Just A Drag No One Wants To Inhale

The Aftermath Is Secondary

***

I walked through the halls of my new high school-

Sorry, that's not what this is. Not exactly.

My new Catholic  school, in my scratchy new uniform and a cheap Christmas-red tie around my neck that my father  had to do for me this morning, because I still don't know how to do it myself. Even after the...

...

...

...

Sorry. Emotions got in the way of my thoughts...

Even after the dance.

And it's so tight around my throat that it's almost choking me. Just like that night.

I wish it had already. For the first time in my life, I woke up this morning and I didn't want to be alive.

All the girls looked the same at my new Catholic school. So did the guys.

And they all looked at me the same too.

With disgust.

I sulked to my classes with my head down and didn't ask anybody for any directions. And when I walked in late for second period, I gave the excuse that I was new, and it seemed to work. But it won't next week, shit.

I can't take my sweet time taking in my new surroundings with all of these blurry faces whizzing by me.

I sat at the back of the classroom and didn't bother to listen or comprehend what the teacher was trying to tell all of us collectively.

I zoned out in English class, third period, just the same... But something caught my attention.

A Catcher In The Rye.

I tuned back into whatever my new English teacher was saying.

"-and by the end of the month, you all must have read it."

I raised my hand.

"Yes, Mr. Lero?"

My heart banged against my chest. Of course she got it wrong. "It's pronounced eye-ear-oh, Miss," I corrected her. This earned a couple of giggles from the girls. But none of them sounded like Jamia's, and none of them ever will. "And I've already read that book at my old school."

She seemed surprised, like public schools shouldn't be able to be teaching us such great literature. "Oh, wonderful. Could you tell your classmates what you thought of it?"

"Sure," I cleared my throat. "I hated every line."

This made a boy at the front of the class snigger and look back at me. The teacher shot him a look and he stopped. "It's basically about this one kid who gets kicked out of Penc-" Nope, that was our band. You can't. Stop. "Uh, sorry, prep school for being dumb and instead of waiting for them to actually kick him out on his last day, he decided to run away and hang in crappy motels and blow his money on alcohol and women instead of going back home."

There was silence and the teacher laughed awkwardly. "That's a rather blunt way to put it, but essentially, that is what happens in the novel. Thank you Mr. Iero."

"Yo, that book sounds boring, why're we reading it?" Called the same guy who sniggered at my remark, all the students turned to him and laughed. And he had his feet kicked up on his desk like he was the fucking king and we should all kiss his feet and beg for mercy. I smirked at him and went back to zoning out.