Firework

After ridding Tink my head cleared and I felt right at home with myself. Happy, content with who I am. But arriving at school the next morning made me forget everything. I was used to being ignored and invisible not stared at. But as soon as I stepped foot into the classroom I got my nasty glare from Sadie, Principal Franklin must have talked to her.

“Please take your seats,” Mrs. Martin called over the class. “As you all know the annual barbeque for your grade is taking place next week, here is the paper for you to RSVP that you are going and the address.” She started handing out the slips. Whispers started going around about whose house it was going to be at.

“Now everybody open your books to page one fifty-three I want you to read to one sixty and come up to get a sheet from me.” I quickly opened my geography text book and started to read. This was all a review, I had read ahead one day when I was really bored and I had absolutely nothing to do. Tink was sick so I didn’t want to bother her. I walked up to the desk and asked for my sheet.

“Firework dear, you can’t be done reading all those pages already.” She said to me.

“I was really bored a couple days ago and I read ahead so I just skimmed through today.” I smiled at her. Mrs. Martin had to be one of my favourite teachers. She treated me like every other student, unlike the other teachers who asked me to answer when someone got the question wrong. She would just pick another student always at random.

“Okay then, oh and Firework,” I turned around and she lowered her voice. “Tell your mother ‘thanks’ for hosting the barbeque.”

“I will Mrs. Martin don’t worry,” I said and headed back to my seat. I answered all the questions rather quickly and by the time I was done most of the kids were just getting started on their sheets. I handed mine in and asked if I could just sit with my iPod. ‘Go ahead’ she had told me.

My iPod was old the classic the first one ever made. It has been passed down from my brothers, they all got newer or better ones. I still liked this one best. It was the very first iPod ever made and had buttons. They don’t even sell them anymore. I plugged in my earphones, and turned up my music not as loud as it usually is because the class was still working. AC/DC came on and I smiled. What I would do for tickets to see them, the band that defined rock and roll music.

I preferred older music people like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. I didn’t care for all the pop music. I liked hard rock. After a while Sadie walked by and bumped into my table. Her lips started moving and took my headphones out.

“Yes,” I sighed.

“Aren’t you gonna say sorry for tripping me?” I raised my eyebrows at her.

“You want me to say sorry that you bumped into my desk?” She nodded and the bell rang.

“Not gonna happen!” I called over my shoulder walking out the door.

I went to the bathroom and stared at my skinny frame in the mirror. My mom has told me countless times to gain some weight. I’ll admit I barely have any meat on my bones but I wasn’t that skinny. I also wasn’t starving myself, I just don’t have an appetite.

After sighing again I walked out of the bathroom and straight into the line of jocks that were walking, that line happened to have my brother Ethan. It’s not that he ignored me at school, our paths never intersected.

“Watch where you going nerd!” One of them had growled pushing me into the wall of lockers. Ethan stopped and looked at me before kneeling down to help me up.

“Ethan! What do you think your doing?” The one that shoved me spit at him.

“Helping my sister up! What does it look like I'm doing?” Ethan spat back. By that time everyone in the hallway stopped to look at us, including Sadie, Justin and their followers.

“Sister?” Sadie had questioned aloud.

“Yeah as in my mom and dad gave birth to her. It’s not that complicated.” I laughed I couldn’t help it. “Why are you laughing?” I just shrugged and he chuckled with me while we walked down the hall.

“Does that happen to you a lot?” He asked immediately after we left the crowd.

“Does what happen?” I asked confused.

“Do people push you around?” I looked down. “Answer me Firework!” He raised his voice.

“Ok,” I admitted. “They push me around a bit. But don’t tell me to go see Principal Franklin, no matter what he says to them they won’t stop. Maybe they’ll stop now because they know you’re my brother and you can beat them up?” I asked kind of joking. He laughed.

“Firework I’m not gonna beat them up, but I am going to tell Mom.” He started walking to his next class.

“No! No you can’t.” I pleaded.

“And why not Fe?” He asked turning around annoyed.

“Mom is hosting my grades barbeque, they are all probably going to come. At least wait until after that.”

“Fine, but after that Fe, she’s gonna find out.” I nodded and he walked off.

