Snapped Guitar Strings and Broken Hearts

Lunch With Brent

“ Hey…. Gwin…” Robby said tiredly, ruffling my hair as he sat down next to me. I got the window seat. Hahaha… He always wanted to have the window seat.
“ Dude, how much beer did you have last night?” I poked him in the side and he flinched.
“ None… but I think Craig like pulled a muscle in my neck or something, man…”
“ Eww… I didn’t need to hear that…”
“ Sorry.” He snickered, rubbing his neck. Same old Robby, even if his boyfriend had screwed up his neck.
“ No you’re not!” I hit him upside the head, putting on some mascara, and handing it to Robby. He eagerly put it on and then held his hand out for the eyeliner. I sighed, and gave it to him.
“ You’re such a girl, Robby.”
“ No I’m not. I’m a girl-boy”
“ Whatever, genius.”
“ Do I win?”
“ Sure, whatever. You win, Rob.” I shook my head and stuffed my eyeliner and mascara into my backpack.
“ YAY! I WIN!”
I am so used to hearing this phrase, it’s not funny… Well, I guess it is but whatever.
“ Time to crush some 7th and 8th graders!” Robby sang, jumping from his seat before the bus stopped. It stopped finally and he was flung backwards. The jocks laughed, and I stifled a giggle, but helped him up.
It wasn’t fair that the jocks and preps got so much attention. What work did they do anyways? I mean, at least we could do something. And that was play music.
“ Okay, /now/ we run over the 7th and 8th graders, Robby.” I agreed, stepping in front of him and pushing the younger people aside. This was the best part of being a freshman. No more being squished.

“ You love Craiiig…” I sang, poking Robby in Algebra.
“ And you heart Breeent,” He sang back, hitting me. I hit him harder and glared, shifting my eyes to Brent, who was three seats away for emphasis.
“ Oooh…” He caught on and nodded. Then he chuckled softly, pointing at me. Thank God our teacher was as dimwitted as us.
“ SHUDDUP, ROBBY!” I hissed, hitting him again. Why are teachers stupid enough to put us beside each other?

Robby hit me again as we walked out of math. He had a weird look in his eyes, and I thought for a moment he was dreaming of Craig. When I poked him he harshly said to me,
“ You better not say yes to Brent.”
“ What?” I asked, confused by his saying.
“ Never mind…” Robby walked awkwardly off to his class while I turned to mine for 45 minutes with Brent. Oh, boy.

“ Hey, Gwin.” Brent said, casually.
“ H-hey… Brent…” I spoke more nervously, not quite sure what he thought about me.
“ So, we still on for lunch, then?” He propped his head up on his elbows and rested a bit, not paying attention. I wasn’t either. Teachers were stupid.
“ Yeah, I guess. I’m pretty sure Robby’ll be okay with it.” I just remembered that I’d forgotten to tell Robby. Shoot.
“ Who?” Brent asked, curious. Maybe it was fake curiosity. I wasn’t sure, so I went along and told him.
“ Robby Hoover. He’s a good, good friend of mine. He had algebra with us last period. Brown, blackish hair, kind of like yours, darker and longer though.”
“ Oh. Him.” Brent said flatly, his face blank. I couldn’t read it, and that was a frustrating thing.

The rest of my English class was boring. So were the rest of my periods until lunch. YAY!

I stopped in the hallway by room 107, just like I had been instructed. Brent wasn’t there, so I waited for a couple of minutes. Soon enough, he showed and I smiled.
“ So, you want to eat with my friends, or just me?” He asked quietly, dragging me into a line. I picked up water and an apple and got out, Brent with nothing.
“ Just you.” I said hoarsely. He eyed me suspiciously and I opened the bottle of water, taking a couple of huge gulps.
“ Alright. Follow me, then.” Brent gave me a gesture to follow and then led me to an empty, isolated table in a corner. We sat down, him on one side in the center chair and I opposite of him.
“ So…” He began. Please, oh please don’t let this be about the ball… “ Anybody ask you to the Fall Ball?”
Too late.
“ Yes, somebody has…” I fidgeted with the cap of my bottle. “ Rob did yesterday.”
“ That’s the same person as Robby, right?”
“ Yes, yes it is. Robby’s my only friend in this school…” I admitted shyly. He told me he had insomnia, so I owed him a secret of my own.
“ Well, that’s interesting…” He drifted off into some meaningless chatter about something he learned in 4th period biology.

The rest of lunch was boring. We chatted about interests, music, and shiz like that. Brent wasn’t too interesting really. But he seemed to be holding a lot back; it was weird.

“ Hey, why didn’t you sit with me at lunch?” Robby whined, pulling my hair.
“ Ow, Robby…” I was hesitant to told him. That phrase he’d said earlier still bugged me.
“ Why, Gwinny?” He pressured me into telling him with those eyes of his. They were just too hard to resist.
“IwaseatingwithBrent…” I said quickly, keeping my head low.
“ Did you say yes?” He asked hurriedly, punching me in the arm. That hurt…
“ To what, Robby? You’re not being specific enough, seriously!” I couldn’t understand what he was trying to ask me. It wasn’t clicking.
“ Did he ask you to the ball?”
“ No, Robby. He asked me if anybody was taking me and I told him you were. Is that okay?”
“ Yes!” He sighed, relieved and pulled me into a tight hug again.
“ Wha?”
“ See, if you would go with Brent, I would’ve brought Craig down here and to the dance with me. But, see… that would give all the jocks and seniors more reasons to make fun of me…” His face was glum again, like he was telling me his secret again.
“ Robby, you could have told me that earlier! I would’ve gone with you for sure.” Gosh, he was so weird.
“ Oh.”