Inexplicable
a
Ben grumbled at the sound of his mother’s voice on the other side of his locked bedroom door. He was not ready to wake up, much less attend the first day of his senior year of high school. True, it was his final year in the stuffy brick building, but he wasn’t exactly looking forward to any amount of time seated in a room full of people who feared him.
He was the quintessential bad boy. His clothes were worn and tattered from countless fights, fights that he was infamous for. He didn’t hold the title credit of ‘bad boy’ for nothing, and he didn’t try to hide it either. He let everyone fear him, it kept them all at a distance. He liked it that way. If no one wanted to get close to him, then he wouldn’t be forced to open up and tell his depressing life story.
Ben begrudgingly threw the covers off as he mumbled a few choice words before speaking louder to assure his mother that he was indeed awake and getting ready for the day. Getting ready for the day was simple for Ben. He jumped in the shower, letting the scorching water wake his body before getting out. He threw on the first clothes he came upon, not bothering to check if they were clean or dirty, before towel drying the long hair that, more often than not, fell into his eyes.
Without a glance in the mirror—he really didn’t care about the image it would portray—Ben unlocked his bedroom door and joined his mother in the kitchen. She was setting out a breakfast that looked as if it were made for ten, when in reality only two would eat it. His stepfather had already left for work in the early hours of the morning, leaving Ben and his mother as the only occupants on the counter stools.
Like the good boy his mother had raised him to be, Ben took his plate graciously, digging in to the homemade pancakes and fresh fruit. Even though he had earned a less than pleasing reputation at school and with kids his own age, he was still a mama’s boy. She was all he had left in this world and he would be foolish to do anything to diminish their relationship.
After dutifully cleaning his plate, both metaphorically and literally, Ben gathered his backpack from its spot by the door and exited his home with a parting glance at his mom who was watching him from her stance against the kitchen counter.
“Have fun. Be good,” she called out to her only son.
“Yeah, yeah. Bye mom,” he answered, rolling his eyes at the familiarity of those words, they were the same ones they exchanged every morning.
He ran to his old beat up mustang, the only thing his father left behind when he walked out on his wife and kids. Ben glanced over the hood of the car, a habit he had been accustomed to, and spotted the neighbors’ daughter.
Grace Cassidy had once been the boy’s best friend. His only friend until he went off to high school. Grace was a year younger then Ben, although she’d be the first to point out that five months was hardly a year, they were only a grade apart. Where Ben was entering his senior year, Grace was beginning her junior year.
Upon feeling Ben’s gaze on her, or maybe she didn’t feel it but rather knew from experience that his eyes were trained on her as he opened his car door, she turned to meet his eyes. She smiled lightly as she raised the hand not holding her own car door open in a half wave. Ben simply nodded before ducking into his orange car, a scowl now adorning his face.
Grace had an affect on Ben that he wasn’t too fond of. She could change his mood in a matter of seconds without even trying. No doubt she knew nothing of the power she had over her once-best friend, but he didn’t know he had a similar effect on her. She too now wore a frown, though hers was from sadness as his was from frustration.
The pair that had once been inseparable hadn’t spoken more than two words to each other in three years. But Grace was determined to put an end to that fact. She not only wanted her best friend back, she knew Ben needed the same thing, whether he was aware of it or not.
Each teen backed out of their separate driveways, Ben following Grace the two and a half miles to Kingly High. Both of their parents never understood why the two no longer talked, but more so, they didn’t understand why they couldn’t carpool to school, why waste gas and money, when they were headed to the same destination. Neither set of parents pushed either child on the matter of their broken friendship, but they both knew there was more to the story than Ben or Grace let on.
He was the quintessential bad boy. His clothes were worn and tattered from countless fights, fights that he was infamous for. He didn’t hold the title credit of ‘bad boy’ for nothing, and he didn’t try to hide it either. He let everyone fear him, it kept them all at a distance. He liked it that way. If no one wanted to get close to him, then he wouldn’t be forced to open up and tell his depressing life story.
Ben begrudgingly threw the covers off as he mumbled a few choice words before speaking louder to assure his mother that he was indeed awake and getting ready for the day. Getting ready for the day was simple for Ben. He jumped in the shower, letting the scorching water wake his body before getting out. He threw on the first clothes he came upon, not bothering to check if they were clean or dirty, before towel drying the long hair that, more often than not, fell into his eyes.
Without a glance in the mirror—he really didn’t care about the image it would portray—Ben unlocked his bedroom door and joined his mother in the kitchen. She was setting out a breakfast that looked as if it were made for ten, when in reality only two would eat it. His stepfather had already left for work in the early hours of the morning, leaving Ben and his mother as the only occupants on the counter stools.
Like the good boy his mother had raised him to be, Ben took his plate graciously, digging in to the homemade pancakes and fresh fruit. Even though he had earned a less than pleasing reputation at school and with kids his own age, he was still a mama’s boy. She was all he had left in this world and he would be foolish to do anything to diminish their relationship.
After dutifully cleaning his plate, both metaphorically and literally, Ben gathered his backpack from its spot by the door and exited his home with a parting glance at his mom who was watching him from her stance against the kitchen counter.
“Have fun. Be good,” she called out to her only son.
“Yeah, yeah. Bye mom,” he answered, rolling his eyes at the familiarity of those words, they were the same ones they exchanged every morning.
He ran to his old beat up mustang, the only thing his father left behind when he walked out on his wife and kids. Ben glanced over the hood of the car, a habit he had been accustomed to, and spotted the neighbors’ daughter.
Grace Cassidy had once been the boy’s best friend. His only friend until he went off to high school. Grace was a year younger then Ben, although she’d be the first to point out that five months was hardly a year, they were only a grade apart. Where Ben was entering his senior year, Grace was beginning her junior year.
Upon feeling Ben’s gaze on her, or maybe she didn’t feel it but rather knew from experience that his eyes were trained on her as he opened his car door, she turned to meet his eyes. She smiled lightly as she raised the hand not holding her own car door open in a half wave. Ben simply nodded before ducking into his orange car, a scowl now adorning his face.
Grace had an affect on Ben that he wasn’t too fond of. She could change his mood in a matter of seconds without even trying. No doubt she knew nothing of the power she had over her once-best friend, but he didn’t know he had a similar effect on her. She too now wore a frown, though hers was from sadness as his was from frustration.
The pair that had once been inseparable hadn’t spoken more than two words to each other in three years. But Grace was determined to put an end to that fact. She not only wanted her best friend back, she knew Ben needed the same thing, whether he was aware of it or not.
Each teen backed out of their separate driveways, Ben following Grace the two and a half miles to Kingly High. Both of their parents never understood why the two no longer talked, but more so, they didn’t understand why they couldn’t carpool to school, why waste gas and money, when they were headed to the same destination. Neither set of parents pushed either child on the matter of their broken friendship, but they both knew there was more to the story than Ben or Grace let on.