One of the Boys

The shower I took did nothing to clear my head, and as I stepped out of it I realized how much the possible events of the night daunted me. The whole thing at the club last night was to try and win Leo's favor. It was a no brainer that he had a strong influence on the Ely dorm boys and he could help me stay right here. Of course I also felt hurt and betrayed by Marcus. He knew the truth. He is the only one to know it, and yet he completely dismissed me earlier. He should know that the fact that he doesn't want me here means nothing at all. Hell, I don't want to be here either, but though.

I found the room empty, much to my comfort and a note. Teddy had left it saying he had to go do some history essay with his friend, on a little card with Smarties stuck to it in the shape of a smile. Those didn’t interest me. I am pretty sure they have been stuck on with his own saliva, thought I am guessing that they are the reason why he left me a note and not a text. No, what interested me was the post script i.e. P.S.

Lucas, don’t mind Marcus much. He is always like this when it comes to Tanya and the cats. But I think it was mostly Tanya. She makes him grumpy. He always is when Tanya turns him down by text. Thought you should know so you don’t get all depressive and violent like you tend to do when you’re upset. You better do well in initiation; I’d hate to get a first year as a roommate.

I pursed my lips unhappily at the note and Teddy’s scrawled handwriting. Then I sniffed at the note paper to try and elevate my mood. Teddy always wrote with scented pens and this one smelled of raspberries. My mood wasn’t elevated at all however, and I was still feeling frustrated. Who is Tanya anyway and how does that pathetic excuse gives Marcus the right to blow up in my face or be what Teddy merely calls ‘grumpy’.”

I pondered this as I got by satchel filled with the books I’d be taking to the library after the visit to my parents. I couldn’t begin to guess what they wanted. They tended to be unpredictable. Not in a crazy eccentric sense. Anything but that, it was just that they tended to be more or less random. That’s a way of putting it.

I was making my bed when after a swift knock at my door, it open and Eric jumped through the entrance holding out a hot chocolate mug topped with two inches of whipped cream and marshmallows, and a pain au chocolate.

“Eh,” he called beaming, “Mate, you won’t believe what happened this weekend. Here eat this. You were to hung-over to come and have breakfast with me, so I brought it to you,” He sat down on the stairs and put one of the marshmallows in his mouth with a cheeky grin. I think I started tearing up. Thank goodness he wasn’t being all macho today, like the rest of the boys.

“What’s wrong? Today’s a beautiful Sunday and we have no lessons for 21 more hours and you’re going get to hear my new potential single!”

I gladly high fived Eric and together we made our way to the main building towards my father's office while Eric filled me on his 'intense but so dope' studio session and played me a taster.

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"And so he told me that this song has the potential of getting me signed. Signed! Can you believe it?" Eric's shrill laughs of maddening happiness rubbed off on me and I had dropped my sour lemon attitude a while back.

"You'll get it for sure," I nodded my head with decisive enthusiasm. Even his optimism robbed of on me. "You'll tell me the rest later, 'cause we have arrived."

Before we could reach the office’s door we both stopped short with a start. My left leg paused in mid-air afraid that the slightest movement would cause distraction from what we both tried to hear. We were standing about seven feet from the door, but we could hear everything within like there wasn’t a wall between us. It was the sound of a chair falling violently down onto the floorboards, causing a loud shattering noise, that had initially caught our attention. By the time we heard the fist slam down onto a table, we were frozen still, aware that something was happening within my father’s office. I glanced, wide eyed, at Eric who shrugged, notifying me of his equal confusion.

“Is there a student in there?" I dared to whisper when silence had reigned for a moment. Eric didn’t have the time to answer.

The shout sent us scurrying backward, and my hand landed on my heart, and Eric’s in the air.

“What do you mean you have been requested?” The breathing was heavy and heaving with anger and panic. “You have no right. You can’t force me to go there every weekend. He is not my father and he can’t control my life. Do you fucking understand me? He has no right to make that call!”

My father must be trying to talk him down because I heard a mummer of words that had trouble filtering through the wood panelled walls, unlike the screamer whose shouts were as clear as if they were coming out of my earphones. I notice movement in the hallway; members of staff in neighbouring offices were coming out to look for the source of the commotion.

“I don’t care. There is no way I am going there each weekend. You can’t make him do this. I’ve held up my end of the deal,” The pain in the voice made me confused about who was at wrong. Obviously the student had no right screaming down the house like that, and the aghast staff in the hallway mimicked my own feelings. Though a few, those that shook their head almost exhausted-like and retreated back into their office, seemed have seen this scene before. Even Eric looked like he knew just what was going on in there.

“No you listen!” the voice picked up again, “You know fuck all. It’s not my home. I don’t belong there. Save it, I’ll show myself out.” And before Eric and me had the time to rearrange our faces and regain the composer of an unknowing passerby the door opened and none other than Skylar Richardson came out.

My open gob and erected eyebrows weren’t matched by Eric. I was right, he had known all along who was in there. And even me, who had never heard his voice before, had regonised something familiar. Pain. The pain in his voice was the same that was in his visage that day on the parking lot. And it was there again when he threw the door open greeted us with a slam of the door. I could actually see the door shutter behind us. I don't care what his story is, he had no right screaming at my father like that.

