Modern High - 22. Chapter 18 Friendamies (Friends-Enemy)

Modern High

Chapter 18

Friendamies (Friends-Enemy)

“It’s Friday already. Where has the week gone? Anyhow, let’s get you enrolled in school. Instead of sitting around here watching TV all day, doing nothing...” That's my mom for ya, she always likes it her way, but I kinda see her point. I wonder how Zach and his friends will handle me in their school. Do you think I'll have any problems? I hope not!

“Yea, let’s...” I say sarcastically to my mother; she just rolls her eyes.

“Oh come on, it wont be that bad, you’ll see.” Always the optimistic one.

“Sure, Mom, yea...”

“Hah! You’ll see...”

As we pulled into the school's parking lot, all seemed quiet, surreal; it was as if it was a ghost school. Hah! I wish... That would seem so very cool. However, when we entered the hallways of the school it was very much alive with people buzzing around, lockers slamming shut and somewhere down another hall kids were yelling. Just like any other school, I guess; nothing ever changes.

We located the office; it wasn’t very hard. The office was right next to the entrance of the school, how original.

“How may we help you?” an elderly woman asked us from behind her desk, scribbling down something. Probably another late slip. “Here you go, Zachary Martin. Off to Ms. Grousins’ class, I'll make sure I call her to tell her that you’re here and not late.” When the secretary gave the slip to Zach, he looked my way, and we stared at each other. God, how I missed that face, and those pink lips. I so wanted to kiss him right there, but I held back. Zach smiled sadly and went on his way, I knew his life here wasn’t good, but what could have been so bad that he didn’t even look at me?

“So how may I help you, Mrs...”

“Woods. Helen Woods to be exact.”

“Very well, how may I help you Ms. Woods?”

“I’m here to enroll my son, Jacob Alexander, into school.”

“Certainly, Ma’am.”

Morning people, I hate them.

When the secretary gave my mother the forms, we sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. While my mother wrote down all the important information, I looked around the office and outside the door. I looked to see if I could still spot Zach, but sadly, I couldn’t. It hurt to know that I couldn’t do anything to cheer him up. I probably couldn’t even if I knew what the matter was.

“Ms?” I asked the secretary

“It’s Amanda, what can I do for you?”

“Um, I was... wondering, what’s up with Zach?”

“Do you know him, young man?”

“Yes, I most certainly do...”

“Well then, Mr. Martin got into a little scuffle yesterday in the lunch room. It seems that he was starting a food fight with Mr. Smith, so he left the room...”

That’s all? Seriously women, if you’re going to give out gossip, make it juicy. God!

“Ah. Ok...”

When we were all done with the papers and returned them, Amanda told my mother and me that since it’s still early, I could start school today. After she gave me my class schedule, we left the office, and headed for my locker. Amanda also told me that my teachers would give me the books that I needed. That was a good thing.

“Are you going to be okay here, Jacob?” my mother asked me while we walked to my locker. I looked at her with a confused look, but it didn’t last; I knew what she meant.

“Yea, I’ll be fine. With Zach and his friends here, I think I’ll do good...”

“Are you sure, though?”

Instead of answering I just nodded my head.

“Alright, honey. Well here’s some money for lunch, now you be good and do what the teachers tell you. Tell Zach I said hi... oh, and also his friends, alright?”

“Yes, Mom, I will... Now I have to go, love you too!” I gave her a kiss goodbye and a see you later wave.

As I walked down the halls, I thought of the look Zach gave me, it still unnerved me that I couldn’t help him out. While thinking this, I ran into someone. With his strong arms he stopped me from hitting the floor. I was grateful.

“I’m so sorry, forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven. Are you new?” His voice, it sounded godly. When I looked into his eyes, it made me swoon. Holy!

“Yes, yea... I am.”

“Ah, ok. My name is Toby Smith, what's yours?” So this is the famous Toby, the one who gives my boyfriend hard times. The one who thinks he can do whatever he wishes to people like me and Zach.

“My name is Jacob Alexander, nice to meet you. But I have to be going.” I didn’t want to stay and chat with him, not after what I knew about him. However, Zach wasn’t blowing smoke when he said that Toby was a god. I believe him totally now, holy hell! I had to fan myself as I walked dizzily down the hallway.

“Nice to meet you too, by the way. See you later.”

