The New Boy

Chapter 12

I woke up with a horrible headache the next morning and decided to stay home from school. I already texted Kylie and told her, even though she had stood me up the previous day. My mom said that she would stay home with me but she really needed to be at work that day and so did dad. I told them that I would be fine. I told Henry to buy me some medication when school was over and he should bring it to my house and he agreed.

I could not even get up from my bed, I just wanted to lay there the whole day and not move an inch. My head felt really heavy that lifting it off the pillow was like lifting ten pounds of weights on my head. The pounding made it less bearable.

I told Henry to just come in because I hadn't locked the door.

"Hi Monroe, how are you feeling?"

"Awful." I tried lifting my head but I couldn't so I plopped it on the pillow once again and faced the ceiling, which seemed to be spinning somehow.

"Here are the pills you sent me to buy."

"Ah thanks, you're a life saver Henry. Please get me... please get me water, it should be warm."

"Copy that." He said and rushed downstairs.

He came back with the water and as I was holding the pill on one hand and the glass on the other, I dropped them really quickly because I had to puke my guts out. I had my head in the toilet pot, removing whatever indigested food that was in my system, although I did not understand why they chose to come out through my freaking mouth.

"Holy cow." I said and tried lifting my head, that's when I felt the puke rising up again and I threw up again.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked in a careful manner.

I stood up from where I was kneeling and went to rinse my mouth in the basin. I then brushed my teeth then drank the pill. After that, I drank a lot of water to regain my energy since I threw up food of a whole year's worth.

I then lied on my bed again, feeling weak as ever.

"No, I feel like crap," I said to Henry, answering the question that he had asked earlier. He sat next to me and felt my temperature.

"Dang girl! You're hot!"

"Aw! Thanks."

"Ugh!" He chuckled. "What did you do Elle?"

"What do you mean?" I replied, feeling drained as ever.

"I mean, throwing up and all that, that can only mean one thing." He said.

"What the f...that's insane." I threw a pillow at him. We seemed to enjoy throwing things at each other.

"You never know."

"It's insane because I...well, I'm...I haven't..."

"You haven't had sex yet? You're a virgin?"

"Duh." Why did he seem shocked?

"You're single, you're a virgin, you hate parties, is there anything interesting about your life?"

"Shut up Henry. I never said I hate parties, I enjoy them when I feel like partying- only."

"Okay okay."

"And you seem to be sleeping with everybody." I was starting to feel better.I guess the medication was starting to kick in.

"Sure, they want to be slept with." He said, as if he did not think his answer through. Who was that guy?

"I don't get it. Why don't you just date one of them, get to know them and become exclusive with the person?"

"Commitment? I'm sorry, count me out."

"Why not?"

"Flings are way easier. The girls know that they are in it for fun and nobody gets hurt. All that you mentioned, just seems like a lot of work. I'm just having fun. Commitment just leads to heartbreaks and I'm not about that life." Those words did not sound right coming out of Henry's mouth, it did not feel like I was talking to Henry. He also said that commitment is a trap.

"So you tell them?"

"Yea."

"What do you say?" I scoffed.

"Thing is, I don't even have to try. These girls just throw themselves at me, I just need to always have condoms with me. I wouldn't want anyone throwing up like that because of me. Anyway, when the girls start kissing me and all, I just say, 'you do know that this is just sex and that's all it's going to be right?' And they agree. Mostly because by that point, they'd be captivated by both my charisma and touch."

Henry Peterson was actually a fuck boy and he was proud of it. At least he did not lie to the girls and he was real with them from the start. That I respected but the fact that he had probably smashed countless girls out there caused me to want to puke again. I almost couldn't recognize him anymore. I was disappointed in what my friend had become, honestly. He was supposed to be the good guy, and I was the good girl.

"Wow! I'm shocked."

"Just like you have your reasons for being single, I have mine for doing this and I'd like it if you became less judgmental about it. Please." He said it in a pleading tone.

"It's just a little hard to digest but I'll try. Uh one more question though."

"Shoot."

"Haven't you fallen in love with any of these girls?"

"I told you, love is overrated." I did not even want to go deeper into that but I had another question.

"What about just getting into a relationship and trying it out?"

"Relationships suck. It becomes more about the other person more than it is about yourself. It's all about making that particular person happy, putting them and their feelings and needs first, what about yourself? What I am doing, is putting myself first. I can't let someone put me second in my own life, come on. I am putting my needs first and all this makes me happy. I'm sorry if my life philosophy and view on relationships isn't like yours but it doesn't really have to be, I come first in my life." Wow!

"And one more thing about this relationship shit, the people base their happiness on their partners. They make it seem like they have to have companionship in order to be happy. Like dafuq, you do know that you can do that shit by yourself right? And like with relationships, there's stuff that you have to sacrifice, I would not want to sacrifice stuff for the benefit of someone else's daughter. Because sometimes, it's never fair, one partner compromises more than the other partner is willing to compromise, it's so unfair. They never even realize it." There was so much sense in what he was saying but the fact that he had flings for fun was still not sitting well with me.

"They don't belong to themselves anymore. And the sick part to it is that, their brains tell them that their happy about it." He added.

So...Henry and I were paired up for a project about love but I don't know how it feels and Henry does not believe in it. Good pairing Martha.

"Wow! I still cannot believe this but I will support you and it doesn't take away the fact that I love you."

"I love you too." His phone beeped and he took it out.

"Shit! Kaitlynn just called me to her house. But I'm not going since you're feeling under the weather."

"Huh? You? Henry Peterson, just turned down a booty call?" I said in shock.

"Of course. Some things matter more than sex you know. And see, if I was dating her, she would complain that I'm choosing you over her and all that. I can't have that."

"Aw! I feel so special right now." I said and he rolled his eyes.

Henry left as soon as my mom got home. She asked me how I was doing. I wanted to skip school the following day so I told her that the headache was still bad. She agreed for me to stay home the following day, only she would stay with me then. I did not have a problem with that. As long as I would not get to see those teachers or learners at school.