag in her hand. I smile and take it, kissing her on the cheek. "Frankie, honey, are you sure that you don't want me to drive you? It's not too much trouble, I could–" my mother rushes, but I shake my head.
"I'll be okay," I say reassuringly, "I'm okay, trust me." She smiles and puts her hand on my cheek. "You're such a beautiful young man, Frankie. I love you so much. Go make me proud!" my mother calls as I back up and head towards the door. I wave to her and open the door, walking out into the crisp autumn air.
The school isn't too far away, so walking there only takes about ten minutes. I walk along the sidewalk, kicking up pebbles and pinecones that litter it. Some kid left a chalk drawing of a sunshine and a rainbow, so I step on it purposely. No sunshine and rainbows.
I step past the sign at the entrance of our neighborhood, seeing the school a few hundred feet away. I make my way towards the school, a terrible feeling eating at my gut. I'm so nervous that I can hardly contain myself, and the crowd of preppy students flooding through the school doors doesn't make that feeling any better.
I finally reach the front of the school, and, taking a deep breath, I step forward. Someone runs into me, and I nearly fall over. "Watch where you're going, dweeb," the person says irritably, straightening his blazer. I grimace and continue walking. I look around and see two boys over by a small house-looking building that's about thirty feet away from the main school building. One has a wild mane of curly brown hair, and the other's hair is sleek with grease and black.
Both are free of piercings, which makes my stomach drop. I'm already abnormal.
I brace myself for the day ahead of me, and walk through the school doors, being shoved and pushed by everyone around me.
"Watch it!"
"New kid, budge it!"
"Out of my way!"
I sigh and look around the main hall of the school, not sure if I'll be able to survive a single day here.
