Flesh & Bone

Jocelyn Wanor, a short, red-headed, 14 year old, swung in the park on the swing set. Next to her was an average height boy with light brown hair, who was about the same age. Jocelyn pushed herself off the ground with her feet. In the air, she felt amazing. She felt like she was flying. Looking over at the boy, she smiled. Unfortunately, he didn't return the smile and his head was facing toward the ground.

“Alex, what's wrong?” she frowned as she slid her feet on the ground to help her stop. She glanced over his face, which was unreadable at this point. Alex sighed softly and looked up at Jocelyn.

“Would you call me a pussy if I said I was scared for tomorrow?” he said with a small, nervous laugh. Jocelyn giggled and put her hand to her mouth to hid it.

“I'm nervous too, but as long as we stick together, we can make it through anything.” Jocelyn smiled at the boy and placed one of her hands on his shoulder.

“I'm glad I have you, Lyn.” Jocelyn lips formed into a small grin.

“Tomorrow” was the first day of high school for Alex and Jocelyn. From the time they were practically toddlers, they have been inseparable. Hanging out in the park was their favorite things to do because that's where they had met.

The sun was touching the horizon, making the sky a cat puke pink. The sky then became darker as the minutes passed.

“We should be heading home,” Alex suggested, getting up off of his swing. Jocelyn gave him a sad, small smile and rose from her own swing. They started to walk down the path and out of the park. Going their separate ways, Alex gave Jocelyn a tight hug, almost squishing the guts out of her, and said their goodbyes.



It was the first day of high school and Jocelyn stood in the double door entrance. Alex was right beside her. He flicked his carmel-colored hair out of his eyes to stare at her with nervousness. The sad thing was, they had no classes together. They sighed a deep sigh in unison, walking through the doors.



The days passed by and before Jocelyn knew it, it was two weeks later on a Friday. School was tough for a freshman. Of course because of her height, she got a lot of heat from the upperclassmen. They thought it was their job and duty to push and shove her. Stuffing her in lockers was one of their most popular things to do to her.

That Friday was when things would take a dramatic turn in Alex and Jocelyn's friendship. It was lunch time when it had happened. Usually Alex would sit with her at the small, round table near the window. However, for the past few days, Alex hasn't shown up. It felt like she hadn't seen him in a while. Jocelyn danced her eyes around the cafeteria. Landing her eyes on the table near the door, she found him sitting with four other boys she didn't know. Except for a tall, junior, who she expected to play some sort of sport. He was one upperclassmen that had shoved her into a locker.

Gathering up courage, she took tiny steps until she finally arrived at the table of boys. Messing with the sleeve with her jacket, a nervous habit, she spoke up.

“Alex..” she said in a small, almost inaudible voice. Alex turned his attention away from the rowdy, laughing boys and onto her.

“Jocelyn, what's up?” he answered with a small grin on his face, looking slightly confused. Jocelyn toyed with her sleeves and looked down at the marble floors of the cafeteria.

“I just haven't seen you around lately. You never show up at the park anymore. I wanna know what you've been up to...” Jocelyn squeaked in a quiet voice.

Alex stiffed a small laugh, “Listen Jocelyn, I've made some new friends. That's all. I can't just be your friend.”

Jocelyn swallowed hard, trying to keep the lump in her throat down. She nodded slightly. She missed her best friend. Unfortunately, she wasn't like Alex and couldn't make friends as easily.

“I just miss you, Alex.”

“I know.”

Alex took his eyes off of her and turned back to the table of boys, engaging in their conversation. As Jocelyn got the hint, she turned away on her heel and started to make her way back to her seat. Until the tall junior stood up.

“Ya Wanor freak, go make some freak friends.”

She could feel the entire student body in the cafeteria turn and stare at her. The boys around the table started laughing, along with some of the students nearby. Jocelyn dared to look back over her shoulder, just to see Alex laughing along. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she felt like vomiting.



The days and weeks passed on and Jocelyn found her and Alex, the friendly, loving, caring Alex, growing apart. He never wanted to hang out with her anymore and she always found herself swinging in the park with an absence next to her. One day, another incident happened with Alex, pushing Jocelyn to the edge.

It was a Wednesday, Jocelyn was walking down an empty hallway to her locker. It was empty up until Alex and his new friends had decided to show up. Jocelyn tried to hurry up and grab the book from her locker. However, it was too late. The five boys were right behind her.

She inhaled an unsteady breath as she tried to ignore their presence. A hand shoved her slightly. It was hard to ignore, but she tried her best. She was determined to get out of this situation and fast.

“Go on, Gaskarth. Do it.”

With that said, Jocelyn swiftly turned around to face the boys, just to be met with Alex's own hands shoving her into her locker. She caught his eye just as one of the older boys shut the door on her face. His eyes were hard to read.

Her heartbeat was racing and she felt the need to puke again. Tears escaped from her hazel eyes silently. They fell with ease and she didn't try to stop them.

From that day forward, Jocelyn Wanor hated Alex Gaskarth. She would make his life a living hell.