ALIVE - R. BOWEN

one

Ricky Bowen kicked a rock at his feet. He was walking up to his new school, his hands tucked into his pockets, his dad trailing close behind him.

"Ricky!" His dad called. His voice was angry. Ricky felt a hand on his shoulder and he was met with his father's look of disappoint, a look Ricky was all too familiar with.

"This is your last chance Ricky, we are not going to go through this again." His father said sternly.

Ricky did not look his father in the eye.

"You can't keep blowing this if you want to graduate from high school." His dad reprimanded him.

His dad had every right to be angry. This was the fourth high school Ricky had been expelled from since the school year started and therefore his fifth time starting over. He knew he didn't have any more chances.

The problem was Ricky was having a tough time coping with the fact that his mom had moved away and left him and his dad for someone named Todd. All he wanted was to feel something. He had done a lot of wrong things, and was big on the party scene, just looking for something to make give him a sensation.

Ricky tried to find new and more despicable ways to deal, however all it seemed to do was make him more numb to the situation.

This was his last chance to prove he could pull himself together.

☆彡

Ricky sat in the Principal's office of his new school staring blankly at the wall, East High was his final chance at a fresh start, or so his dad had reminded him. Ricky was not paying attention, he had fully tuned out the conversation his dad and the principal were having— he'd gotten pretty good at that—tuning people out.

"And that's why I've assigned you a buddy-" Principal Gutierrez smiled.

"Woah," Ricky started, sitting up a little in his chair. "A buddy?"

Principal Gutierrez nodded, "Yes someone who can-" he stopped when he heard a knock followed by the door of his office being opened. Everyone in the room looked to see who was entering.

In walked a girl, her curly dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was tall, and quite beautiful. "Am I too early?" she asked.

"No, of course not," Principal Gutierrez smiled at the girl, "This is Ricky Bowen." he gestured to Ricky.

Ricky forced a smile and gave the girl a small wave. "I'm Gina." She said, and extended a hand, Ricky reluctantly took it.

"Miss Porter here is one of our student ambassador's, she just started here this year and adapted very quickly. I think she would be a good match for you in the sense that she could be a great person to show the ropes here for your first few weeks at East High."

Ricky could tell how hard the people around him were working to make sure this new school would be the right fit for him, after all, you can only be expelled so many times before schools stopped taking you. "Sure, what the hell." he forced a smile.

Ricky's dad patted his son on the shoulder as he slung his backpack around his other shoulder and walked to follow Gina out of the office. He turned to look at his father who gave him a reassuring smile, a smile that said "Don't screw this up kid." Principal Gutierrez made a comment about how he would need Mike to stay back for a few minutes so that they could go over some of Ricky's paperwork.

Ricky pretended like he didn't hear the term "permanent record" being tossed around as the door closed behind him. He took a deep breath and was prepared for the platitudes this Gina girl was about to throw at him, but instead, he received anything but.