'I hope...' What the fuck? I know my mind did not just say that. Nevertheless, it did and now I had something very different to think about. 'Nice way to start at a new school, Jacob... meeting your boyfriend’s nemesis,' I thought, shaking my head as I walked.

When I finally got to my room, it was biology with Mr. Breig. As I walked into the class, the teacher was saying, “Get your Bunsen burners out and turn to page 350 in your workbooks. There you’ll have to mix the combined chemicals seen on page 45 of your Biology text. Now begin.” Mr. Breig turned around to find me there, “Hello, and you might be whom?”

”My name is Jacob Alexander.” I handed him my schedule and he pointed me to a table. Three guys were standing around it. One of them was my loving boyfriend, Zach.

“Nice to be meeting you here...” I say to Zach, he turns and smiles, for real this time.

“And nice to be meeting you as well... Did Amanda give you the right schedule?”

“I would hope so, or else I have entered the wrong room...”

“Ah, well then...”

I was infatuated by Zach's looks, his sparkling green eyes, his smile that I would kill to see for the rest of my life.

“So have you met anyone else, yet today or just me?”

“Um, matter of fact I have met someone today...”

“Who?”

“Mr. Martin and Mr. Alexander, if you don’t mind, wait until after class, or until after school, to trade numbers. The choice is yours; make it very wisely though.”

“Yes, Mr. Breig,” Zach and I say in unison.

“Very well then, carry on.”

Teachers. Whoever said they can’t read between the lines was an idiot.

Zach and I have a lot of classes together. By lunchtime, things seemed to be getting a lot more complicated for Zach. Everyone started in on him as soon as the bell would ring. Every class period would be the same, with him being humiliated by his peers. I felt genuinely sorry for him. This being lunch, it was ten times more so. Everywhere people were laughing, calling him names, and most of all pushing him. I knew he had it bad, but this? Seriously, like grow up.

“Zach, are you okay?”

“Yea, yea... Just fine.”

“It doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Well it has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m your boyfriend, it has everything to do with me,” I said in a whisper.

“Do you want people to know about you too?”

“NO! But, but... Fine!” I went through the lunch line and got myself something. More like slop than anything else.

When I looked around the room, people were especially quiet; it seemed as if Toby had it in for Zach. Toby, being all-star quarterback and the most popular kid in school, really liked to pick on people, especially my boyfriend.

“Is there a problem here, Toby?”

“Why, no. Certainly not, I was just teaching dear old Zach here a lesson.” He sounded quite proud of himself.

“And what lesson would that be?”

“The lesson is TO NOT GET ON MY BAD SIDE!” He raised his voice a little louder as he explained himself.

“You know, I have a father like you, one who loves to yell at people. He especially loved to yell at the people who stood a few feet away. Now Toby, would you be so kind as to give Zach here a break for today? I wouldn't want to be taken around the school by a limping boy, now would I?”

“Heh! You think just because you’re new here that I’ll let you tell me what to do?”

“Of course not, I was just making a suggestion, that’s all!”

“Very well then, Zach, or Faggot boy, because Jacob here is new, I'll let you off this one time,” Toby stated, and then walked away swiftly.

“I didn’t need your help, you know...”

“Um, not to be rude, Zachary, but from where I was standing, you did... and I did. Now will you do me a favor and shut up?”

“Fine!”

“Good!" Then I greeted the rest of the people at the table. "Hello Nathan, Nichole, Ashlee, Candice, and who is he?”

“Randy, hello.”

“Hello, Randy.”

“I see you met the school's bully, and the most popular person in school, but you should also know that he doesn’t take that kindly to people telling him what to do... Anyway, how’s your day going?”

“Mine is going good. You mean that ass who was acting big and bad? I don’t understand. Care to explain?”

“Well, that person got into a fight with Toby yesterday.”

“Ah, the food fight. Was it any good?”

“I would hardly call it good, or a food fight for that matter. What happened to that person was wrong.”

“Ok, but why?”

“Are you asking why it was wrong or why it wasn’t good?” Girls, you can’t blame them.

“Enough! Jacob, I got food dumped on me twice yesterday, by that famous blah blah blah, belch!”

“But why did he do it; did you do anything to start it?”

“No, and I would like it if we picked this up after school!”

“Very well then. How is everyone else?”

“Good!” they all echoed. Tension...

