Pen pal

7

Dan

I hate alarms. They annoy you at the exact moment you don't want to be annoyed. I clicked the alarm to stop and sat up in my bed. It was Thursday, and I was already done with today, so I decided to skip school. I knew Mom was at work and Dad was probably getting to work about now. I forced my body to get up and walk down stairs, where I saw a note from Mom.

Left you some oatmeal. Have a good day.

I scoffed. I hate oatmeal. I've told her this before, but she never seems to have the time to listen. I looked in the fridge for anything, and no surprise, nothing. Mom and Dad never had the time to go grocery shopping. They never have time for anything. I put a mental note in my head to go shopping today. We had about a half cup of milk left, so I poured that into a bowl with some cereal. The T.V was left on, so I flopped down in the couch and watched anime while I ate.

The time on my phone said 7:58, so I knew Phil would be blowing up my phone any minute asking if I was dead, but he hadn't texted me anything. Maybe he had already moved on. This thought brought pain to my stomach. I told him to leave, but now all I want is him here, with me, watching movies while we cuddle under a blanket. The thought raced out of my head when I heard the home phone ring. I let the phone go to voicemail so I could see who it was and what they needed to say.

"Hello, your son, Dan Howell, is absent from school, we need you to phone in to excuse him from school as soon as possible"

Shit

I could probably make a good impression of Dads voice, or maybe I can email the school and tell them that I was sick or something, but that would require getting my dads email and I need to spend a hour trying to figure out his password on his computer. I dialed the schools number.

"H-hello. This is Dans father. He is sick today, so he will be missing school" I hit myself for sounding so stupid.

"Okay, thank you, have a nice day."

I put the phone down and got dressed to go to the grocery store. A benefit from having two parents work all the time was money. They had gave me a credit card a while ago, so I figured I could use it now. I slid the card into my pocket and went out the door.

——

I walked through the isles checking off the stuff on my list.

Milk.
Eggs.
Bread.

I stopped myself when I passed the alcohol isle. I inhaled the sent of the liquor and wine. The sent making me crave it even more. I wasn't old enough to drink, let alone buy it, so I quickened my pace. I walked up to checkout. A man was working there. He was pretty, he had tan skin, brownish black hair and rosy cheeks.

"Cash or credit?" His voice was smooth, like a soft tune that could send anyone into a deep sleep.

"O-oh, um I-" The man chuckled. He had a dimple, kind like mine but it went a little deeper. This made me smile. He was really cute. "C-credit" I finally managed to get out. I handed him my card.

"You normally stutter this much?" The man asked with his smile still plastered on his face.

I blushed, of course. I was never really good at keeping my emotions inside.

"Well it's not everyday when you see someone this handsome" I smiled back.

"Oh, I'm handsome am I?" He handed my back my card. "I'm Jack, by the way."

"Dan," i smiled. "I'll hopefully see you around." I walked out and looked back at Jack. He gave me a wink. I could feel my whole stomach ignite with butterflies. Jack seemed like the guy you could go see a movie with and he would let you hold his hand if you got scared. Like you could laugh with him and cry with him and it wouldn't be awkward.

I pulled out my phone to listen to music on the walk home from the store. The music that I played want my normal "punk" music. It was good pumped up pop songs. I started swaying my hips and then moving my arms to the beat. Anyone who could see me right now would probably think I'm on drugs, but this was just me having fun. When the song ended, i arrived home. I stocked the fridge and cabinets and ran upstairs to my room. My phone chimed, telling me I got a text. I expected it to be Phil, but it was from a unknown number.

Unknown: Hey Daniel

Dan: hello? Who is this

Unknown: it's jack:)

I hugged the phone to my face. He still wanted to talk??? I entered his contact into my phone.

Dan: oh hey. Wyd?

Jack: nothing much. I'm on break. I couldn't get out of my head so I went back to the recite that you left and found your number. that sounded creepy lol

Dan: lol you are such a stalker

Jack: maybe. But I'm a "handsome" stalker. ;)))

Dan: you aren't going to let that go r u?

Jack: nope. Got to run my break is over. I'll text you later?

Dan: definitely:)

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Heyo so uhhhh I didn't know where to go with this so I just made it up as I went idk.