Mikey's P.O.V.
***
Frankie is fuhking awesome.
Why? For one, he's short. He's going to make the perfect armrest. Another thing, he's hilarious. We have all the same classes, which is so comforting. The only thing that's different is the fact that I have to do morning announcements during homeroom and afternoon announcements after lunch.
"Hellooooo everyone!" Mr. McIlrath chimes, standing up from behind his desk and putting his arms behind his back. Everyone murmurs back a greeting. Mr. McIlrath is fairly new, so no one knows him too well. He's very passionate, for one thing. And everyone dreads the days where we talk about anything that involves war or fighting.
Today happens to be one of those days.
I know this, just like everyone else does, because it's written up on the white board in black marker: "The Great Emu War". Okay, umm... The Great Emu War? Frankie leans over and whispers, "More like The Great Emo War." I break out into hysterical laughter, trying to block it with my bag.
The teacher doesn't seem to notice, because he continues on. "I told you guys this was coming!" he says, his voice filling my ears. I dread the voice. I hate social studies.
Everyone mumbles stuff about forgetting that we were going over this, but he shakes away their excuses. "We've been learning about Australia since last week. And I think that you guys are more than prepared to learn about this war," he says, his voice already shaking. Dear God, no. No no no. Poor Frank. His first day.
"What's this guy's deal?" Frankie whispers in my ear. I'm about to answer, but Mr. McIlrath suddenly hits his fist against the board with such force that I feel my desk shake slightly.
"Obviously, it's a big deal," he says, his voice not a whisper but not at a normal volume, "There were great casualties that day. All because Australians couldn't deal with oversized birds!" He adds a little "ha!" to the end of his sentence. Everyone is wide-eyed and dreadful looking.
"Oh yeah," the teacher says, "On one side, we have the emus. Guess who had the upperhand! The humans!" He says all of this while drawing a crude picture of an emu on one side of the board, and little stick people on the other. "Why, you ask?" Mr. McIlrath muses, suddenly stomping his foot. "BECAUSE THEY HAD GUNS! LEWIS MACHINE GUNS!"
Everyone jumps, and I hear Frankie whisper "shit" at least twice. The teacher runs to his desk and holds up a piece of paper with the photo of a Lewis machine gun on it. "AND IT WASN'T FAIR! EMUS SUFFERED A GREAT DEAL OVER THE SPAN OF THAT WAR!" he cries out, "57,034 BOUNTIES WERE CLAIMED OVER SIX MONTHS, DAMMIT!" Everyone leans back in their seats and observes him as he wipes sweat from his brow and takes a deep breath.
For the next thirty minutes, we listen to him rant on and on about how guns always gave people the upper hand, and how it wasn't fair. The bell rings and everyone shoots out of their seats, but Mr. McIlrath screams, "I WANT A TWO-PAGE ESSAY OVER THE GREAT EMU WAR BY TOMORROW!"
There's a collective whine from everyone; no one wants to do this essay. Except probably Helena, with her little friends Alicia and Jamia. They're probably excited to turn in their seven-page essays, receiving the highest of grades. Okay, umm, I'll admit that Alicia is pretty cute, but I like someone else too.
No, I can't tell you.
"Mikey, come on, I'm starving!" Frankie cries, grabbing my blazer sleeve and dragging me along the hallway. We skip the trip to our lockers and walk straight into the field behind the school with everyone on their break. "Gee should be here any second..." I say to Frank, who's sitting down on the stone steps that lays against the small incline of ground.
I watch as Frankie frantically digs through his brown paper bag, and finally takes out a Nature Valley bar. I settle a few stells behind him, because I have a set spot back there. The Mikey Square. A few moments later, Gee walks towards the steps with Ray in tow. I find myself blushing... I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. I THINK IT'S THE SUN. IT'S DEFINITELY NOT FALL.
"Heyo, Frankie!" Gee exclaims, looking from Frankie to Ray, "Meet my good friend Ray. Ray, Frank."
The two exchange greetings, and then Ray smiles at me. "Hey Mikes!" he says, waving gleefully. I began to choke on my own words like the fool I am.
"Oh, h-hey Ray. How're you? How was class?" I slur, and Ray sits on the other side of the steps. I feel something building up inside of me... I feel like he doesn't want to sit by me because he doesn't like me. My cheeks go red and I cough a little. "I'm great, thanks," he says, but doesn't say anything else.
About ten feet away from the stairs where we're all sitting lays the picnic table things, and the jocks and stars of our stupid lacrosse team always sit there. They look over at us and smile mockingly. I can't hear any of their conversation, but I don't care.
I look at Frankie, who has devoured the granola bars and is now sipping from a small blue cup, like those ones you get in a tea party set. I stare at him and back at the jocks, and I see James, the main star of the lacrosse team, pick up a sandwich from the table.
Without warning, he chucks the sandwich at Frank, who merely flinches when it hits him in the face and lands in his lap. I look at Ray and see him staring at the jocks bitterly, so I copy the expression. Frank picks up the sandwich and looks at Gerard, his face asking, "should I eat this?", but he doesn't say anything. Gee shakes his head, and Frank sets the sandwich down to his side.
"Emo!" James calls at Frank, finding a new toy to play with. The crowd at the table sniggers, but Frank couldn't have cared less. I admire him for that; he's quite brave.
Frank goes back to drinking whatever's in the plastic cup, and the jocks don't bother us again.
"Y'okay?" Gee asks Frank, who nods. Gee rubs Frank's shoulders in an almost brotherly way. It's so awesome. They're becoming friends real fast.
"Mikey!" Ray calls at me, nearly causing me to shit myself. What, I was daydreaming and distracted! "What?" I call back, and Ray smiles. "Go long!" he says, throwing a pinecone at me. I lunge for it and miss, falling sideways into the cement stairs. Dammit.
Gee, Frank, Ray, and everyone at the jock's table laugh at me, and I blush madly. I'm so fuhking embarrassed. I missed a pinecone. A pinecone. I feel like Ray did that just to embarrass me, and I hide my face in my arms.
Because if you can't tell, I really like Ray.