The end of the school day came very quickly. I was standing near the back door waiting for Zach to show himself. I had been waiting for him for ten minutes already. Where in the hell could he be? There are only so many entrances and exits on this building.

“I’m so, so sorry, Jacob, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. My last period teacher decided to keep me after, she thinks that...”

“What? Were you being bad in class today? Did you need to get a punishment?” We laughed at that, it felt honestly good to be laughing with Zach.

Laughing he said, “NO! Nothing like that, you pervert. She just wanted to know something, that’s all...”

“Alright that’s good, at least you weren’t in trouble for something.”

“Right...”

“So tell me, why does Toby Smith have it in for you?”

“You should already know... But alright, I'll tell you yet again why that asshole wants my blood.” As Zach explained everything to me, I stood near him, well, sat really. We were at the football stadium, sitting on the bleachers. Rubbing my hand on Zach's back made him calm down enough to finish his telling, but every once in a while he would tense up, making me look at him, to see if any signs were being played out.

“You know, I don’t get it. Why would he keep beating up on you? Wouldn’t he know by doing that risks his chances of exposure?”

“I thought the same thing, but he apparently doesn’t know it... or he doesn't care.”

“True. Football jocks only have three things on their minds. And they are Girls, Sex with Girls, or Getting drunk.”

“Very, very true.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, now can I have a kiss? I have been starved for one all day...”

“Certainly...”

As I walked to my house in the sweet sound of quiet, I thought back to lunch and what should have happened... instead of what really did.

(Flashback)

I looked around the lunchroom to see that, yet again, people were all quiet and looking at Zach’s table. Also, Toby was standing there yelling at Zach like before. Just as I get up to Toby, he goes all quiet.

“Is there a problem here, Toby?”

“Why, no. Certainly not, I was just teaching dear old Zach here a lesson.” He sounded quite proud of himself.

“And what lesson would that be?”

“The lesson is TO NOT GET ON MY BAD SIDE!” He raised his voice a little louder as he explained himself.

“You know, I have a father like you, one who loves to yell at people. He especially loved to yell at the people who stood a few feet away. Now Toby, would you be so kind as to give Zach here a break for today? I wouldn't want to be taken around the school by a limping boy, now would I?”

“Heh!---”

“What’s so funny Toby? That Jacob here has a lot more balls than you do or are you're just scared?”

“What?” Toby came out of nowhere and right hooks Zach in his cheek. It sends Zach banging back into the table. Zach recovers his balance quickly, catching Toby off guard. He kicks Toby in the balls, making him drop to his knees in pain. As Toby grabs for his balls, Zach knees him in the face, ending the fight, and making the school’s lunchroom frantic.

(End of Flashback)

When I come out of the flashback, I’m sitting in the kitchen, resting my head in my hands and breathing heavily, trying to figure out why I had that flashback in the first place. My mother comes into the kitchen and asks me, “Why are you looking so glum?”

“I'm not; I just had something on my mind, that’s all...”

“That's all?”

“Yup.”

“Ok...” she sighs.

The phone rings in the other room, making it the perfect excuse for me to escape. Running to the phone, I got there as the answering machine picked it up... “You have reached..."

"Hello? ... Hello?”

“Hello, Jacob?”

“Yes?”

“Hi this is Nichole, I was wondering...”

“You were wondering what?”

“Oh, sorry... Nathan, stop it! That if you weren’t busy later would you like to come with us to a party?”

“Um, whose party and who’ll be there?”

“It’s a friend of Randy’s, you know the one that you met today...”

“Hold on, let me ask my mother if it’s alright?”

“Alright... Yes, he’s going to ask... Hold on Nathan.”

“Mom, is it alright that I go to a party with Nathan and Nichole, you know, Zach’s friends?”

“Umm, is Zach going to be there also?”

“Is Zach going to be there?”

“I don’t know, maybe...”

“Yes, he'll be there.”

“Alright, I guess it’s fine with me.”

“Thanks, Mom. ... She said yea.”

“Suhweet!” Nichole and Nathan exclaim together.

“Alright, see you in a bit then.”

“Sure!”

We hang up with each other, leaving me there thinking about what is about to come... my very first party, Ohmigod! ‘Ohmigod, what to wear? Do I have to look fake or real? What clothes to pick out? Ugh, this is going to drive me mental.’

“So when’s the party?” my mother asks from beside me, making me jump in surprise.

