I Am Unpredictable (Book 3)

Chapter Ten: J is for Jokes and Jerks

A two minute wait for lunch to begin seems like an hour. I just want to go to lunch, socialize with friends, and check on Brandon to make sure he's okay. I haven't been told if his bitchy mother finally opened her eyes and realized the misery she is causing her children as she plans her wedding with some total douchebag.

I really hope I made a difference. If all goes well and their mother decides to discuss her major decision with her children, then Brandon's suicidal thoughts will go away, Becca's sudden depression will disappear, and my heart rate will finally go back to normal.

My biology teacher keeps on rambling on about how "us individuals are special because our DNA makes us all different". He was drawing a double helix on the board, labeling each of the parts of the DNA.

"What does DNA stand for?" he asked, twirling the blood red Expo marker in his hands. 

"Deoxyribonucleic acid," I answer right away, hoping that my quick response will shut the teacher up.

"Good job, Mr. Macedo." He places the marker in a cup sitting on his desk. "At least someone is paying attention."

To be honest with you, I'm not completely paying attention. The urge to barge out of the classroom and dash to the lunch room is getting to me.

The bell goes off a few moments later, causing every single person in my biology class to whip their phones out of their pocket and bolt down the hallways all the way to the cafeteria. 

I head into the line for minestrone soup. You're probably wondering why I, being a teenage boy, am getting soup for lunch. To be honest with you, I'm not hungry.

It was also the shortest line.

A few people stand behind me, patiently waiting their turn to get the soup. There's a lot of commotion going on behind me, making me feel a little nervous knowing that I could be three inches away from a brewing fight.

"That kid is a freaking dumb ass," a manly voice says out of nowhere. The voice sounds extremely familiar, but I can't exactly figure out who it is.

If I turn around, I'm risking a beaten, so I might as well continue to eavesdrop without making it obvious.

"Perry, he has no friends, goddammit. Look at him. He's internally crying," another voice adds. I hear ferocious laughter coming from behind me.

Perry.

Anthony Perry.

Perry is someone who truly hates my guts, and has since we were in kindergarten. In the beginning of this school year, he would always tease me and would make my life a living hell, hurting me emotionally to the point where I was considering suicide. He eventually stopped making fun of me a few months into the school year. 

For some reason, I think he's referring to me.

"Don't mess with him," a voice, which I can recognize as Markus Correia's, snaps. "His brother is a bad ass." A loud, obnoxious laughter follows his comment. "That kid isn't gonna do shit."

Yup, they're definitely talking about me.

I thought I escaped the teasing once and for all, but apparently, I was wrong.

Cold fingers suddenly tap my right shoulder gently, making me turn around. My guesses were right.

In front of me stands Perry, Markus, and three other people I don't know. Every single one of them had a smirk on their face.

"Look who it is!" Markus hollers, failing to hold back laughter. He reaches his arm towards me and pats my back roughly, hurting me a little. "Dick Macedo!" His copy crew laughs like hyenas at his dumb comment.