I'm riding my bike to school today. I haven't used it in a while, but it seemed like a fun idea: that sense of freedom, wind hitting your face, whizzing past cars stuck in traffic.
I still have around twenty minutes to spare when I get to school, so I grab a matcha latté from Tim's. I actually don't know what matcha is, but I saw someone else in the café get it and liked the colour.
As I'm leaving the café, I run into Alex.
"Hey bud!" He greets me with a fist bump.
"Hey man, how's it going?"
"Pretty sweet. I got a new snare for my drum. Sounds wicked."
"Oh nice."
"Dude, we're going to slay at this talent show."
"Oh... yeah. When is that again?"
"Next Friday, dude!"
Alex and I step into class and sit down next to Beth; she's reading a Brief History of Time. Alex reaches for the book and grabs it from her.
"Whoa, big subject, Beth. Take er' easy."
Beth looks confused by the comment. "Oh," she says. "It's pretty fascinating though. I'm both humbled and overwhelmed by the universe."
She takes the book back and continues reading.
"Speak for yourself, Alex. I'd love to read it when you're done."
Beth smiles at me but can't seem to verbalize a response. She turns her head back towards her book again, effectively shutting us out.
Alex turns to me and chuckles: "The universe, bro!"
I wonder if Beth suddenly regrets our text conversation last night, if she's freaked out that I have a thing for her.
I glance over at her. She can sense my gaze. Makes her nervous. Good or bad nervous? I can't tell.
YOU ARE READING
Alternative
Teen FictionTim's public high school experience thus far has been characterized by bad grades and the total absence of a social life; he's listless and needs a change. So, after grade eleven ends, his mom decides to enrol him in a bizarre, little alternative sc...
