Cliché Beginnings

Nicolas Pearson

Thomas Weiss will be nice to have as a friend specially Caroline Turner and Vivian Trent. The three of them is a good bunch. It wasn't hard for my awkward self to actually fit in with them and I'm thankful that meeting Carol at the hallway before lunch was her definition of destiny or else I might've went home today with no new contacts on my phone and a lonely soul that's regretting his life decisions. 

Hanging out with the girls at Joey's Diner surely isn't something I would've done if I was still back home. There's actually a similar diner there, just that people my age don't find it a good place to hang out since there's about ten people in our grade who actually own big houses and take turn to host parties for everyone to go; everyone besides those they consider as part of the  'bottom ranks' in which I previously belonged to until I got to 'save' Candy from a group of thugs and she names me as her hero and decides that she should do me a favor and go out with me so I'd get promoted to the 'highest ranks'. Sounds magical but no, I didn't really save her. I was just walking through the street where she was apparently being assaulted by chance when my phone blasted off with my police siren ringtone (changed it after that acci- I mean incident). I didn't even know she was there until she ran to me and hugged me while sniffling. Yup, sniffling not crying. For all I know, she was just having a lover's quarrel with one of the guys she's hooking up with.

My phone dings through my pocket shaking me awake from my daydream. I pull it out while praying that it's just a random application notification.

Unfortunately I didn't pray enough.

"Hey cutie, I miss you. Call me ASAP." 

I ignore the message. I know I said I'm going to break up with her but I'm not just in the mood to do it right now. I am in cloud nine for being able to gain some new friends and I'm not going to let this woman ruin it. She can wait until it's the weekend.

Thankfully, the trip to the diner made me full enough so I wouldn't need to fix a dinner tonight. Instead, I sit at my desk and open my laptop to do some research about the topics written on the outlines the teachers gave me earlier and make a mental note to ask the homework given during the first week for me to catch up on. Soon, the night came to creep in.

Today, I decided to walk. I plan on applying for a part time job somewhere near the school after classes and if I'm going to go into different stores, submitting my resume then I might as well just walk through it all. It'll help me save fuel and exercise. 

As I approach the school entrance, a car honks behind me, making me jump to my bones. "Hey Nic!" I turn around, only to see Viv waving with a wide smile and Carol fixing her bun. I thought they'd be the type who's cranky during mornings but apparently they're not.

"Good morning." I manage to mumble as I step aside.

"Wait for us while we park the car." Vic honks once more before moving away.

Now that I look around, students at Evergreen High seem to enjoy school. I have never seen so much smiling students in the morning before. Maybe the environment being really different affects even the emotional and psychological states of the students. Evergreen High as they say, is really liberated and open-minded that perhaps the students do enjoy going to school instead of feeling threatened and irked with the mere idea of stepping through the school grounds. It's so unusual for me that I'm not so sure how or what to feel. I'm kind of afraid that this is just a façade and soon I'll be able to see beneath their smiles and be deceived. 

"Yo, what's with the long face?"

I shake my head, already regretting my thoughts. "Hey, Carol. Where's Viv?"

She raises an eyebrow aiming to ask something but immediately let it go. "She went to the field to give Tom something."

"Oh."

"Come on, the bell's going to ring any minute now." 

I follow her inside, unintentionally sighing which she gladly ignored. 

"What's your first class?" She asks as she approaches her locker. 

"History."

"Great, Tom has it too. If you see him in class, make sure to sit with him. He's good at History and will help you get by."

"Huh, that's unexpected."

She chuckles. "I know. Well, it's more surprising that he's actually into art."

It is. "Wow. I suck at anything related to art. He might be really talented if it's something he is interested in."

"He is. Who knows? He might let you see some of his artworks if you ask him."

I will definitely ask him. I don't know anyone who actually likes art beside my Dad but he's more into designing so I actually want to see real artworks like paintings and sculptures.

Just as Carol said, Tom is also in History class. He caught me looking at him as I enter, so he smiles and motions for me to sit beside him. He must really like History considering that he's not at the back but at the far left corner in front. "Hey."

"Hey, we have another first class together?"

I narrow my eyes in confusion.

He chuckles at me while shaking his head. "We have the first class together yesterday as well, silly. You were too nervous to look around so you didn't see me."

"Oh." That's actually embarrassing. "So you know me already when we met at lunch?"

He nods. "Well, I know your name but not your personality."

I nod at that. "Carol told me you like art."

He rubs his neck and bites his lips, obviously embarrassed. "Yeah, kind of."

It's my turn to chuckle. "Not kind of. Can I see some of your works?" 

His eyes darts around for a second before nodding. "Sure." 

"Great."