Blob Fish!

New Kid

    I slam my alarm clock at 5AM and practically waltz out of bed.  I run to the bathroom and brush my teeth in the shower, tripping over the tub on my way out once I'm done. I stand in front of my mirror for almost twenty minutes trying to decide what I should wear. After settling on my dads old pullover I slide down the hall, knocking on Mom's door to wake her on my way downstairs.

After popping some bread into Barnes' ancient toaster I go through a list in my head of everything I need for the day. I'm so pumped that I couldn't care less that the water's brown when I turn on the faucet.

I grab some jelly from the fridge, listening to Mom trudge up to the counter.

"Are you sure about this? I can always call and rearrange some things." I turn to give my mom a look that has her knowing she wasn't getting anywhere with her attempts.

I slather a scoop of jelly on a burnt piece of toast and slide it over to Mom. There's no way in hell that goop is coming anywhere near my mouth.

She scoffs down her toast and shuffles up next to me, grabbing a glass from the overhead cabinet and heading to the sink.

She bumps my shoulder with her own. "You know, as much as I don't like this, I'm happy for you."

I grab her wrist before she can fill the glass with water. "I wouldn't do that for a little while. There's a nasty aroma coming from the faucet."

She grimaced, "My sense of smell always screws me over in the morning." I chuckle and grab her something to drink from the fridge that hasn't expired yet.

I return to her side, about to pour her drink when she cups my cheeks with her hands. "I'm serious, Austin, I'm happy for you." She stares into my eyes, holding my gaze like a magnet. Her eyes hold intent. Eyes that usually never did. We stand like that for a moment and I'm left wondering where that twinkle in her eyes came from.

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It's race to the bus stop at 6:25, making a few wrong turns here and there from Barnes' horrible directions.

Relief courses through me as I finally make my way next to the bright yellow bus stop sign. Well, it would be bright if the color wasn't faded away like everything else in this town. It's like someone dumped a bucket of water on the towns fresh paint job and caused everything to kinda drip away.

A few minutes pass, then twenty more go by. I check my watch; a gift from my dad on my sixth birthday.

It was my last birthday with him. Sometimes I look at the watch's face and I can see Dad's looking back, his face all distorted from the watch's glass. It makes me wonder how long it took him to die. Did he struggle? Did it hurt? Maybe he checked his watch, too. Counting the minutes until his wife would come home.

I finally hear the sound of an engine turning down the street at 7:00. Just like the sign next to me the bus's bright yellow color is faded and chipped. The engine is loud and sputters every few seconds. I hear it pop as it comes to a stop in front of me. The exhaust wafts in my face and violates my nostrils. Is it possible for exhaust to smell like pure audacity? Is that a hint of dog shit I smell? I imagine the smell of the exhaust alone killing a bird flying from miles away as I board the bus.

The inside smells even worse than the outside. The driver gives me a toothy grin and I wish she hadn't. Only a few teeth remain in her mouth and they're practically dissolving with rot. Her entire head is a nest of snarled blonde curls and her earlobes are sagged halfway down her neck.

"You new? Haven't seen you here before." Her voice is deep and crackly, but it's filled with quite a hearty undertone. I nod my head.

"My name's Cindy. It's a pleasure to meet you." Cindy holds out a wrinkly hand for me to shake. She has a surprisingly rough grip as I take her hand.

I turn to find a seat only to find all of them empty. "Where's everyone else?" I ask Cindy. Maybe she just hadn't picked them up yet.

"You're the only one, kid. This street's been vacant for months. Well, besides Chris in the back. Probably couldn't see her, though." Cindy looks up to her rear view mirror and yells, "You're like, what, five feet tall Chris?"

For a moment there's no response and I begin to think my bus driver might have a few screws loose but a distant voice calls from the last seat. "Put a cap in it, Cindy." The remark is more passive aggressive than mean and Cindy chuckles, pressing her foot on the gas. The sudden lurch causes me to fall forward and catch myself on a leather seat beside me. I immediately retrieve my hand after I feel a sticky sensation slide against my fingers.

I take a moment to look around the bus. Almost all the seats are torn up with their stuffing puffed out of the tears. A variety of stains decorate each seat and it's a struggle for me to find a decent one. I end up finding a seat in front of Chris and scootch in to the window. Sighing, I rest my head against the glass and watch the old houses go by as the bus wobbles forward.

"You're the new kid, right?" I hear a voice through the crack behind me. I turn to look and see a startling wide eye staring back at me. "Jesus", I swear under my breath.

"So, what'd you do?" The stranger asks eagerly.

"What?" I try to calm the alarm in my voice.

"Like, why'd they put you here? Arson? Sabotage?" She continues listing off things through the crack, going on and on about all of the horrible things she's sure I must've done to get excepted to Sinial High.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well they wouldn't send you to this school if you didn't do something that the other schools couldn't deal with. Everyone at this school has done something. So, what did you do?" We sit quietly for a moment as I try to process what she just said while making eye contact that I'm scared to break away from. "I-I didn't do anything. We just moved here. Are you saying every student at this school is some kind of...delinquent?" Concern leaks from my throat as I watch confusion cross her face.

"Wait, so you're...normal?"

I gape, "Wha-yeah. What the hell did you do?"

"I stuffed one of the science department frogs with confetti and hit it like a pinata in the cafeteria." She said it so matter-of-factually that I can't help but question if she's serious or not.

Christian blows a raspberry through her cheeks and rolls her eyes. "Guess you're screwed then, kid."

I scootch closer to the crack. "What's that mean?"

"It means you're lunch meat, dude. No way us 'crazies' are gonna leave a sane person to their own devices."

I gulp. "I never said you were crazy."

She leans back in her seat and crosses her arms, "You didn't have to."

I slowly turn my back on her and stare at the white stain on the seat in front of me, thinking about what Chris had said.

I'm not...actually in danger, am I?
I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe Barnes was right. Maybe these kids do have a screw loose.