Mean Boys.
three.
“What?” Alex howls with laughter when Zack is finished recounting the whole sorry tale to him in the boy’s bathroom later that day. “Oh my God, you have to go along with it and tell me all of the stupid shit they do.”
“She seems nice enough.”
Alex laughs again.
“Cassadee Pope is not nice! She’s probably never even heard the damn word!”
There’s the sound of a weak flush and Jack rejoins them, zipping up his fly.
“Not only is she irritating, she’s also evil. Just do it, otherwise he’ll never let you hear the end of it.”
Alex flicks his gaze towards Jack and frowns, and Zack sighs.
“Alright, I’ll do it. Do either of you have legwarmers?”
“No!”
“Yes.” Jack replies, smirking almost sneakily.
Zack returns home a few hours later, with a pile of books that weighs almost as much as he does.
“How was your first day?”
“Okay.”
“Were the people nice?”
“No.”
“Did you make any friends?”
“Yeah.”
His parents exchange a glance and watch, confused, as their son stumbles inside.
Eating lunch with the scene kids, he discovers, is one of the most surreal experiences one can undergo. He felt like an idiot, walking around school in bright blue legwarmers, up until seeing Vinny running at him in a bright orange pair to match.
“So. We have some rules.” Evan says as he sits down opposite Zack and Vinny at dinner. Cassadee is nowhere in sight, mercifully.
“You do?”
“Yes. Like, you can only have your hair teased on Mondays, legwarmers on Tuesdays. You can’t wear a tutu two days in a row –but, that doesn’t really apply, I guess- and if you break any of these rules, you can’t sit with us at lunch. I don’t mean you –all of us. Like if I had my hair teased today, I’d be sitting over there with the band geeks.”
Vinny runs his fingers through his hair (black with red and blue tips –delightful) and glances over at Jack and Alex, who are sitting a few tables away, apparently writing a song (judging by the intense concentration on Alex’s face and the fact Jack has a guitar.) It looks kinda fun.
“Y’see, we always vote before we ask someone to eat lunch with us, because you have to keep an eye on your credibility.” Evan continues. “Like if you’re buying a new pair of colored skinny jeans –you’d never buy them without asking your friends first if they look good on you.”
“I wouldn’t?”
“Right. The same goes for girls –or guys. You might think you like someone, but you could be wrong.”
“Have you seen anyone you like yet?” Vinny asks, staring at his highlights in an almost mystified fashion.
“Actually, there’s this guy in my Statistics –wait, no, it’s stupid.”
“Who?” Both boys pounce on this information immediately.
“Uh, his name’s Rian Dawson and-”
“No!”
“No, no, no!”
“What?”
“You can’t like Rian Dawson!” Vinny exclaims. “He’s Cassadee’s ex-boyfriend!”
“Yeah, they dated for over a year. Then he broke up with her for no reason.” Evan continues.
“She cheated on him.”
“But still.” Evan interrupts. “Exes are off limits. But don’t worry. We’ll never tell Cassadee what you said. Right, Vinny?”
Cassadee appears then, with her tray of food and sits beside Evan, grin plastered on to her face.
“Hey, Zack Attack. Do you like your new name?”
In Statistics class later, they’re given a pop quiz on graphs and charts, and about halfway through, Rian gives Zack a desperate glance, as if to say ‘this quiz is hard.’
Zack smiles, nods in response, silently agreeing with him.
If I can’t like him, at least I can look at him.
The bell rings, and everyone makes their way to Miss Diakoulas’ desk to turn in their papers.
A weedy, pale, dark haired kid approaches Zack and taps him on the shoulder.
“You’re the homeschooled kid, right?”
Zack nods.
“I’m Matt Flyzik, captain of the Towson mathletes. We compete in math challenges against other local schools. And we can get more recognition if we have a junior. You should think about joining.”
“You’d be great for it.” Miss Diakoulas comments with a nod.
“Yeah, okay.”
“Great. Here’s my card.” Matt hands him a pre-printed rectangle of card.
‘Matthew Flyzik – Math enthusiast/general badass.’
The scenes apparently enjoy keeping Zack around, because by Friday he’s invited to Cassadee’s house.
“So, how was your first week?” Vinny asks as they settle themselves into Cassadee’s lime green cruiser.
“Good. I’m joining the mathletes.”
“No, no, no!” Evan screeches, wheeling around in the front passenger seat to stare at Zack with wide, horrified eyes. “You can’t join the mathletes! That’s social suicide! Damn, you are so lucky you have us to guide you.”
Evan glances out of the window and sees Ellen, Savannah and a boy he recognizes from Spanish class. Cassadee leans around him and frowns out of the car window at the three of them.
“Oh, no, she is not going out with David Blaise. Not today.” Cassadee frowns, leaning back into her seat and holding out her hand to Evan. “Give me your cell phone. Now.”
“Don’t call her!” Evan panics.
“Phone. Now.”
Evan sighs, digging through his pockets and pressing his phone into Cassadee’s palm. She smirks.
She dials ‘information’ quickly.
“Blaise on Thames Street.”
“Don’t forget the caller ID this time, Cass.”
Cassadee rolls her eyes at Vinny’s comment and pushes a few buttons on Evan’s phone before adopting a more mature tone.
“Hi, can I speak to David please?”
“He’s not home at the moment, can I take a message?”
“Yes, okay. Could you tell him that Allison from Planned Parenthood called, and that we have his girlfriend’s test results back, and it’s urgent that we speak soon. Have him call back later today, if possible. Thanks.”
