I See Your Name in Lights

A whistle sounded from the direction the teacher was in – letting us know it was time to take our positions. Girls retreated to the sides, up against the bleachers, while the more athletic guys and a few girls raced to the center to claim the dodgeballs and start pelting the weaker kids hiding somewhere in the middle. The kids like me.

I hid behind a rather tall guy who had two of the balls securely in one hand, deflecting one as it was flung at him. I scooped it up as it rolled past, lobbing it impressively at a strong-looking girl’s back as she raced to grab one of her own. With a whine, she retreated to the ‘out’ section. While I smiled from my small victory, as if karma itself was trying to spite me, I was hit square in the face, the ricochet causing a loud ringing sound as it bounced off my nose and caused a slight taste of blood in my mouth.

I fell back dumbly, holding my face as I felt the blood rush to my nose. Someone held a hand for me, and I took it quickly, trying to stand myself up. He pulled me to my feet with a blindingly white smile, saying a quick “You took that like a champ,” as I stumbled to the side. I looked down at m fingers – blood. I shot the gym teacher a pleading glance, and he gave me a gesture telling me to go to the lockers to clean myself up.

I dragged my feet as I left – what a great first day. I’d already gotten my shoes soaked from the rain while I was waiting for a filled, grimy bus, then got lost on my way to the gym. I was the last guy to get dressed and run into the room, eyes on me as they registered me as the “new kid.” I slipped into the bathroom to wash off the blood. I scoffed at myself in the mirror – I looked good when I got up, but after getting hit in the face, it completely messed me up. I cleaned off the last of the blood as it stopped its gushing and ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm it down. It had become greasy during class, there was no use. I sighed, and then heard the other guys in the class enter the locker room to change. I darted over to my unlocked locker – who would want to steal any of my things, anyway? – I tried my best to slip into my multiple layers of clothing quickly, as to avoid any awkward eye contact. Right as I swung my messenger bag over my shoulder, one of the guys approached me.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I could see out of my peripheral that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I averted my eyes as means to be polite. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I hit you harder than I thought I would,” He pressed. I looked up into his eyes; soft, brown, apologetic. “Mr. Bissel said that you were bleeding.”

I subconsciously rubbed the bridge of my still-sore nose. “It’s no big deal.”

The guy bit his lip slightly. His locker was really close to mine, and he pulled a black t-shirt over his head with a quick movement. “So… Are you new? I’d feel bad if I’ve never noticed you before.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’m new. Hell of a first morning.”

“Wait, do you have an accent?”

I cleared my throat. Shit. “N-nah, I don’t.”

“Oh.” He shrugged, obviously trying to hide a bit of embarrassment. “Anyway… Do you know where you’re going?”

I quickly pulled out the notebook that held my schedule inside. “I’m going upstairs for lit with… Ms. Forbes.”

He chuckled. “I had it with her first tri. You need any help finding your way there?”

“No, I’ve got an idea,” I forced a small smile through my false pride. “Thanks, though.”

“No problem,” A friendly sprawled across his face. “What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t say it,” I replied as the bell rang. “But it’s Alex.”

All of us shuffled out, I was getting pushed through the door as soon as I told the guy my name, cursing at myself silently as I realized I didn’t ask him for his. I was uncomfortable, I was shaking, and I wasn’t composed. It was a strange thing for me. I clutched my bag against my side as I climbed up the stairs, bumping into people I’d never seen before, muttering “I’m sorry”s and “my bad”s, though I knew they weren’t paying attention. I’d gone exploring through the school the week before after hours, so I had a good mental map of the place. Because I wasn’t one of the lucky kids that had friends to talk to between classes, so as soon as I found my classroom, I slipped inside of it.

“I’m guessing you’re Mr. Gaskarth?” A voice from behind me called.

“Y-yeah,” I said, turning to see the small, older woman hiding behind a computer. “That’s me.”

“There’s a seating chart because it’s so early into the trimester,” She stated, snatching a piece of paper off of a pile and beckoning for me to follow after her. I obliged silently. “You’ll sit in this seat. Due to scheduling problems, one of my students has dropped my class for the time being.”

I set my bag onto the desk, no longer listening to Ms. Forbes as she continued rambling on. A long-winded English teacher, who would have known?

Before long, other kids started spilling into the room and chattered happily with each other. I sat quietly with my cheek rested on my hand, my elbow propped up on the binder I’d designated for the class. With a loud thud, a guy with a bouncy, curly head of hair and a nose ring plopped into the seat next to me. He stretched and yawned, studied my face for a moment, then something came together in his mind. “Aren’t you the kid Jack hit in the face during dodgeball?”

I grimaced.

“That looked like it sucked,” He stated. “And I don’t recognize you. Your first day?”

“It is.”

“Dude, this is the guy Jack smacked in the face!” The guy turned around quickly to hiss at the person behind him.

“Oh, hey dude,” I spun, nostrils flared. I didn’t feel like hearing about it anymore. I recognized the behind us, his bright smile that I had remembered soon after falling over. “At least it doesn’t look like you’re going o have a bruise or anything.”

“I didn’t even think Jack would have that good of an arm,” The kid next to me shrugged.

“He doesn’t even work out.”

“I guess he was just lucky.”

“It didn’t feel very lucky to me,” I growled at them.

“Boys in the back, pay attention,” The teacher snapped after the bell rang.

“Yes, Ms. Forbes,” The kid behind me grumbled.

“Thank you for being polite, Rob –” Ms. Forbes started sarcastically.

“Rian!” He shouted.

“That’s right,” She mumbled, scribbling on her seating chart. “Everyone, before we start, I want you to be aware that we have a new student that will be joining us.” With an apathetic wave in my general direction, the teacher began writing on the board. ‘Of Mice and Men.’ Dammit. This was going to be way too easy. She began by introducing the novella; the overview of the story, the author’s life, the reason behind why we’d be reading it. The guy next to me was already passed out within the first few minutes of the lecture, breathing heavily.

“Psssssst,” Rian whispered from behind us. I looked back at him without craning my neck much. “Zaaaack… Pssst…”

I looked down at the sleeping figure next to me.

“Zaaaaaack,” Rian called a bit louder, then began ripping off small pieces of paper to toss into Zack’s fro-like hair.

I nudged Zack softly, pulling him out of his slumber. “What?” He asked eyes half-closed. I pointed at Rian with my thumb.

“Bro, there’s a movie for this. We won’t have to read it,” He grinned.

“Sweet,” Zack chuckled.

I sighed. I’d already read it, I was going to be bored.

The bell rang soon after, Zack getting up and racing off with Rian as quickly as their feet would carry them. I smiled slightly – he still had paper stuck in his hair.

With an unneeded glance at schedule, I mumbled a few choice words as I realized I’d need to go to the polar opposite side of the school next. I stood up, and then raced down the stairs and into the corridor where my class would be.