Struck

Two

Luke:

Death. That was what Lena Beauregard looked like. The girl that suddenly decided to go under the radar sophomore year. The girl I lived down the street from for all seventeen years of my life.

Seeing her get out of my mom’s car and awkwardly shuffle toward the bus this morning was the first time I had paid attention to her in a long time. She walked past me in a blur of black clothing, which seemed to be her latest color of choice. It was still better than the clothes, or lack of them, that she used to wear not even a year ago.

Ethan and Tommy were talking about some new skate park near New Orleans which I was only half interested in. It seemed that most of my relationships were based upon a series of nods and half-interested chuckles. I excused myself and found myself walking over to the very back of the bus. Lena’s blonde head stuck out from behind the ancient ripped seat.

“A 'thank you' would be nice. You know how loud I had to yell to get Daisy's hearing aid to pick up my voice?” I tried a joking approach. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that she had her headphones in, and my surprising her was evident as she jumped in her seat, her eyes opening wide. I hadn’t seen her up close in so long, probably since she and her bitch clique deemed me as an asshole and cut off all communication. The girl in front of me seemed alien, not like the Lena I used to know. Her once perfectly tan and makeup covered face was pale as milk, and the bags under her eyes made her look like a skeleton.

I stared at her hopefully, trying not to scare her. Much to my dismay, she still looked spooked and avoided eye contact with me awkwardly.

“Ah, Lena's not talking to me. Just like old times, eh?” I said, and instantly regretted it. Her haunted look was replaced with the one of sorrow that she usually wore. She looked away and bit her lip as she put her headphone back in. I promptly reached out my hand and took it out.

“What?” she hissed a little too loudly, making Old Gabe and a few others look up in surprise from hearing her voice. I would have, too.

“I'm not leaving until you thank me for saving your ass,” I tried the smirk approach, which seemed to charm most girls. Lena’s eyes seemed unamused as they drifted to my pocket, where I stored the Marlboros Ethan gave me at the bus stop. I tried to draw her attention away from them by staring her down.

"First of all, it's not like I want to be here in the first place. And second of all, it was your mom that saved my ass. But thank you.”

I was a little shocked at her sharp tongue, but it was good to know that a part of old Lena was still in there. I realized I was still holding one of her headphones in my hand. I put it up to my ear in curiosity. Cage the Elephant’s Cigarette Daydream echoed into my brain. I couldn’t help but compliment her on her excellent selection. I found myself humming it for the rest of the day.

Once the bus made it into the school parking lot, I bounded off of it, not really interested in trying to act interested with what Ethan or Tommy had to say. I got through my first few classes with lots of laughter, snarky comebacks, and sex jokes. But the happiness didn’t last for long. By lunch, I was physically and emotionally drained. Ian from my calculus class came down to me like an angel sent from heaven. He offered me half of a bag for a really good price, and I willingly took it. Although my new school year resolution was to quit moping around and focusing on school, I felt myself giving in. Life had gotten decidedly shittier as high school progressed. The teachers stopped caring, my motivation crumbled, and workloads increased.

I texted Ethan and Tommy to meet me outside on the school patio, where we most likely wouldn’t be ratted out and could probably get rid of the smell easily. My friends seemed more excited about it than I was, because as soon as we got behind the last school pillar they almost ripped the bag out of my hands.