Such Great Heights - 1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Kyle, get up!”

I slowly opened my eyes and got up slightly to look at my nightstand clock. It was time for school but I did not intend to get out of bed yet so I fell back into bed and closed my eyes. I hated mornings, especially the part of waking up. It’s just that I wasn’t a morning person. I liked to sleep as much as possible or at least until I was forced to wake up. Now my wonderful sleep was being interrupted by my sister. I pulled the covers up over my head and tried to get a little more sleep. The attempt was in vain, as there were loud knocks on my bedroom door.

“Kyle, you better be getting up if you want to get to school on time!”

I groaned. I knew my sister would not let off until I was out of bed. I gave in and slowly got myself out of bed. I hated my sister for always making sure I got out of bed and had enough time to get ready and eat a good breakfast. You could say that she had my best interests in mind but at the same time, she also knew how much her routine bothered me. There were more knocks on my door.

“Okay, I'm up!” I shouted.

I straightened the boxers I had been wearing in bed, then walked over to the door, and opened it up. My sister, Amber, was standing there fully dressed in her plaid skirt and white blouse uniform. I didn’t understand how she could always be awake and ready so early.

“I want to leave soon, so you better get ready by yourself and not have to make mom come up,” she said before turning and walking downstairs.

“Okay,” I mumbled as I closed the door.

I wondered why my sister was so eager to get to school so early. Although she was always up early, she was never interested in getting to school early. Still half asleep, I went back and sat down on my bed. It was only seven o'clock according to my clock, so technically I could go back to sleep and wake up in half an hour and still make it to school on time. The idea of more sleep always sounded really good to me. Then I realized that my mom was probably waiting downstairs with breakfast and my sister would just come back to bother me again. I got up from my bed and decided to just get ready. Mom was big on eating a good breakfast and she was always disappointed when I only grabbed a bite and ran off to school. It wouldn’t hurt to make her happy once and eat a nice breakfast and it also didn’t hurt that my mom made the best pancakes.

I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and then got in the shower. After a nice warm shower that really woke me up, I returned to my room and put on a fresh pair of boxers and then put on my school uniform, a white shirt, navy pants and a tie . I slightly gelled my short brown hair, spiking it up a bit in the front, before heading downstairs.

"This is a pleasant surprise," my mom said as I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “What brings you down here so early?”

“Just craving some of your delicious pancakes,” I said with a nice smile

“Okay, so what do you want?” my mom asked looking at my suspiciously.

“Nothing,” I said as innocently as possible. My mom just laughed.

"Here, I made these pancakes for you" she said pushing a plate of three pancakes in my direction.

I grabbed a fork and started eating as my mom sat down nearby sipping on some coffee and reading the paper. After eating my full, I got up from the table.

“Thanks for the pancakes mom. They were good.”

“Well you can have them everyday if you just wake up a bit earlier.”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“Okay honey, have a good day at school!"

I really liked my mom and most of the time we got along really well. She could sometimes be a bit hard but I loved her anyways. I ran up to my room, grabbed my backpack, and then headed outside to my car, a black Jeep Grand Cherokee that my parents had given to me on my sixteenth birthday. My sister was waiting outside for me next to my car.

“Come on let’s go, Kyle!” she said impatiently as I unlocked the door.

“What are you in such a hurry for?”

“It’s none of your business so just drive.”

That piqued my curiosity. She was definitely up to something. I thought about trying to get it out of her but then knowing her, I realized she would never tell me. I gave her a questioning look and got in the car. I drove to my high school, Wharton Prep, which was only five minutes away. I dropped my sister off at the front where her freshman friends always gathered in the mornings and then parked my car in the parking lot in the back of the school. It was somewhat weird having my sister being at the same school as me. She had just started this year as a freshman. I didn’t see her that much since I was a junior and I had separate classes and lunch periods but it was always interesting when we ran into other in the hallways with our respective friends and exchanged greetings.

After grabbing my books from my locker, I headed to my first period English class. Since my sister had gotten me to school so early, there was no one in the classroom yet. I sat down in my regular seat near the windows and pulled out a book to do some extra reading. I read a few pages before my eyes wandered to the windows that looked out on the school green. Students were milling around before class started and I noticed one boy with black hair sitting on a bench engrossed in a book. That gave me the idea of going outside and reading in the fresh morning air but at that moment, some kids started coming through the door and I put my book away. Soon I saw my best friend Jake, and his girlfriend and my good friend, Ashley come into the classroom. Jake and I were both on the soccer team and we have been best friends since middle school. I had met Ashley in the ninth grade and we had dated for a few months before we decided that we just wanted to be friends. I was lucky to still have her as a good friend because she was really cool. She had started dating Jake last year and the three of us hung out together a lot. They both smiled when they saw me and quickly sat down next to me.

“So,” Jake said to me smiling.

“What?” I asked innocently but well aware of where this was headed.

“Dude, are you going to ask her today?” he replied.

‘Maybe,” I said smiling.

The girl in question was Ashley’s best friend Rachel Fisher. Rachel was one of the most popular girls in our grade. She was on the cheerleading squad along with Ashley and she always threw large parties in her huge house. She was also very attractive with her dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She also had a crush on me that she didn’t attempt to hide at all. After breaking up with Ashley, I had been content in staying single but now after a bit of persuasion from Jake and Ashley, I had decided I would ask Rachel out. I didn’t know how things would go but I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“Kyle, don't lie, you told me that you were going to ask her out,” Ashley said.

