One of the Boys

Chapter 2: Mac n' Chiz

The year is 2007. It's the time of apple bottom jeans and boots with fur. It's the 3rd of September. New school, new faces, new campus, everything is new but I'm still the same old me. Everyone's looking at the new girl. All is intrigued. Where is she from? What's her story? I sigh as I walk down the hall. None of those looks given by strange faces are new to me. Everyone seems to be eager to get to know me but I know that no one actually really cares and genuinely wants to be my friend. They all belong to certain groups already and they won't let anyone new in.

I then heard a familiar voice, it sounded like he was a few feet behind me. "Mac!" I turned to see if my assumption was correct. I was right! I felt my face lit up when I saw him. The voice belonged to my best friend Chiz. He's real name is Charles Connor. His parents call him Charlie. And his friends call him Chaz or Chip. But I call him Chiz because when we were kids we used to eat tons of mac n' cheese until our stomachs hurt. And because he's the only one who calls me Mac, he became my Chiz (cheese).

His dad and my dad have been best friends since they were in diapers. And there was sort of this unwritten rule that their kids have to automatically be best friends with each other too. That's the story of how we became best friends.

Our dads both decided to join the navy after graduating high school and make a career out of it. Chiz is debating with himself whether or not he would do the same thing.

"I'm happy to see you." he said.

"I'm happy to see you too." I answered plainly.

He then hugged me tight. I can see every girl that pass by look at us with jealousy in their eyes. Who could blame 'em? Charles is very handsome. He is tall; I think he is about 6"5' or maybe taller, I'm not entirely sure. He is a brunette but he dyed his hair blond because he got tired of people always calling him Troy after he sang 'Breaking Free' and I kinda maybe posted a video of it on YouTube. Oops! What? He has an amazing voice! And he actually does look and sound like Troy Bolton. He's a very active teenager and is really athletic so that means his arms are toned. And have you seen his abs? Oh my! My mouth waters at the thought of his six pack.

"Stop! People are staring." I said as I pushed Chiz away.

"Let them stare. I haven't seen my best friend in months. I want to cherish this moment." He said while putting his arm around me.

Chiz and I have always been close. He was always there for me even when I don't really need him. It's kind of suffocating but I love that he shows me that he wants to be a part of my life. He protects me from all the bullies at school. There was a time that he went to a different school because his dad got stationed somewhere different from my dad. That was a very dark time for both of us. Although he was better at socializing and interacting with other humans than I am, the thought of not having your best friend by your side is really depressing.

When we're together, we feel invincible. We feel indestructible. It was like no one can ever hurt us.

People, people who don't really know us, often mistake us for a couple because of our closeness. I'll admit that there is a part of me that wants him to be my boyfriend but I'm also afraid that if we cross that line, it will only ruin our friendship that we so elegantly built our entire lives. All of it will be lost.

We joke around about it, us being more than just friends, but neither one of us really wanted to entertain the idea.

"Okay! Enough!"I said as I took his arm off of my shoulder.

He smiled and slightly shook his head. He doesn't care what other people say about us, not like me.I care. I care a lot!

"Ah! High school!" he said. "We are in high school!" he exclaimed.

"So? What's the big deal?" I asked.

"Can't you see? Now that we're in high school, we can do whatever we want! We can go to parties, date whoever we want, and go to a bunch of stupid dances and bring dates!" he excitingly said.

A group of hot girls pass by and acknowledged Chiz.

"And the girls, the girls are hotter in high school." he added.

"Whoa there, Casanova! Before you go all Hugh Hefner up in this joint, can you at least promise me that you won't forget about me even when you get a girlfriend?" I said.

"You know I won't." he assured me. "You're the mac to my cheese. That won't ever change." He added.

I smiled at him and went to my locker. He grabbed my arm and asked, "We're still on for tonight, right?"

"What's tonight?" I asked.

"Don't tell me you already forgot." Chiz replied.

"Forgot about what?" I asked.

"Mac n' Chiz Mondays. It's tradition!" he replied.

"Oh! That." I said.

How could I have forgotten about that? Mac n' Chiz Mondays started when we were 10. We both had a pretty rough day. We thought nothing could turn our day around. But then when we got home, my mom told us she made some mac n' cheese. All it took was one bite of my mom's mac n' cheese and our frowns turned upside down. Because of that, we decided that every Monday would be our day, a mac n' cheese day. No matter what we decide to do that day, whether we want to watch a movie or have a heart-to-heart talk, there's always got to be some mac n' cheese with us.

"Locker number 168." I whispered while I look for my locker.

"I didn't forget about it." I said to Chiz as I try to open my locker.

Damn it! I can't open my locker. What the hell? It's jammed. What do I do? Shit! Shit! Shit! Why won't you cooperate with me, dear locker?

"Here. Let me try." Chiz offered to help. Unfortunately, he can't open it as well.

Then a tall tan dude with a squint in his eye came to help me. "You have to wiggle it a bit." He said. "Like this." He added as he showed me how to open the locker.

"Wow! Thanks!" I said with relief.

"My cousin had that locker last year, so. . . yeah." He explained.

"You're a life saver!Thank you!" I exclaimed. "Um, what's your name?" I asked.

"Emerald Webber or Em, for short." He introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Em for short. I'm Kenzie." I said. "This is my friend, Charles." I added.

"Funny." Em said. "Are you sure you're just friends? I thought you two were a couple." He added.

"We get that a lot." Chiz said. "And I'd rather you call me 'Chaz'. Mac has got to stop introducing me using my real name." he added.

"Say, is it okay if I sit with you guys at the assembly later?" Em asked. "My best friend is M.I.A. and you two look like cool people, so. . . yeah." He added.

"There's an assembly today?" Chiz asked.

"Yes, Chiz. There's an assembly at the gym in a bit. If you pay a little bit more attention to school than girls, you'll know this." I said. "And yes, Em. You can sit with us." I added.

Em smiled at me and said, "Mac and Chiz!"

"Wow! You caught that quickly." I said.

Chiz nodded and said, "Yeah! No one ever paid attention to us that much to ever notice. You pay close attention to detail, don't ya?"