Look Past the Surface

Chapter 5

Cole came jogging out to the car. His hair was wet and his white t shirt had damp marks where his curls dripped onto his shoulders. He looked like he just woke up and hopped out of the shower, but he actually took longer than I did to get ready. And, even though he looked good,

(he always did)

It was a little unbelievable. I mean, I took like ten minutes to get ready. Wake up, get dressed, and put on make-up. I didn’t take long.

Ms. Dual and I waited in the car while he got ready, and as soon as he closed the passenger door, we rocketed backwards out of the driveway. She straightened out the car, flipped out of reverse, and stepped on the accelerator. We shot up the hill and onto the main road. Ms Dual seemed to calm down, and her speed decreased into something less hectic. The clock above the radio read 7:55.

“Wait, mom!” Cole yelped, and the car halted for a second as Ms. Dual inhaled deeply.

"What?" She snapped, and Cole pointed out the window to the sign approaching us.

"We have to get some coffee before school!" Cole laughed, and his mom quickly turned into the nearest strip mall, where there was a Starbucks kiosk inside of the grocery store. She handed Cole a twenty and we ran out of the car.

He was still laughing at a joke that was inside his head, and it made me smile. As I sprinted beside him, I was overwhelmed by the nice smell of axe. Not one of the musky scents, but rather one of the fresh ones. I liked it.

And no, I didn’t like like him; he was just a friend.

A pretty damn good one, and the money and the right-next-door parts didn't hurt.

Once we made it to the Starbucks, Cole ordered a black coffee and three brownies for himself, and he ordered one of those sugary icy coffees and a bagel for me.

As we waited for our coffee, Cole nudged me.

"My mom's so uptight because I told her that the final bell is at eight o five." He said, very proud of himself as if he had done something worth sharing.

"It's not?" I asked, for I was just a freshman and I had no clue what time school started.

"No, Regan. The final bell's not till eight twenty and they're going to cut us some slack because we're freshman and it's the first day of school."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I hope so."

+++

We walked through the front doors, and it was like entering a whole new world. Everyone looked so… old. A lot of the guys had beards and the girls looked like super models. The ceilings were so much higher and the walls were a different color than the ones I used to see in middle school. Some older kids looked us up and down, and grimaced, as if we had a giant, red marks on our foreheads that said, ‘freshman’. I tried to avoid eye contact and instead I looked down at the schedule that I scribbled on my hand. For advisement, I had someone named Mr. Ju-On. In room 568. I didn’t know where the fucking 500 hall was.

Maybe Cole knew. I mean, I bailed on the freshman orientation ten minutes in, and maybe he had time to look around and get a general idea of the school.

“Do you know where the 500 hall is?” I turned to him and he nodded.

“Yeah, my homeroom is there. I can show you if you want me to.” He said, and he pulled out his schedule.

“Wait a sec, who do you have for homeroom?”

“Ju-On. Why?”

"Hey, Cole, can I see your schedule?" I asked, and he curiously handed it to me. I did a quick once-over, and then I found myself do a double take. It couldn't be possible. I swore to myself that the office went over all schedules to make sure…

"Whoa, we have-"

"Every single class together." I said, and it was true. Every single period was with him. Same teacher. Same course.

"Isn't there a rule against that, though?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"I thought so too, but apparently not." I kept walking towards the skylight in the direction of the 500 hall.

"Off to homeroom!" Cole mumbled in a fake British accent, and I couldn't help but erupt into giggles.