“Alright, yes,” I said laughing. “But I don't know exactly what to say. I want to be a bit creative.”

“Don't worry about being creative; just ask her to a simple dinner and movie," Ashley said laughing. “Trust me she will say yes to practically anything you ask.”

“I don’t doubt that,” added Jake.

“Well, in that case, I guess I will have to go with the usual dinner and movie because I can't come up with anything else.”

“Well, good luck, dude,” Jake whispered just as class started.

English passed by quickly with the three of us breaking off into a group and discussing the assigned reading along with the best way to ask out Rachel. After sitting through three more uneventful classes, one of which I fell asleep in, I headed to the cafeteria for lunch. I got my lunch, consisting of the regular pizza and coke and walked over to the table where my friends were sitting. Jake was sitting next to Ashley. Sitting across from them were Bryan and his girlfriend Karen. Bryan was on the basketball team and he had been good friends with Jake since middle school and now we were pretty good friends also. Karen was his girlfriend who he had been dating for a year and she was on the girl’s basketball team. Sitting next to them was Zac who was on the swim team. He was the quieter one so I really didn’t talk to him that much but he was good friends with Bryan. As I sat down next to Jake, they all stopped talking and looked at me.

“Okay it’s not a big deal, I'm just asking a girl out,” I said somewhat annoyed that they had blown this quite out of proportion.

“Not a big deal? You haven't gone on a date with a girl since you broke up with Ashley a year and half ago,” Bryan replied.

“Well, I was just hadn't found anyone that interested me enough,” I replied.

“Well, you certainly have now,” Bryan said smiling.

“Shut up," I said.

“I know a few girls who will be quite disappointed,” Bryan continued laughing.

“Shut up, Bryan,” Karen said noticing that Rachel was approaching with her lunch.

Bryan quieted down as Rachel sat down next to me.

“Hey Kyle! How are you?” she asked happily.

“Pretty good. How about yourself?”

“I’m doing really good,” she said with smile that meant she wanted to get flirtatious with me.

“So, Zac, you have your final swim meet tonight, right?” I quickly asked before Rachel could say something else.

“Yeah, it’s the last one for awhile at least,” he replied.

“Well, you know we'll be there,” Jake replied and the others nodded in approval.

“Thanks guys.”

“Yeah, well you're pretty good,” I said happy to notice that Rachel had started talking Ashley now but was occasionally looking over at me with that smile. Rachel could sometimes be a little too flirtatious sometimes but otherwise it was always great to hang out with her. She was also really beautiful and smart. It also didn’t hurt that she threw the best parties.

We talked a bit more about Zac’s swim meet before the bell rang and we all had to get up to head back to classes. The last two classes of the day passed by rather quickly and I soon found myself walking towards Rachel’s locker. I found her at her locker packing up her backpack.

“Hey Rachel,” I said leaning up next to her locker.

“Kyle! Hi!” she exclaimed turning towards me.

“Well, I was just wondering if you were free this Friday,” I asked coolly.

Rachel’s eyes lit up just as she realized where this was going.

“You know I am always free for you, Kyle.”

“Well, would you be interested in going to dinner and a movie with me on Friday?"

"Sure, I would love to," she replied smiling a little more than was necessary.

"Cool" I said giving her a little smile.

That wasn’t so bad. I had been a bit nervous as I hadn’t asked anyone in a long time but I had pulled it off quite smoothly.

“Excuse me,” said a voice behind me.

I turned around to see a boy with short black hair gelled up, standing behind me. He was a bit smaller than I was but seemed to be about the same age. He looked vaguely familiar but I really had no idea who he was. As he looked towards me, I noticed that he had dark eyes that almost matched his hair and his black tie. I was looking at his eyes when he interrupted me.

“Umm, I need to get to my locker.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said as I moved away from the lockers.

He stepped past me and bent down to unlock his locker. I continued to watch him take his books out of his backpack until I was interrupted by a cough. I turned around to see Rachel smiling at me.

“So what time are you going to pick me up?”

“Um, how about around six?”

“That would be perfect,” said Rachel smiling. “Well, I have to get to cheerleading practice so I will talk to you later. Bye!”

“See you!”

With that, she turned around and headed towards the gymnasium. I turned back around to see if the boy was still there but he had left as well. A bit disappointed, I headed towards the parking lot to my car. I got in the car and drove around to the front where my sister would be waiting for me. When I got to the front, I saw my sister talking to some boy in her grade. I noticed she had that same flirtatious smile that Rachel had. I wondered if this had been her reason for getting to school so early this morning. I honked my horn to let her know that I was there. When she didn’t come over, I honked again until she finally stopped talking to that boy and started walking towards my car.

“Well, who was that?” I asked as my sister got in the car.

“It’s none of your business so just drive.” she replied in a somewhat annoyed tone.

I sighed and started driving. My sister could sometimes be really impossible. As we were pulling out of the school parking lot, I saw the boy who I had seen next to Rachel’s locker. He seemed to be walking home with another boy with light brown by his side. I couldn’t help but look at him again but I was interrupted by the honk of a car behind me. Realizing I was backing up traffic, I turned into the main street away from where the boy was walking with his friend. During the whole drive back home, I kept thinking about that boy. Something about him intrigued me but I had no idea what.