He was breathing hard, chest pumping up and down, face contorted tight as if, if he let himself loosen up, everything would disintegrate. God, this guy was a drama queen! He spotted Eric who meekly smiled trying to be something close to reasurent. When he turned to me however, the pardon he was about to deliver to Eric disappered and his eyelids narrowed on to me. Shit, not this again. How come he always catches me at the worst moments.

"You!"

"Me?"

"You...Are you stalking me? What do you want? Eh?" I backed away quickly trying to show that I was innocent in all this. "Mind your own business from now on," he shoved passed me, a few steps into his dramatic retraction he paused. "Oh and next time, get yourself out of the bushes, and out of my way by yourself."

Right after that, my head is the last place anyone should wish to be. It was painfully akward to the point of pain and sickly embarressment. I was past blushing, I could feel blood drain from my face. Eric questioned me but I couldn't even look at him. Oh man, why did it have to be Skylar of all people.

"Um, Lucas?" Eric rocked back and forth on the heels of his feet and rubbed his neck. "I'm going off to see what's up with him. See you tonight alright? And don't let PJ give you any grief."

I managed to nodded before heading inside trying to be as nonchalant as possible. My mother was in the middle of picking the chair of the ground, while my father straightened papers on his desk that had been knocked off.

"Matilda,sweetie leave it for now. We'll fix the leg later. Ah, Mr.Jones, please close the door behind you," He said unfazed.

I did it quickly, so that I could get straight to the point with not interuptions. "Dad, what was that? Why did you let him talk to you like that? Mum?"

"Now Lucy, you know your father and I don't like talking with you about other students. Not before, and especially not now," She came over and gave me a tight hug filled with her usual love and warmth, and the common gasp of disapproval when she withdrew.

"Lucy, your eye! It's the same colour as blueberry," she tutted reproachfully pulling me down into the wonky seat. "Did you get into a fight again."

"I didn't,"

"Now don't lie to me, I get more than enough from the other students, but I'll be damned if my own daughter tries to pull the wool over my eyes."

"That's right Luce," my fathers hard gaze rested on my guilty ones. "That's the second black eye you've sported since you've been here."

"You look terrible honey."

"Thanks Mum,"

"You're a gorgeous person, I've told you that a million times, but if you insit on wreaking the masterpiece my egg and his sperm created, than you don't deserve a rectification. A black eye never looks good on anybody."

"And that lip. Please tell me you didn't get into a fight with Leonard."

"No Dad, it's nothing like that. Teddy told me you wanted to see me?"

"That's right. We were just going to ask you how last night went. We are pleased you made friends with Leonard and Cameron. Those a good boys. Good influences."

Wow, isn't life so ironinc. Do you know how much self restraint it took me to not laught right in there faces. A lot.

"Those are the type of people you should try to associate yourself with, though your roommate is another story and Eric-"

"Eric! What's wrong with Eric?"

"Nothing, nothing. It would just be great if he could devote half he attention he gives to his music to his studies."

"But he is so good at it. Can you blame him?"

"Beyond the point. Anyway Lucy sweetheart, we need you to be extra focused this school year. Applications are going to be hard for you with your track record, so no more fights."

"And before you jump in a say that it's not your fault, that you don't start it. Remember that it's not your job to deliever justice in this place, but your fathers. If you see anything that concerns you than you report it to us. Alright."

"You want me to rat out the guys?"

"Rat out isn't the correct term," My father tried to appease the disgust he could see conjugating within me. "Just inform us if there is anything you think we should be in the know of. It'll help both us and the boys if we have a hold on the matter from the start. So we prevent more than repair. The past two years have been tough on many of the boys and a lot of...misbehaviour has slipped under my radar. Lucy do you understand what we are saying?"

I understood perfectly, in fact I was surprised I hadn't seen this coming. How had I not guessed that this conversation was looming on the horizon from the moment I agreed to enroll here? Marcus' words echoed ominously, personified by my fear. Angry Marcus was no where as sexy as teasing Marcus.

"Sure, I mean I get it. The reputation of this place, well we know that the parent's wouldn't feel comfortable paying that obscene tuition fee if they knew they sons didn't behave here any better than at any other common school. I mean the jeopardy I would potentially be putting myself in, is... nothing. The end atones the means right?"

My parents lips parted, showing their full sets of teeth as they smiled. "Right!" The heightened level of sarcasm I sometimes spoke to my parents with, could feel a tad bit on the unsatisfying side at times. When people don't feel insulted by your sarcasm, it kind of misses the point.

"If that's all I'd like to go now."

"That's fine sweet." They both rose to hug me but I held a hand up signalling them not to bother.

"Call your brothers sometimes would you. They are dying to know how their baby sister is doing." Adds in my mother, but I already walking out of the room eager to get away from them. I do manage to hear her say however, "Did we do anything. Normally she loves my hugs." Which made it hard for me not to slam the door in their face.

There was someone in the hallway when I came out of the office. Eric was standing in the middle of it looking perplexed and disoriented.

"Eric? What's wrong?"

It took him a while to stop staring at me bizzarely. "I wanted ask the Deputy something about Skylar, but now I think I'm just going to go."

"Alright."

"Lucas?"

"Yep?"

"Nothing, just checking something," He dashed of down the hall managing a half hearted smile to wish me 'see you later'.