Don't Worry, I'll Save You

Mr. Spits-a-lot's class never gets over soon enough. I think he just likes to hear himself talk, so he does so for 1 hour. When the long awaited lunch bell finally rang, I rushed out of the room.

The cafeteria smelled of delicious, greasy pizza. To be honest, it made my mouth water, so I grabbed a slice. Soon, I was faced with the dilemma that I always faced at lunch time: Where to sit. The lunch room tables fill like this: One person sits in an empty seat. That persons 1 or 2 or 3 friends sit by them, their friends take a seat and so forth. So if you have no friends, like me, you're left awkwardly looking around for a vacant seat.

"Alex!" I hear someone shouting. I turned to the sound of the voice to see the new girl from my science class waving me toward her. Once she saw that I spotted her, she smiled and waved more vigorously. As I started walking her way I noticed the people she was sitting by: The hardcore kids. The kids with the multiple facial piercings and too much eye makeup. The kids who don't use correct grammar, and don't intend to. You frequently hear of these particular kids beating someone up because they looked at them wrong. These are the kids I've spent my whole high-school career avoiding.

When I approached the table, I could see them all giving me the stink eye, a look that was opposite of welcoming.

"Sit," Cassie beckoned me, patting the empty seat next to her.

"Uh..." I started. The hardcore kids were now giving Cassie an unfriendly look. "I'm not sure I should. I was...um...going to go get some sun, anyway." I told her quickly before one of her scary friends decided they wanted to pierce my lip with their fist.

"Okay, I'll come with you." She picked up her tray and left the table to follow me outside. "Bye, guys!" She said in parting with her scary friends.

"Hey, catch you at the party later, right Cassie?" One boy with 2 lip piercings and one nose piercing that looked like it was originally meant for a bull shouted at Cassie.

"Totally," she shouted back in reply. "You going?" she asked me as we stepped out into the chill air.

"Who...me?! Uh, I don't think so." I laughed. Cassie looked confused.

"Why not?" She asked disappointedly.

"I've got homework." I quickly lied. The partied around her usually involved the things I tried to shy away from: Sex, drugs, and rock & roll. The kids that come back from a "dank" party raving that it was "kick ass" are usually the kids who drop out of high school and end up at some burger joint, spending all of their minimum wage on weed and porn.

Cassie was looking at me like I was crazy. "Homework? Really Alex?" She scoffed and raised an eyebrow, beckoning me to explain myself.

"Yeah, the teachers are really laying it on thick this week." I looked around nervously.

"Alex, you've never been to real party have you?" she mocked.

"To be honest, no. And I don't really want to."

"Why not? They are pretty fun, if you let them be."

"Because, I know the stuff that goes down at parties around here, and I'd rather not be a part of it." The 5 minuet bell rang as I explained my reasons to her.

"Look, come with me this once, just to see if you like it. We can leave whenever you want. Don't you think that having a little bit of fun once and while is better than living your whole life being cooped up in your house doing homework, never knowing what it could be like?" Cassie persuaded as we walked to 5th period.

I thought about it. It was my senior year in high-school and I had never done anything remotely risky. I followed the rules and never once stepped over the line that separated good behavior from bad behavior. I figured it was about due time for a visit to the dark side. But could I bring myself to do it?

"Okay, I'll go." I told Cassie with confidence.

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better, but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
'Cause sinners have much more fun