KISS: Casablanca High School

Ch 24: Nothing Better Than Drama You're Not A Part Of (Eric C)

Paul was sitting at the table, hand resting on his chin and eyes fixed firmly on the ground as I walked over to them.

"Hey where's G--" Before I could even get the sentence out, Ace began to shake his head violently, motioning for me to not finish what I was saying. "No, no, no, not in front of Paulie," he whispered, eyes wide. I gave him a confused glance and Peter sighed. "I'll explain on the way to class."

Baffled, I just took a seat at the table. The four of us sat in silence until the bell rang, and I've never been more grateful for art class. 

"So what happened with Gene and Paul?" I asked the moment Paul had walked off to whatever his class was without a word. 

Ace and Peter exchanged glances. "Gene and Paul had a huge falling out yesterday. Like they were screaming at each other and stuff it was pretty bad," Peter said after a pause.

"Geez. What were they fighting about?"

"Gene and Chair dating, of course. What else?" 

"Of course," I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. "So like, was it a bad fight?" "Oh, it was a bad fight. Gene called Paul a bitch and insulted his ear, Paul basically kicked him out of the band, it was a mess. And we just had to like...watch it," Peter said with a shudder. "If I'm being honest, they're both kinda going too far." 

"Yeah, but Paulie does have a point. It is a bit of a disaster." 

"Damn, y'all have all kinds of drama in your group," I muttered, realizing that I was unwillingly getting pulled straight into said drama. 

The bell rang and we started to clean the tables off when Peter let out a groan. "Aw, dammit, gov is gonna suck," he said. 

Unfortunately, he was absolutely right. Gene and Paul sat next to each other, like they had to, and refused to talk to each other. Fun times, trying to carry on conversations with both of them without trying to seem partial one way or the other. By the time the bell finally rang, we bolted from class.

The final bell rang and me, Ace, and Peter walked to the parking lot, happy to be free of having to deal with the passive-aggressive drama between those two. "Well, I can't say I'm sad I missed your guys's band practice," I said with a grin. "Yeah I don't blame you. If we even have a band, you're always welcome to come!" Peter called over his shoulder, ducking into his car with Ace close behind. I looked at my phone and sighed. Time for three straight hours of tutoring. 

It looked like it was midnight outside by the time I finally got out of learning about chem. It felt weird walking through empty halls. My footsteps felt loud, the only noise besides the distant sound of vacuuming janitors. 

The senior lot was empty except for my car and one other. Shivering, I slid into the driver's seat, turning the key in the ignition. And...nothing. Oh no. I turned the key again, hoping for the halfhearted revving of the engine at least, but no such luck. She had died on me. 

"Oh, come on!" I shouted, hitting my head against the steering wheel. "You stupid piece of garbage, all you have to do is work!" 

With a sigh, I pulled out my phone, sending a quick text to my mom and looking over at the one other car in the parking lot. Whoever they were, they better know how to jump a car. 

I sat on the picnic tables for almost an hour, scrolling aimlessly through my phone and waiting for the mystery owner to show up. Finally, I heard the sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel and looked up to see Bruce walking toward me. A smile split his face when he saw me. "Hey, Eric! What're you still doing here?" 

"Funny you should ask! See, I had been here for tutoring and when I finally get to leave, turns out my car died. You wouldn't happen to have jumper cables, by any chance?" 

He paused for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Oh man, that sucks! I think I have a set in my trunk, come with me to look." 

I leapt to my feet and followed him, trying to still my racing heart. "So, why are you here so late?" I asked casually. He shrugged. "My practice didn't end until like 5:30, and I had to help clean up. Here, you got a flashlight on your phone? It's kinda dark outside." 

"Oh! Right!" I fumbled with the app, illuminating his trunk. It was a mess, full of books and food, and there, half-buried under a box of cornflakes, was a set of jumper cables. Never in my life have I been so excited to see some red and black wires. 

"Hey, alright! I'll move my car over toward yours and we'll see if we can get this to work. If not, I can always give you a ride home." 

Within minutes, the engines were hooked up and he gave me a nod. "Alright, try it!" The engine sputtered to life after an agonizing second. "Yes!" I cried, clicking on the headlights. Bruce stuck his head through the window. "I'll follow you home just to make sure it doesn't die on you halfway there or something." 

I didn't even make it out of the parking lot. 

I stepped out of the car in defeat, kicking the door shut. Bruce only laughed, motioning for me to get in with a jerk of his head. "Just tell me where to turn, man!" he cried, speeding out of the front gate. 

It was honestly kind of nice, just sitting in comfortable silence with the radio providing a smooth background to the ride. "Turn right up ahead," I mumbled. "Hm?" "Turn right!" With a curse, Bruce drove past the turn. "Damn, sorry about that." My face went red and I began to fidget with my seatbelt. "Nah, it's my fault. Just take the next right." 

By the time we finally managed to make it to my house, we had missed about half the turns. "Well hey, hopefully you can get your car fixed! If you ever need anything, just let me know. See you tomorrow," he said with a warm smile. 

"Thanks, Bruce! See you tomorrow!" 

He flashed a peace sign and drove off. Alright Eric, that wasn't a complete disaster. Nice going.