Love is a Verb

Love is a Verb Chapter 1

 Like most school days, I groan as my alarm clock wakes me from a blissful sleep. I rub my eyes as I stretch and get out of bed. Groggily I head towards the bathroom to get ready for school. The first day of senior year is upon me, and I'm in between the boundaries of both nervousness and excitement. Glancing at my watch I see that it's already 7:15, and realize I better get going. I shout a goodbye to my family as I scoop my keys off the hook and bound down the stairs. I slam my door closed and turn on the car. Immediately my radio blairs through the car, and likely the entire neighborhood. I turn the volume down but smile. My favorite song is playing.

I drive down the road listening to Stop This Train, and can't help but feel ready to conquer the day. Leave it to John Mayer to start my senior year off right. I zoom towards the school, pull into my favorite parking space, and take a minute to prepare myself for the day. I sling my bag over my shoulder and drag myself into the building.

The halls are already buzzing with students, trying to find their new lockers and gossiping about this summer's biggest parties. I make my way down the corridor to my homeroom and find the slip of paper with my locker number and combination on it. I give the teacher a nod and head back into the sea of bodies to find my locker. A grin fills my face as I see where my locker is. I've hit the jackpot this year, I'm right next to the music room. Glancing at my class list I laugh, this is where I'm going to be for practically the entire day. I open up and shove school supplies and miscellaneous books inside. I reach into a different compartment in my bag and grasp a collection of magnets I've been building up throughout high school. I place them carefully around my locker door, and step back to admire my work.

I feel a large body slam into my side, and am nearly knocked over by the force. I regain my balance and look over to see what oblivious freshmen ran into their first senior. When I'm greeted with a smack on the back I know that it's in fact my favorite oblivious senior instead. "Hey Jack, what's the big idea? Trying to kill me on the first day?" He cluckles, "No way, I always save that for later in the year. What's up man, how was Summer el, Eli?" We chitchat for a few minutes, but are soon summoned to homeroom by the obnoxious fog horn we call a bell.

Half an hour of boring announcements and needless paperwork later, and I'm shuffling along the hall to my first class. While my schedule is mostly music electives I'm excited to take, I still find myself with one more year of English to sit through. I appreciate the songwriting wordbank I find in most English assignments, but otherwise I could do without reading Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. The minutes drag on like millennials, but finally the fog horn sounds and I'm free from the bonds of contemporary literature for another day.

After dumping my binder in the already forming locker pit, I strut into the music room for band class. By some insanely strange chance, I was elected Band President for this year, so I actually am forced to take class serious for once. I set up my trumpet quickly, after claiming my band locker of course, and wait to herd the underclassmen into the room. As per usual, they trickle in and group up by the front of the room, unsure what to do. I smile as a familiar face appears before me. "There you are Sam, although I'm surprised to see you here before 9 am." She laughs and gives me a hug. "Oh Eli, give me a break. Maybe this year will be different, you never know." I roll my eyes, "Okay, I won't hold my breath though. Hey, can you help show everyone how to set up, there's a note here from Mrs. A and she wants me to pass out lesson books before the bell rings."

By the time Mrs. A gets to class, everyone is settled and we have our lesson books. I find myself off somewhere in the distance for most of the class, and when the dismissal bell rings, it takes me a moment to snap back to reality. Seeing as my next class is right where I already am, I decide to just stay put. Mrs. A seems delighted that I'm still here, and walks over. "Eli, I'm happy you stayed back for a minute. I have something really exciting to tell you." I smile and wait for her to go on. "So, tomorrow we're having a guest come and speak to the band. I know it's sort of early for this, but I don't think you'd want to miss the one." I laugh, "What, do the alumni have to go back to college soon? I know some of the seniors from last year start a week later than us." She shakes her head. "Nope, nothing like that this time. We are having a really awesome guest this time. I know you in particular, are going to love this. John Mayer is back in Bridgeport for a couple of weeks, and he agreed to drive up and talk to our band class tomorrow!"

Hearing that my favorite artist of all time will be speaking to my band class consumes the rest of my day. I'm so unbelievably excited that I hardly remember going to the rest of my classes. Mrs. A made it clear that this was to be a surprise, and keeping a visit from John Mayer to myself makes it even harder to concentrate on anything else.

As most school days do, this one drags on. By the time the bell rings at 2:05, I bolt out the door without stopping to chat with any of my friends. Skimming through my collection of CDs I pick out one of my favorite albums, and blast Battle Studies through the car as I drive home.

The house is eerily quiet since my brother and sister are still at school. I drop my bag on the living room floor and head into my bedroom. I fling myself onto my bed, and debate taking a quick nap. Instead I open my closet and scan the contents, trying to figure out what outfit to wear tomorrow. I can't seem too uptight, so that takes most of the button ups out of the equation. I think that the key is to keep my outfit simple, yet stylish. I pull out a jean jacket, and dig through my shirt drawer to find a plain black v neck tee. I place them on my chair and look for an old pair of jeans that will go well. Finally I reach into the depths of the space under my bed, until I pull out a pair of brown boat shoes. I grin as I put the outfit together.

Instead of sitting around daydreaming about meeting John Mayer, I head down to the basement and squeeze a short workout in before I have to get the kids off the bus. Between bench sets I check my cell phone, usually the squad group chat is buzzing after school, but I assume everyone is taking naps. By the final few sets, I'm actually regretting not doing the same. I wrap it up, and head outside to wait for the bus. After a few minutes I hear the roar of a truck approaching, and grin when I see my Father pull into the driveway. He shuts off the monster, and jumps out.

I wave and he walks over to me. I feel a large hand clap me on the back, and his free hand messes up my hair. "Hey bud, how was the first day of senior year? Got a girlfriend yet?" I chuckle, "Dad, it was one day. I know you think I'm cool, but no ladies are lining up at my locker asking for a date. How was work?" He launches into a rant about his boss hiring new people that seem to be unable to change a lightbulb, let alone rewire houses. I listen as he drags on and on, and am saved by the school bus stopping in front of us. 

They run down the driveway and slam into me and my Father. Talking a mile a minute about their first day, it's obvious that they're very excited. We head inside, and all give Dad papers he needs to fill out. He groans, and goes into the office to work on it.

At dinner my Mother asks everyone about our days, and tells us about how work is going for her. I chew my steak and pretend to be intrigued, but my siblings aren't so good at paying attention. Mom sees this so instead asks me about senior year. I smile and tell her the biggest news of the day, "Well Mrs. A is having a special guest speaker in band class tomorrow, John Mayer. I guess he's going to talk to us all class long, and we have band long period tomorrow!" My Mother smiles and seems excited, but everyone else rolls their eyes. My family aren't really Mayer fans, and are tired of hearing about him.

After dinner my parents head upstairs to put the kids to bed, so they say goodnight to me too. I turn on some music, and make sure my summer English assignment is actually done. I try my hardest, but I'm too excited to focus on school work. It's impossible to concentrate when you're meeting your favorite person in less than twelve hours. I turn off my lamp and attempt to get some rest.