Status: Work in Progress
Straight Through My Heart
004
The next day, Jimmy was barely able to look me in the eye, and vice versa. We avoided each other as much as possible, and before the day was out, there were whispers. Whispers that seemed to eat away at the very being that was James Armstrong.
When the final bell rang, I walked into the office. "Yes, Mr. Way. What can I do for you?" Mr. Donahue asked, looking at me with curious eyes.
"Is there anyway I an un-enroll myself without a parent's signature?" I asked, looking at him with eyes that I'm sure said I wasn't all too hopeful. When Mr. Donahue gave me the sorry look, I knew before he spoke.
"Afraid not, Gerard," he said, looking concerned. "Why do you ask? Is there someone bugging you? Or are you giving up?" Gerard immediately shook his head.
"No, no. It's nothing like that," Gerard said, taking a deep breath. "It's something rather personal. That's all." Gerard went silent for a few minutes, then asked, "Am I able to transfer myself to another school without a parent?"
Time Elapse -- Two Days
"Gerard, are you sure you want to do this?" Mom asked, helping me straighten up my uniform. "It's not like it was your rep that you were putting down."
"That's why I had to leave, Mom," I said, looking at her in the mirror. "Jimmy may not me my best friend in the world, but you heard him. People expect so much from him, and I don't want to be the reason why he goes from being at the top to being at the bottom ... with me."
"You truly do care about others," she said, giving me a faint smile. "Even if you don't get along."
"Just think about it this way, Mom," I said, turning around and facing her. "I'll be spending more time with Mikey and I'll be attending a school that focuses a lot more on art."
"You are a great artist," she said, wrapping me in a hug. "Now, lets get you to the school before you're late. Last thing you need to be is late."
***
We arrived at the school, and I looked around in awe. The school was huge. Standing five stories high, the school almost looked like it was a prestigious school. The lawn was manicured to perfection, the school sign stating its name was clean and sturdy -- not a crack in site. There were no vines or growth of any kind climbing the walls, flowers that looked very taken care of lead from the sidewalk to the front steps in an array of colors that welcomed me.
"I can't believe it took me all this time to get here," I said, just barely over a whisper to no one in particular. "This place looks fantastic."
"Wait until you see the inside," Mikey said, grabbing our bags and getting out of the car. Getting out as well, we said our goodbyes to our mother and started for the front doors. The entire walk up to them, people were high-fiving me left and right, a smile along with it all. "You'll get used to it. It's a thing people here do when greeting a new student."
"This place fucking kicks ass. I wish you would have begged me to come here until I caved," I said, nudging Mikey.
"Two new kids in one day! Sweet!" a kid yelled, causing Mikey and I to turn and see a guy with blonde and black hair standing at the end of the sidewalk, looking rather distraught. As he started walking, he was getting the same treatment I had gotten, people giving him high-fives and a smile.
Running back to him, Mikey and I hooked our arms in his, causing him to look at us both with confusion. "What's your name, kid?" I asked, flipping my hair out of my face and looking at him.
"Frank," he said, sounding a bit uncomfortable. "Who are you two?"
"The name's Gerard, and the other guy is my kid brother, Mikey," I said, grinning. Mikey then smacked me and ran off, causing me to unhook myself from Frank and run after him around the lawn, getting laughs from other students. I've never felt so at home at a school before, and I was dreading the end of the day. This day has been one of the best days of my life since my sixteenth birthday four months ago.
When the final bell rang, I walked into the office. "Yes, Mr. Way. What can I do for you?" Mr. Donahue asked, looking at me with curious eyes.
"Is there anyway I an un-enroll myself without a parent's signature?" I asked, looking at him with eyes that I'm sure said I wasn't all too hopeful. When Mr. Donahue gave me the sorry look, I knew before he spoke.
"Afraid not, Gerard," he said, looking concerned. "Why do you ask? Is there someone bugging you? Or are you giving up?" Gerard immediately shook his head.
"No, no. It's nothing like that," Gerard said, taking a deep breath. "It's something rather personal. That's all." Gerard went silent for a few minutes, then asked, "Am I able to transfer myself to another school without a parent?"
Time Elapse -- Two Days
"Gerard, are you sure you want to do this?" Mom asked, helping me straighten up my uniform. "It's not like it was your rep that you were putting down."
"That's why I had to leave, Mom," I said, looking at her in the mirror. "Jimmy may not me my best friend in the world, but you heard him. People expect so much from him, and I don't want to be the reason why he goes from being at the top to being at the bottom ... with me."
"You truly do care about others," she said, giving me a faint smile. "Even if you don't get along."
"Just think about it this way, Mom," I said, turning around and facing her. "I'll be spending more time with Mikey and I'll be attending a school that focuses a lot more on art."
"You are a great artist," she said, wrapping me in a hug. "Now, lets get you to the school before you're late. Last thing you need to be is late."
***
We arrived at the school, and I looked around in awe. The school was huge. Standing five stories high, the school almost looked like it was a prestigious school. The lawn was manicured to perfection, the school sign stating its name was clean and sturdy -- not a crack in site. There were no vines or growth of any kind climbing the walls, flowers that looked very taken care of lead from the sidewalk to the front steps in an array of colors that welcomed me.
"I can't believe it took me all this time to get here," I said, just barely over a whisper to no one in particular. "This place looks fantastic."
"Wait until you see the inside," Mikey said, grabbing our bags and getting out of the car. Getting out as well, we said our goodbyes to our mother and started for the front doors. The entire walk up to them, people were high-fiving me left and right, a smile along with it all. "You'll get used to it. It's a thing people here do when greeting a new student."
"This place fucking kicks ass. I wish you would have begged me to come here until I caved," I said, nudging Mikey.
"Two new kids in one day! Sweet!" a kid yelled, causing Mikey and I to turn and see a guy with blonde and black hair standing at the end of the sidewalk, looking rather distraught. As he started walking, he was getting the same treatment I had gotten, people giving him high-fives and a smile.
Running back to him, Mikey and I hooked our arms in his, causing him to look at us both with confusion. "What's your name, kid?" I asked, flipping my hair out of my face and looking at him.
"Frank," he said, sounding a bit uncomfortable. "Who are you two?"
"The name's Gerard, and the other guy is my kid brother, Mikey," I said, grinning. Mikey then smacked me and ran off, causing me to unhook myself from Frank and run after him around the lawn, getting laughs from other students. I've never felt so at home at a school before, and I was dreading the end of the day. This day has been one of the best days of my life since my sixteenth birthday four months ago.