The New Kid

Chapter 24- Wandering Heart

"Goddamn, Scott. Those cuts are ugly," Savannah said.

I smiled, "How sweet."

That was mostly everyone's comment at my new scars. I wore it with pride, though. Cameron was the only one who made fun of me, telling me I had looked worse than when I had come in. The pride of my scars brushed off his comment.

None of the seniors were present at lunch. Davonte, Jason, nor Preston ever showed up to the cafeteria. I never saw them once today.

"Where're all the seniors at?" I asked.

Savannah perked up, as if she was ready to tell someone what was happening on the spot, "Well, today is what the counselors call "College Day". It happens usually around Valentine's Day. This is when advisors from all the different colleges come to Phoenix High to try to recruit the seniors to go to their college. Most of the time, people always choose Arizona State, so in my opinion, people from Harvard, or Purdue, or even Washington State don't even need to be down here. They're wasting their time."

I nodded. It did explain a lot. Eventually, I felt an arm go across my back. It was Jason.

"Well, it's official. I'm going to Arizona State!" Jason exclaimed to us.

I high-fived him, "Nice, man."

He looked at me funny, pointing to his face, "What's going on there?"

"I got into a fight with one of my sister's exes. Crazy son of a bitch slashed me with a switchblade. Beat the hell outta him, though."

Jason's eyes widened, "Damn, Scott. Glad y'all are safe, man."

Preston, Davonte, Tara, and Natalia came over to our table. Davonte and Natalia had their eyes, like Jason, set on going to Arizona State, while Preston and Tara decided on going to Yale.

"Ambitious," I said.

"You're goddamn right it is," Preston said.

I got more comments on my scars and told the story once again; I got the same response from everyone.

At the end of the day, I waited for Drake to be done talking to one of his teachers. The foyer was almost dead silent, save for a couple floating conversations. Soon, Jessica came into view. I hadn't seen her at all today. In truth, I had been hiding from her so she wouldn't have to see my scars. I was prideful flaunting them off to the others but it was different with Jessica.

"Scott...oh my God, your face," Jessica observed.

"Yeah, I know. He got me good. I got lucky when he stabbed me in my cheek. He surprisingly missed the muscle that causes smiles, so there's a plus," I said.

"Were you hiding from me today?" Jessica asked.

"Well, yeah. I didn't want you to see these. I didn't want you to see this new face."

Jessica sighed, "Scott, it's okay. They don't bother me. If anything, they make you look cool."

"I guess. I'm just glad Val is okay," I said.

Jessica's eyes widened, "How is she?"

"She's fine right now. She got hit pretty hard. Apparently, he hit her so hard that her skull almost fractured." I sighed, "I can't get that out of my head. I couldn't sleep very well, I was thinking about that so much. I'm just glad she didn't get too seriously hurt. I'm glad you didn't get hurt for trying to help Val. Thanks for that, by the way."