Holding my chest with my hand I look at my mother and say, “Um, I think at eight.”

“Ok, that gives us enough time to eat dinner and talk?” Was that supposed to be a question or statement?

“Yea. Yea, sure, Mom.”

“Alright, well go wash up. Dinner will be ready when you get back.”

“Ok.”

“Do you honestly think that I look good?” Here I am standing in front of my mirror trying to see if this Abercrombie & Fitch shirt with the matching beige shorts looked good enough to go to the party. Nichole and Ashley were standing behind me, criticizing everything that I tried on.

“I think that you look fine, now will you come on?”

“Fine, fine... Let’s go.”

“Finally!” They both exclaimed, making them look at each other weird. Then they started to laugh. Girls, you cannot understand them, ever.

Walking down the stairs was fun. We laughed, pushed, yanked, and tickled each other to get in front. However, the fun ran out as we reached the bottom... and my mother. Oh god, my mother! She looked like she wanted kill us for making so much noise. Nevertheless, she didn’t. I think she was just so glad that I was actually going out and that I have friends... 'Mothers,' I thought, and then shrugged.

“Have fun and be safe, honey... Got it?”

“Yes... Yes, Mom, I got it. Goodnight, love you!” I yelled over my shoulder at her. It was kinda hard to keep a straight face when I knew exactly what was going to happen at my very first party!

“So are you ready to get your drink on and party, Jacob?” Nichole asked as she started to skip.

“Yes, Nichole... I’ve been ready... PARTY!!!!” I yell, as I ran to catch up with them. The party happened to be three blocks over from my house, so thankfully it was close, but not too close.

Three hours have passed since I've been here. The first person I saw when I entered the house was none other than Toby himself, but instead of starting up a conversation with him, I bypassed him and went into the kitchen to get whatever was in the cups. First, let me tell you, if you haven’t had liquor before, never, and I mean never, try to down it. You'll puke it back up... So embarrassing, let me tell you... I had everyone laughing at me... However, after that, the drinking got easier and so did the party.

Nathan was there, because he helped me with the combinations of liquor and soda. Heh! He and I, well, let me just say there will be a very big mess in the morning for someone. This girl named Jessica something or another tried to dance with me. Talk about funny, after a while things started to blur, and then I got dizzy. I told Jessica that I was going to sit down and make the room stop spinning. She let me go after I dropped something that broke into a million pieces, but people just laughed it off. There were guys there without any shirts, girls who didn’t have any pants or whatever on, and let me tell you, I had a noticeable woody for the rest of the party. Talk about hunky and dreamy... I almost nutted three different times.

“You look like your having the time of your life?” That voice, I know it. But from where?

“Do I know you?”

“Well you should!” His voice... Husky and mellow and dreamy.

“Zach?”

“Hell no! It’s me, Toby Smith... We met earlier today in the hall and then at lunch.”

“Oh, Toby. What’s up?”

“I thought I'd proposition you into something. You wanna?”

“S-sure!” Talk about drunk, I’m already stuttering.

As Toby leads me by the hand up the stairs, I looked back at the party... I didn’t see anyone watching us, but that would change by tomorrow... Everyone somehow knew that we went up the stairs together.

Over the next few weeks I will learn what Zach went through, I should have listened to him when he tried to tell me, I should have paid more attention to things. Nevertheless, I didn’t and now I have to suffer... just like Zach did.

(Quick Third Person)

Jacob wakes up on the couch. First he stretches and then he looks down. He realizes the boxer briefs he’s wearing are not his own. After the initial shock of not knowing, he tries to locate his MIA boxers, plus his other pieces of clothing. While he looks, he finds that he’s in a room with a lot people sleeping on the floor. As he looks around, he spots Toby entering the room carrying his clothes, with a radiant smile plastered on his face. However, what he thought were Toby clothes he soon realizes were his own.

To Be Continued

Authors Note

I don’t know where to start... Let’s start with what’s on my mind at the moment...

When I first started to do this chapter, it was right after the mean, cruel chapter. I didn’t really mean for the things in this chapter to happen, it shocked me to find out that I have written some unique situations. I did leave a little mystery to this one though. I didn’t want to give it all away. So that’s your mission to find out if Jacob yet again cheated or didn’t... Other than the quick third person...

Remijay <3 ((Hugz)) Take Care and Be Safe!