Faded Tee | Frerard

2 - Expect Good Things

Gerard tapped his fingers on the desk while the substitute teacher rambled on and on about who-knows-what. It was a tune he had been working on for little over a month now, and he was eager to get home so he could develop it further. Of course, his mother was already hooked.

It was nearly the end of the day; a quick glance at the clock on the wall confirmed only six minutes left until the end of his last class. He spent half of those day-dreaming about music. He had filled up a full page of scribbled out lyrics when someone approached him.

It took a moment for Gerard to even realize his brother's friend's presence. But, lo and behold, there he was, just hovering over his desk staring down at the filled page. Suddenly self conscious, Gerard slid the page onto his lap under the desk and cleared his throat.

When the guy— who he recognized as the same who complimented his shirt the night before— said nothing, Gerard asked, "can I help you?" He had intended it to be polite, but it came out annoyed and sarcastic, to which the other man raised his eyebrows in mocking surprise. Gerard cleared his throat and, with quiet embarrassment and a mumbled apology, tried again.  "Hi."

"Hi."

Then, again, silence.

Pursing his lips awkwardly, Gerard looked anywhere but at him.

The guy took a deep breath. "Can I sit?"

"What? Oh, here?" Already Gerard was wrapping his fingers around a backpack strap, ready to stand up, but a laugh stopped him.

"No, no. Beside you," he explained.

Suspicious, Gerard nodded and slowly loosened his grip on the strap as the guy slid into the seat beside him.

"Ah, Frank, I see you've claimed Gerard as your partner." Mr. Dugan placed a paper between the two boys. "I expect good things from you two." With a smile, he moved onto the next table.

Confused, Gerard read the paper.

"In pairs of two, you and your partner will be creating a poster depicting the story and themes of Romeo and Juliet."

"Wha—"

"Remember, your projects are due in two weeks! Get to work!"

"Looks like," Frank said with a smirk, "you're stuck with me for the next two weeks, Way."

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381 words
7 March, 2020
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