I quickly scurried off to my next class before anyone could say anything to me. The class passed by rather quickly and it was lunch. Getting into line and looking over the food I lost my appetite. It was meat, all meat with the exception of a salad on the side. I was a vegetarian. I didn’t like meat.

“Just a salad and a bottle water please.” I told the lady. She looked over my skinny body.

“You should eat meat you’re too skinny.” She told me while putting the salad on my plate.”

“I'm a vegetarian.” I answered walking away after paying.

Sitting at my usually empty table I began eating. Hoping for no interruptions, but when do such things come true for me?

*-*

Treating her like this didn’t feel right. It felt wrong in so many ways. But I wasn’t going to risk my reputation because of it. She was a nerd, I was popular. This was how it was supposed to be. Right?

“Justin!” I looked over my shoulder and saw Claudia, my girlfriend, running towards me. No, Claudia wasn’t head cheerleader or anything like that. She was just a normal popular girl. She doesn’t put any people down, which makes me realize I don’t deserve someone like this.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” I asked her wrapping my hands around her waist.

“Did you see what they did to her in the hallway? How could they be that mean? And I never knew she had a brother. To think that her own brother lets people push her around like that is just sad.” She started ranting.

I felt myself frown, I'm doing what my girlfriend hates the most. It was either I straighten up or let her find someone better.

“We should go talk to her.” Claudia whispered in my ear. I whipped my head around.

“Why?”

“Come on Justin don’t be like that.” She scolded, “She is just like us Justin. The way we push her down on the food chain is wrong. Now I don’t care if you come or not! I'm going to talk to her.” She turned around her hair whipping in my face as she turned. I sighed and walked over to my table.

“Where’s Claud?” Ryan asked shortening her name.

I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder pointing to the table Firework had sat at.

“She’s talking to Giraffe?” I snickered forcefully at the name.

“She thinks it’s wrong what we’re doing to her.” I explained.

“Well what we’re doing isn’t exactly nice.” Chaz offered then quickly stuffed a forkful of food in his mouth.

“What are you talking about?” Sadie asked placing her tray of food on the table.

“Red.” Ryan mumbled, Sadie laughed.

“Does she even have a name?” Everyone shrugged their shoulders.

“Firework.” I stated. All eyes darted to me.

“What?”

“She has a name and it’s Firework.” I stated again.

“And you know this because?” Sadie motioned me to continue.

“Franklin made me wait in his office with her the other day, you know when you tripped her.”

“And when you broke her glasses?” She shot back. I honestly didn’t mean to break them, what I said in thee was truth, I dropped them accidentally.

“All I wanna know was who the hottie that picked her up was.” I decided not to answer telling everyone it was her mom. I already look like I know too much, people might start thinking I actually like her.

“Where’s Claudia?” I sighed.

*-*

“Hi I’m Claudia,” I heard in front of me. I looked up to see Justin’s girlfriend.

“Do you want the table?” I asked getting up.

“No, not at all. I was just coming by to talk to you. You know like friends.” I looked at her face and tell she was being sincere. And I sat back down.

“Vegetarian?” She asked looking at my plate, and I nodded. “Me too,” I looked up from my food.

“Really?” I asked shocked.

“Yeah, I don’t think its right eating animals.”

“That’s how I feel, but I also just don’t like meat, my mother questions how I got so tall.” I laughed at my own joke and to my surprise she laughed with me, not at me.

“I never got your name.”

“Firework,” I told her and she smiled.

“Really, that’s so cool, you know ‘cause its different then all the others. I’ve never met or heard of anyone with that name.”

“Thanks. Your name is cool too.”

“Not really,” She laughed. “We should hang out sometime.” I smiled and gave her my phone.

“I would love to, it would be nice to have a girl around. I have too many brothers.”

“Really, you’re lucky, I'm an only child.” She smiled over at me.

“I can’t imagine being an only child.”

“Come on it’s not that hard.”

“One minute in my house and you’ll see why.”

“Okay when will this one minute be?” She asked me.

“You can come over tonight, and if my parents say yes you can stay for dinner.”

“Awesome we can take my car. What’s your next class?” She started walking beside me.

“Spanish, you?” I answered.

“Same, will you do the honors of walking with me?” She joked.

“Well of course.”