The Boy on the Blue Moon

I heard the familiar sound of the alarm clock above my head, followed by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs towards my bedroom. Suddenly, the door was flung open and a blinding light took over the space.
- Wake up, Sleeping Beauty! The bus will be here any minute! – my brother Mike shouted.
I grunted and slowly got up from the bed. I had barely slept at night because I was composing for my music assignment on my “studio”. It’s not a real studio, it’s kind of an attic that was filled with old shit from my parents, but it has great sound insulation so I got it cleaned up and it became my personal corner in the house. Music is basically the only subject I actually make an effort to do well at. I simply love composing; it helps me clarify my thoughts. The tough parts are always the lyrics, it’s like they’re stuck in my head and won’t come out. As I got ready for school, I got the strange feeling I was forgetting something really important. I had no idea what it could be, though. I checked my hoodie’s pocket for my ipod and earplugs, and there they were.
- That’s all that matters - I thought out loud.
As I went down the stairs still with that weird feeling on the back of my mind, I found my dad reading the morning paper and my mother reaching the fridge to offer me some cold pizza for breakfast. I looked over to the living room and Mike was scrolling down on his phone with a bored look on his face. I sat down at the table and took a slice of the pizza my mom had placed there moments before.
- You look upset, Vic. Did you sleep well, darling? – my mother noticed. I looked away from her so she couldn’t see the dark circles under my eyes from the sleepless night. She knew me so well, damn. Thankfully, Mike was aware of my situation.
- Mom, it’s 7:30 am, give him a break - he said quickly.
- Alright, alright... – my mom gave in.
Soon after, we shot off to catch the bus a few blocks away from home. I still had that strange feeling though, so I turned to Mike.
- Hey, do you know of anything special happening at school today? – I asked. The reason I was asking Mike is because he’s quite popular and is usually aware of special occasions since he talks to a lot of people. I’m totally the opposite actually, I am quite shy and it’s hard for me to make friends. The only reason the other kids don’t pick on me is because I’m Mike’s brother and he stands up for me most of the times, even though I’m older than him.
- Well, there’s Gabe Barham’s party. Are you coming?
- I wasn’t invited – I replied.
- That’s not a problem – he said with a cocky smile – Why don’t you come? I could find a way of sneaking you in...
- No thanks, I’m still working on my music assignment – I said quickly. There’s no way I’m going to Gabe Braham’s party. Those popular parties were a dangerous place for nobodies like me.
- If you say so...
As we got to the bus stop, Jaime and Tony caught up with us. They were basically the only people I talked to at school and I usually sat with them at lunch along with my brother. We hopped on the bus along with some other kids from our neighborhood and went for the back. I was quite excited because my first class that morning was music and I’d be able to rehearse for my assignment, which was to make a cover of your favorite song. I was still thinking about the chords of Iris when we got to school. I was the first to get to the music classroom; I was standing there before the bell even rang. As the time went by, more and more people arrived and took their seats. Ms. Erbosa had already started the class when this thin pale boy with dark hair falling over one side of his face walked into the room.
-Mr. Quinn, you’re late! – she said.
-Two weeks late, to be precise – he replied with half a smile on his lips. I don’t know why I was paying that much attention to his lips anyway. I shook the thought out of my mind as Ms. Erbosa pointed the Quinn kid to the only spare seat in the room, right next to me. I managed a smile.
- Hi, I’m Vic, are you new? – I asked.
- You’re the newbie here, dude – he rolled his eyes – I’m Kellin, and no, I’m not new. Only fashionably late.
Mike and I had moved to Winslow High just this year and yet I had never heard of him. I made a note to myself to ask Mike about him later.
-Well, I’ll need someone who can tune this guitar for me, and after we can get started on our first project. – Ms. Erbosa asked.
- I can – I raised my hand gladly. I actually didn't like to get all the attention on me while I tuned the guitar, yet I needed to get away from Kellin. I was feeling rejected and annoyed by his cocky attitude and that made me feel weird in a way I didn't quite understand. So I went forward and started tuning the guitar while she explained our assignment, which I had already started working on. Once I finished, Ms. Erbosa started demanding for me to play some simple chords. She didn’t seem impressed, so I started playing for real. I noticed Kellin’s mysterious blue eyes staring right at me and it made me feel really uncomfortable. For one second, I thought he was actually paying attention to my singing, but then all of a sudden, he left the room without a word. “Jackass” I thought to myself. The rest of the morning classes went as blur and I couldn’t stop thinking of Kellin.
At lunch, I grabbed my tray and went to sit with Mike, Jaime and Tony. I was about to pull a chair when I realized they were talking about Kellin. I felt tempted to go and sit by myself because I didn’t want anything to do with him, but I was too curious for such and quickly joined the conversation.
- I heard he was suspended for hitting someone – Jaime said, glancing nervously behind his back to make sure no one was listening.
- Bullshit – Tony added – He got shot, then he had to spend two weeks at the hospital. I also heard he was the one pulling the trigger, but you know, rumors.
- No way! – Jaime looked amazed. I saw by the look in Mike’s face that none of those versions of the story were true.
- And what have you heard, Mike? – I asked. He looked at me and I could tell he didn’t know the truth. He wouldn’t admit it though.
- He got on a fight at a football game and some drunk guy hit him in the head with a bottle of beer. He was in a coma for two weeks – he finished. After that, they called the subject off and started talking about the new and hot Spanish teacher. Since I’m part Mexican, I can speak Spanish fluently, and that makes Spanish an easy and obvious choice. I was by far the best of my class actually, not that I bragged about it much. So I took my tray and started out towards the exit because I didn’t think it was necessary to stick around and listen to all the stupid remarks they were making on her ass. I wish I had stayed though, because I crossed paths with Kellin and his friends, who looked just as stupid and ridiculously confident as himself. He passed me by and pushed his shoulder against mine purposely. I thought of just letting go, but something about Kellin’s smile made me turn around.
-Watch out! – I said without thinking. The whole room went silent as a tomb as Kellin stopped and turned around. He walked towards me until our faces were barely a palm of distance from each other. His once blue eyes had darkened and I could almost see the rage burning within, resembling the look of something evil. All I know is that it scared the living shit out of me and I felt chills running down my spine. I tried my best to keep my knees from bending as I felt his cigarette breath on my face.
- You have no idea who you’re dealing with, Fuentes – he started. The way he said my name sent a revitalizing fury down on me and I managed to look into his eyes.
- I guess I’m dealing with someone who likes messing around with boys – I said, once again without thinking. I had to let my big mouth get me in trouble. Things happened so fast I only noticed I got punched when I was in the ground. I almost felt no pain; I guess I was too focused on how dark Kellin's eyes could get and how his breath was intoxicating.
- You fucking asked for it, prick – he finished. I felt like throwing up. Who’d guess a skinny guy like Kellin could throw a punch like this. As I tried to get back on my feet, I felt something cold streaming down my hair, slowly getting all my right side wet and cold as ice. I looked up to see one of Kellin’s pals pouring what was left of his soda on top of me. I could still hear the sound of laughter coming from the cafeteria as I entered the bathroom and banged the door behind me.