I Don't Mind If You're Overrated

It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. Parents were supposed to love and support you, not get rid of you.

This was the only thing I could think as I packed the last of my things. My mother came in, taking up more of my boxes to load them in the car. She wouldn’t even look at me anymore. I sighed, pulling my desk chair over to my closet to get down my notebooks. Even though we had only been in the house for a few weeks, I had hid them the second we had gotten here.

“Vic?” I recognized my little brother’s voice. I felt the tears pooling in my eyes, we were pretty close, and I was really going to miss him. He was only 15, but he was already about five inches taller than me. I stepped down from the chair, clutching my notebooks to my chest. Mike pulled me into a hug. “Be careful, Vic, okay? It’s just boarding school, I know, but don’t be stupid. I’m gonna miss you, man.’ He said.

“I’ll miss you too, Mike. I’ll see you before you know it.” I assured him, pulling away and forcing a smile, for his sake. I reached up and patted him on the head like I used to when we were little kids.

I heard the car horn beep from the front driveway. It hadn’t taken a long time to get all my things packed up. I didn’t have much in the first place, and we had just moved here to Orlando from San Diego. I sighed, waving one last goodbye to my brother before I plugged in my headphones and dragged myself out to the car.

Once we got close to the school, which was about an hour outside of Orlando, I realized I was actually pretty excited for this. I was sick of living in the hell that my home had become. Ever since the accident… well, it wasn’t exactly an accident. But either way, things had been bad recently. We got to the campus to see kids bustling around, broken up into cliques walking across the huge lawn. Some gave me some strange stares. I guess not many people transferred in March, let alone small Mexican kids. My mom checked me in with the admissions lady and walked with me to my room, helping me with my small amount of things.

I was on the third floor of the boy’s dorm. The room was pretty small, and it was easy to tell which side would be mine. My roommate was presumably still in class, considering it was 1:30 PM. His side of the room was messy, with an unmade bed and clothes strewn everywhere, along with pictures, posters, and letters taped to the wall. Each of us had a small dresser and a desk with a built in light.

The silence with my mother as I unpacked was painful. I had yet to get used to it. I wished I could go back to before everything happened, to before I had fucked everything up. I suddenly wished I could be back in San Diego, playing music with my brother and our friends Jaime and Tony. Our dream had been to start a band, but now that obviously wasn’t going to happen. I started to put the sheets on my bed while my mom stared at me awkwardly.

“Well?” I asked, getting fed up and turning around. I didn’t want her to stay any longer.

“Goodbye, Victor.” She said quietly with a small nod. She stood there for a second, looking conflicted. But she decided to walk out without another word or a small glance back. I sighed, sitting back down on my bed.

“Don’t cry, Vic. Don’t be weak.” I whispered to myself, clutching my wrists. I took deep breaths, counted to 25, and pictured myself at a concert. The crowd was my happy place, so to speak. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to another one for a long time, but I tried to push that thought out of my head. I got up and finished putting my top sheets on my bed and putting my clothes away. I pulled out my iPod, a Christmas present from Mike last year, and plugged in my headphones, letting myself drift off into a restless sleep.

“Hey.” I woke up to someone shaking me gently. I pulled out my headphones, looking up to see a ginger kid staring down at me. I sat up too quickly, making myself lightheaded. “I’m guessing you’re Victor?” he asked. I laughed nervously, pulling my sweatshirt sleeves down over my wrists and nodding. If he saw what I was hiding there, I wouldn’t be making a very good first impression.

“I go by Vic, actually.” I corrected him, shaking his hand.

“Jesse Lawson. Nice to meet you.” He seemed friendly enough. “You were sleeping when I got back, but now it’s time for dinner. You can sit with me and my friends, if you want.” He offered. I smiled and nodded. It was nice to be with people who didn’t know my past. I followed him out of the room and down the hall.

“So there are about 200 of us in total here. Small school, you’ll get to know everyone. Lucky for you, we’re the only group that is not composed of total assholes. There’s me, of course, my girlfriend, Jenna, Gabe, Matty, and Kellin.” He explained as we walked. “Stay away from Oli and Josh. They’re both stuck up, British pricks.” I nodded, taking it all in. we reached the bottom of the stairs, and Jesse pushed open a set of large doors to reveal a very fancy dining hall. He led me over to a table in the right-hand corner. I just stared at all the people in front of me. There was a cute blonde girl with a huge smile, a goofy looking, light-haired guy, another ginger with his hair slicked back, and a pale, pretty boy with black hair. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him

“Hey guys, this is Vic. He’s my new roommate.” Jesse introduced me. They all smiled and waved. The blonde was of course Jenna, who surprised me by having a heavy Australian accent. The funny guy was Gabe.

“Hey, are you Mexican?” the other ginger asked curiously. I nodded tentatively, causing him to high five Jesse and laugh. He had a high, girly voice. Not that I was one to talk. “Gingers aren’t the minority anymore!” he announced happily before turning to me. “I’m Matty, by the way.” He seemed funny. Everyone was staring at the last boy, who I was assuming would be Kellin.

“What’s the matter, Kell? You’re not one to be short of words.” Jenna asked with a laugh. The black haired boy just twisted his mouth at her. She shrugged, turning to lean her head on Jesse’s shoulder. I took a seat on the end of the table.

“I’m Kellin.” The pretty boy announced finally. He had a high, clear voice like I had never heard before. Everyone laughed. He looked up and gave me a slight, beautiful smile that would make the Mona Lisa jealous.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I was thankful for my tan complexion, because I knew his beauty was making me blush. I looked around the table, realizing Matty, Jenna, and Gabe already had their dinner. Kellin didn’t seem like he was going to eat.

“I’m gonna go get some food.” Jesse announced as he stood up. He looked down at me. “You wanna come with me?” He asked. I shook my head.

“I ate a big lunch.” I lied. I hadn’t eaten all day. Jesse just shrugged and walked off towards the dinner lines. I pulled my sleeves down even farther over my hands, suddenly feeling self conscious, and tried to make friends with the people I knew I’d be spending a lot of time with.