Vinny and Evan exchange a glance and laugh as Cassadee hands the blonde boy his cell phone back.
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s going out tonight.”
“She seems nice enough.”
Alex laughs again.
“Cassadee Pope is not nice! She’s probably never even heard the damn word!”
There’s the sound of a weak flush and Jack rejoins them, zipping up his fly.
“Not only is she irritating, she’s also evil. Just do it, otherwise he’ll never let you hear the end of it.”
Alex flicks his gaze towards Jack and frowns, and Zack sighs.
“Alright, I’ll do it. Do either of you have legwarmers?”
“No!”
“Yes.” Jack replies, smirking almost sneakily.
Zack returns home a few hours later, with a pile of books that weighs almost as much as he does.
“How was your first day?”
“Okay.”
“Were the people nice?”
“No.”
“Did you make any friends?”
“Yeah.”
His parents exchange a glance and watch, confused, as their son stumbles inside.
Eating lunch with the scene kids, he discovers, is one of the most surreal experiences one can undergo. He felt like an idiot, walking around school in bright blue legwarmers, up until seeing Vinny running at him in a bright orange pair to match.
“So. We have some rules.” Evan says as he sits down opposite Zack and Vinny at dinner. Cassadee is nowhere in sight, mercifully.
“You do?”
“Yes. Like, you can only have your hair teased on Mondays, legwarmers on Tuesdays. You can’t wear a tutu two days in a row –but, that doesn’t really apply, I guess- and if you break any of these rules, you can’t sit with us at lunch. I don’t mean you –all of us. Like if I had my hair teased today, I’d be sitting over there with the band geeks.”
Vinny runs his fingers through his hair (black with red and blue tips –delightful) and glances over at Jack and Alex, who are sitting a few tables away, apparently writing a song (judging by the intense concentration on Alex’s face and the fact Jack has a guitar.) It looks kinda fun.
“Y’see, we always vote before we ask someone to eat lunch with us, because you have to keep an eye on your credibility.” Evan continues. “Like if you’re buying a new pair of colored skinny jeans –you’d never buy them without asking your friends first if they look good on you.”
“I wouldn’t?”
“Right. The same goes for girls –or guys. You might think you like someone, but you could be wrong.”
“Have you seen anyone you like yet?” Vinny asks, staring at his highlights in an almost mystified fashion.
“Actually, there’s this guy in my Statistics –wait, no, it’s stupid.”
“Who?” Both boys pounce on this information immediately.
“Uh, his name’s Rian Dawson and-”
“No!”
“No, no, no!”
“What?”
“You can’t like Rian Dawson!” Vinny exclaims. “He’s Cassadee’s ex-boyfriend!”
“Yeah, they dated for over a year. Then he broke up with her for no reason.” Evan continues.
“She cheated on him.”
“But still.” Evan interrupts. “Exes are off limits. But don’t worry. We’ll never tell Cassadee what you said. Right, Vinny?”
Cassadee appears then, with her tray of food and sits beside Evan, grin plastered on to her face.
“Hey, Zack Attack. Do you like your new name?”
In Statistics class later, they’re given a pop quiz on graphs and charts, and about halfway through, Rian gives Zack a desperate glance, as if to say ‘this quiz is hard.’
Zack smiles, nods in response, silently agreeing with him.
If I can’t like him, at least I can look at him.
The bell rings, and everyone makes their way to Miss Diakoulas’ desk to turn in their papers.
A weedy, pale, dark haired kid approaches Zack and taps him on the shoulder.
“You’re the homeschooled kid, right?”
Zack nods.
“I’m Matt Flyzik, captain of the Towson mathletes. We compete in math challenges against other local schools. And we can get more recognition if we have a junior. You should think about joining.”
“You’d be great for it.” Miss Diakoulas comments with a nod.
“Yeah, okay.”
“Great. Here’s my card.” Matt hands him a pre-printed rectangle of card.
‘Matthew Flyzik – Math enthusiast/general badass.’
The scenes apparently enjoy keeping Zack around, because by Friday he’s invited to Cassadee’s house.
“So, how was your first week?” Vinny asks as they settle themselves into Cassadee’s lime green cruiser.
“Good. I’m joining the mathletes.”
“No, no, no!” Evan screeches, wheeling around in the front passenger seat to stare at Zack with wide, horrified eyes. “You can’t join the mathletes! That’s social suicide! Damn, you are so lucky you have us to guide you.”
Evan glances out of the window and sees Ellen, Savannah and a boy he recognizes from Spanish class. Cassadee leans around him and frowns out of the car window at the three of them.
“Oh, no, she is not going out with David Blaise. Not today.” Cassadee frowns, leaning back into her seat and holding out her hand to Evan. “Give me your cell phone. Now.”
“Don’t call her!” Evan panics.
“Phone. Now.”
Evan sighs, digging through his pockets and pressing his phone into Cassadee’s palm. She smirks.
She dials ‘information’ quickly.
“Blaise on Thames Street.”
“Don’t forget the caller ID this time, Cass.”
Cassadee rolls her eyes at Vinny’s comment and pushes a few buttons on Evan’s phone before adopting a more mature tone.
“Hi, can I speak to David please?”
“He’s not home at the moment, can I take a message?”
“Yes, okay. Could you tell him that Allison from Planned Parenthood called, and that we have his girlfriend’s test results back, and it’s urgent that we speak soon. Have him call back later today, if possible. Thanks.”
Vinny and Evan exchange a glance and laugh as Cassadee hands the blonde boy his cell phone back.
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s going out tonight.”