Washed Up

Ch 3- Clashing Waves

"I-i'm sorry. But no. They-" i start raising my voice but he interrupts me.
"I won't tell your parents what you did" he says and crosses his arms.
"Wha- No! I still-"
"We have a private all boys school which has recently been transformed into an all-sex school is welcoming new students. I will pay your tuition.. and your parents don't have to sign anything."
I stop. Wait. I can finally get out of this mess. I can finally change my life...!
"Fine. Yes."
he looks relieved.
"Alright. Thank you for cooperating. Today is Tuesday, correct? Tomorrow you have a day to get ready and Thursday will be your first day there. Here is a package of you need any information. Email me at xxxxx@xx.com and i will answer immediately. Thank you, Sav." he says handing me a thick package of paper.
"T-thank you as well" i say back and put the papers in my bag.
"Well you can head home now. You don't have school until Thursday. Good luck on your first day! Good bye, Sav" he says with a big wide grin on his face. I put on my bag and head to the bus stop again.
As i get off my last stop, i notice it's empty during school. I open my apartment door again and hear yelling, as usual, from the other apartment next door. It sounds like they're fighting about money this time. Sigh.
I settle down and lie on the worn out- couch once again and open the package the principal gave me. Should i contact authorities? I beat them up too.. plus they have no proof that they've been bullying me for the past year. I open my bag again and take out a cigarette. I'm too lazy to go to the balcony so i light the end in the living room, take a few hits, and set it back down on the table. The pamphlet says "Bishop Power" in big blocky letters on the cover. I read some of the back round info and it says it turned into an all sex school about 7 months ago, when i started grade 10. There's only 3 months left, and i'm in grade 11. That means the school will be filled with guys. And...Ugh.. i shake my head and stand up. Then a sharp pain in ribs stabs me, and i quickly sit back down. Ouch. I slowly walk to my bathroom mirror again and lift up my hoodie again. I think it got worse... The bruises are turning bigger and the gashes of blood on my ribs are becoming to look scarier. I take water and wash the injuries and take a pill of tylenol and slowly peel the bandages off my face. At least these have gotten better. They still look scary though. What if they don't go away..? I can't imagine how my life turned into this. I can't think about it.. so i lie down on my couch and fall asleep. I had a weird dream about standing in a brightly lit room. The walls were covered in glossy paint and reflected the light into my eyes. In the corner was a box the size of a pumpkin. it had something on it... i reached out and grabbed it.
And woke up.
I look at the clock; 2:34 AM. Perfect. And i feel refreshed and wide awake. What am i supposed to do now? I go to the balcony and shut the screen door behind me. I feel the warm summer night air glide on my face. I close my eyes and imagine the box in the corner of that room. I wonder if that dream meant something. I sit on the lawn chair in my balcony and wonder. Will anything good even come in the future?  There are so many regrets i made.. and i'm only 16. Will i even make it through high school all the way..? I look down at the city and see the tall business buildings and.. the beach. All of a sudden my mind clicked and i rushed back inside. I took my phone and keys and shut the door behind me. Skipping the elevator, my heart pulsed as i rushed down the stairs until i made it into the lobby. Then, almost like the light at the end of the tunnel, i opened the door and felt the tropical summer air wisp against my face. I breathed it all in. My vision doubled for a split second, and then it went back to normal. I looked down at my clothes. An extra large white t shirt with the champion logo and some jean shorts and white flip flops.Not too bad. I walk toward the horizon of where the ocean is and take a few shortcuts to get to the beachfront. I step on the first base of sand and breathe in the seaweed salty air. A breeze of wind tugs my long hair behind me, but i hear the shhhh of the ocean waves and take more steps. I look around. There are a couple people more down on the west end, so i head east, toward the more overgrown areas. I finally make it to the end before the rocks and dimly lit lights hung up on palm trees, and sit on the sand. I close my eyes. the shoom of the waves tingled on my hearing. I stood up and took a few steps forward and touched the incoming wave with my foot. The water wasn't so cold. It felt like fresh pool water. I took a couple steps in. The water was up to my calves. I closed my eyes again.and the water ran past my ankles like strips of paper, fluttering in between the stumps. I open my eyes and look at the moon again. This feels.. so nice. I wish i had done this before..
"HEY!!" I hear a guy's voice coming from behind me. I quickly turn around.
"STOP!! WAIT!!" He shouts again at me while slowly jogging toward me. He looked a little older than me. Maybe in grade 12 or university..
He stopped by my flip flops and caught his breath. Then, he stuck his arm out for me to hold it.
"Don't do it...!" he said, wide eyed. I looked at him for a couple seconds. He ran all the way over here...
I looked down at the waves and then back up at him and then chuckled.
He stepped one foot forward, pressing into the wet sand.
"Sorry... but i'm not here to kill myself. I-I'm just enjoying the ocean"
He put his arm back to his side. He then looked around the beach to see if anyone was nearby. Once he saw the nearest person was about one kilometre away, he turned back to me.
"The water warm?" he asked and put his hands in his sweatpants pockets.
I take a few steps forward and sit back down into the sand.
"Ah, it's normal" i say. He then looks at me.
"Mind if i sit next to you?" he says, and my heart starts pounding. He's being so nice.. is this weird?
"No..." i say and lie down completely on the sand.
"So..." he starts.
"What are u doing here at this time..?"
"Shouldn't i be asking you the same thing?" i say and turn away from him. The biggest grin is plastered across my face, because i can't hold it in. I haven't talked to somebody normally in so long... i'm gleaming.
"I asked you first" he said with a happy voice.
"Well..."