Fatal Attraction

I didn't like being the new kid. Being pounded with questions was not the ideal thing for me. I didn't like to be thrust into the limelight. I'm more of the shy kid and these people obviously couldn't recognize that. They just hammered me with question after question after question:
"Where did you move here from?"
"What's it like there?"
"What's it like being the new kid?"
"Do you like it here?"
"What's that in your ear?"
And so on and so forth.

I walked into my new home, unpacked boxes just sitting around the living room. We had arrived last week but naturally, the only thing my mother wanted to do was cook. I had no complaints; Mama Perry was an amazing cook. I think that's the reason my dad married her and why my dad isn't the most fit guy around.

I dropped my backpack on one of the boxes and entered the kitchen, where my mom was naturally stationed. As I entered she looked up and smiled. People say that I get my looks from her; we both have big eyes and nice smiles. My dad and I look nothing alike at all. I have no problem telling people that he's my dad, though. He's pretty cool.

"Tony, how was school?" She smiled and turned back to her cooking. It smelt like she was making rice, no surprise there. She loved rice.

"Eh." I shrugged and sat at the table. The whole kitchen had been unpacked, complete with chicken figurines, chicken towels, chicken placemats, chicken everything really. My mother loved chickens; cooking them and as an animal. It was a strange obsession but everyone has one I guess.

"Eh? You have to give me more than that." She chuckled and shook her head.

"They're all so... Pushy."

"Oh. How so?"

"They kept forcing me to talk and answer questions."

"That's what teachers do, Tony." She laughed as if the answer were all too obvious. But she didn't understand.

"Not the teachers, mom, the other students. They were all so pushy and wanted to get to know me right away. It's annoying." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"So I guess you didn't make any friends?" She asked, a disappointed tone in her voice.

"No." I dropped my head on the table, my mind slowly drifting towards that girl at lunch. The one who was writing, and sitting alone. This other girl, the loud and chatty one, told me her name was Mayella, Mayella Dunham. The name is beautiful and so is she. For the rest of school, I couldn't get her out of my mind. She was only in my lunch period, but I saw her in the halls throughout the day, earbuds in and head down. She took no shit, I could already tell.

I sighed softly. I wanted to know her. To get to know her. But she obviously wanted nothing to do with me. She looked at me as if I were crazy for wanting to sit with her today. But she was the only person there who looked and dressed a bit like myself. The only person who didn't look preppy or cared about what they wore. That's my type of person.

"Did Jaime call?" I asked, lifting my head.

"Hm?" She hasn't heard my question.

"Did Jaime call?" I repeated.

"I don't know, the house phone isn't even hooked up yet. And you do have a cell phone. So why are you asking me?"

"Uh, force of habit." I got off the chair and raced to my room, shutting the door.

Jaime Preciado is my best friend. He's the exact opposite of me; he's loud, chatty, and has no problem making friends with people. Me? I'm quiet, shy and I'm terrible at making conversation. I always let him do the talking when we got in trouble with both of our parents, and would always nod along with what he was saying. He could make up any story he pleased and that was a skill that I didn't possess. I couldn't lie like he could.

I've known Jaime since fourth grade and we've been inseparable ever since. We learned to play the guitar together, however recently he switched to playing bass and singing. I couldn't sing, but Jaime has an amazing voice. He was pretty crushed when I told him I was moving; now he didn't have a buddy to jam with anymore. I'm over an hour away now, so we won't be able to see each other often. That sucks.

I fell onto my mattress and looked around the room. I took the room where the walls were a dark gray. It would help me sleep because sometimes I can't sleep. I believe that's called being an insomniac. The dark walls gave the room a darker aura. I liked that. Otherwise, the room was a decent size and all my shit will eventually fit in here.

I pulled my laptop out from under my pillow and started it up. It was one of those old laptops, so I called it a dinosaur. Sometimes I refer to it as "Dino." That probably makes me a little insane, but me and Jaime are the only ones that get it.

Once it was started up, I realized I couldn't do much because we didn't have the Internet set up yet. So, I shut it down and laid back, staring at the ceiling. I didn't want to live here, in this weird town where I didn't know anybody. I wanted to be in my old town with Jaime, boozing it up and having a good time. Now, all I have is my family and the memories that remain of what once was a good time.

That is, until I remembered Mayella. I wasn't one to stalk, but every teenager nowadays has some form of social network. I guess I'll have to put that to the test. I turned on my phone and clicked on the Internet. Lets see where that gets me.