The Greats

I Couldn't Say if These Facts Make for a Good Friendship: Chapter 2

I feel the cool air fly through my window. I'm currently curled up in my black covers. I long for the warm summer days where the thought of a breeze was comforting. I miss my California liberal summer. I miss the orchestra summer institute program at UCLA. And mostly I miss Spencer. We said we'd talk everyday, but I haven't received a text in almost three days. I don't want to worry and seem clingy, all I want is to go back to hair becoming lighter and my skin becoming darker. I want to go back to surfing, the crashing waves and salty taste of the ocean flood my memory.

"Dylan, get ready! It's your first day of school today!" My mom calls.

Immediately, I pull the covers off my body, which was like jumping into the deep end of an ice cold pool. Goosebumps scatter my body. Shit, if I don't get to school by 7:30, 30 minutes before school starts, Alexander will kick my ass.

I slide on my classic black jeans, pull over a classic navy blue t-shirt on my lanky body, and run my fingers through my soft curly brown hair. Check. Then, I look in the mirror. Good, I look decent enough to go to hell. I grab my cello, my math books, and then my big overcoat. As I rush down the stairs, my mom hands me a sandwich.

"Have a great first day sweetie." She kisses me on the cheek "I'll see you at around 7, my shift ends then. You need to make dinner for yourself though, and make sure to eat a lot, you're a growing boy."

I roll my eyes but say, "Love you Mom!"

I then take the sandwich and walk out the door.

The air feels soul crushing that I think I've forgotten the sensation of warmth. All I want to do is go back home and pretend that school doesn't exist. But I don't. I do the same thing I've done for the past 6 years, I trudge onward.

Everyday since middle school, I've walked to school. It's a little embarrassing to walk to school on the first day of your senior year. It's also kind of hard with a cello on my back. But, my mom's a single mom so we can't afford two cars. I love my mom to bits, but I can't help to think of what my life would be like if I had the kind of money Alexander did.

Alexander wrote in a brief text last night.

"Meet at basketball court under bleachers. Assignments will be given tomorrow morning" We always discuss our 'Assignments' in person so there's plausible deniability if given to an official.

I approach the empty basketball court. It's hard to imagine this place covered with students cheering for boys to pass a stupid ball back and forth. I think of the stupidity of it all. The gender roles everyone has to play with boys being overly masculine and the girls on the sidelines as cheerleaders. It's fucked up. Then, a cough pulls me out of my trance. I'm the second to arrive much to my suprise. Ava's sitting there, checking her instagram or looking at a text.

"Hi" I say. She glances at me, gives me a once over, and then says

"Hey" in a monotone voice.

I've long accepted it's almost pointless to engage with the others. We each have our own secrets that we can't bare to let anyone know besides Alexander. Plus, Alexander has threatened us multiple times that if we actually become friends he'll expose us. He's pitted us against each other too. He'll give us assignments and whoever does his bidding better on sucking up or selling the other one out, will have a more dignant assignment. Yet, I can't help but feel that I've missed out on an opportunity to meet a decent person. I've definitely ratted out Ava on convening with Alexander's ex-girlfriend, Leila, so that I didn't have to converse with Leila and get her to confess a dark secret. She's done the same right back at me though too. She told Alexander I was friends with nerdy Hardy so that I could get him to hack into the school's mainframe for who knows what.