nova // l.h. (on hold)

01 // dibbed

Writing was his getaway; his vacation outside of reality without actually having to go anywhere. It wasn't hard for him to venture off with a pen and notebook paper into a life that wasn't his own, but rather one that he created. His mind was constantly full of ideas that overflowed onto the crisp white sheets of paper. Luke's escape was fueled by a black ballpoint pen, and it was an escape that he loved every second of.

Two hours of sleep and an espresso from the gas station were enough to keep him from dozing off during his classes at Mulgrove High School. His day consisted of watching snow fall through the windows in calculus, concluding an essay instead of taking notes in American history, finishing Wuthering Heights during his English class that served as a free period, and watching his lab partner nearly fuck up the chemistry project for them the third time that week. Luke hated that damned lab partner. All the girl did was seek attention from any guy that would show the slightest bit of attraction towards her. The shy, blonde boy didn't even plan on talking to the brunette before they were partnered up. He completely despised her for two reasons. The first reason was that she made every female high school student at Mulgrove look down on themselves. Luke was a huge enthusiast of self-acceptance. And the second reason: he knew that the girl had her eyes out for him.

Luke's last period class was German. Halfway through the school year, the only complete phrase their slacker teacher taught them was: "Kann ich das Badezimmer benutzen?" It roughly translated to: "Can I use the bathroom?"

Biting his silver lip ring between his white teeth, he scribbled German words down onto the paper that Mr. Penn called a "quiz." Luke felt like the only student in the elective class that had bothered to actually learn the material. Other students relied on laminated posters on the walls to give them the answers. Mr. Penn was not his favorite teacher, that being one of the reasons why. Luke also believed in a little something called effort. Seniors at Mulgrove didn't give one shit about anything but the future, prom, and parties.

Unlike most of his student body, Luke gave actual shits about school. He cared about being in the top ten percent of his class, a class of which he easily took the spot of number four out of two hundred ten seniors. A worry in his mind was the horror of not having a prom date. What utterly terrorized him was the reality that he might not get accepted into any colleges, even though everyone said uplifting things to him about getting accepted.

When the last bell of the day rang, Luke gathered his backpack and books from his forest green locker. Retreating to the back seat of the bus, he opened his notebook and plugged in his headphones to prepare for the twenty-five minute ride home. He put his playlist on shuffle and sat with his back to the window. One more day until winter break, he thought to himself.

Michael, a boy just as quiet as Luke, sat down in the seat across the aisle from his. He had black and white hair that was covered with a gray beanie. The two boys talked often, but not often enough to be more than mere acquaintances. Mike was in Luke's fourth period P.E. and fifth period English, but those were the only classes they shared. Sometimes, they walked from P.E. to English together while holding a conversation about the homework that nobody did or the substitute teacher they had that sweated like a whore in church.

"Still writing?" the hair dye addict questioned Luke, swinging off his backpack and setting it down in the spot between him and the wall of the bus.

Removing one of his earbuds, he began to answer Michael. "Yeah," he said, pausing the song on his phone, "I haven't gotten anything in two weeks, though."

"Let's see whatcha got," insisted Mike, reaching out for the notebook. Luke passed it over and watched as he curiously searched through it. He sighed when he realized that Luke's notebook was blank. "The...the only thing in here is a drawing...of you...dressed as a superhero?"