All These Pesky Feelings

Asher

“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP” 

I moan loudly. Is it 7:00 AM already? Crap, this hangover is going to kill me. Why did I have to go to a party the night before the first day of Junior year? I already know the answer to my own question. 

“To spite my parents of course.” I mumble to myself quietly. It's not like it's going to work anyways. 

I hear my bedroom door creak slowly, light footsteps following soon after. 

“Hi sunshine, I made you your favorite breakfast, pancakes with chocolate chips!” says a chirpy, warm voice behind me. 

I suppress a groan. Can’t the woman take a hint? I’m obviously not hungry yet or I'd be in the dining room. “Mom please! I am so hungover and feel like s**t. If I wanted pancakes, I would have asked for them. Now, can you get out of my room?” 

My eyes dart up to hers, searching for a reaction. I was hoping to irritate her after talking to her in such a short-tempered way and mentioning being hungover on the first day of class. But of course, she has nothing but good things to say. 

“Oh, honey why didn't you tell me so? I’ll get an aspirin and some Gatorade to go. Unless you are too hungover to go to school. In that case you can stay or-” 

I interrupt her with a huge sigh. Of course, she doesn't care. Both of my parents never care. I could probably jump off a bridge and they wouldn’t even bat an eyelash. 

“The aspirin and Gatorade are fine. I’ll be down in a minute.” She smiles, nodding, and leaves the room. 

I looked over at the clock. 7:15 AM, it reads. I’ll have to leave in 15 minutes if I want to be on time. I’m not excited for a new school. It will be the same routine as always. I’ll be seen as the bad guy who should get into fights, go to parties, join a band, date the most popular girl in school and maybe break her heart… All the same boring things I’ve been doing at new schools the last two years. 

But maybe, just maybe, this year will be different. I had met this hot girl in the area at some party this summer. Her name was Brooke, and for some reason I still think about her. She had long brown hair, a smile that was worth gold and eyes that seemed to be a mix of greens and yellows. I don’t know if she remembers me, even after all I did for her. Then again, I met another girl a few days ago. Her name was Delilah and she seemed pretty cool. 

I look over at the clock again. 7:25 AM, I curse under my breath and get up and out of bed. 

I change as quickly as I can, and take a quick look in the mirror. A tall, lean, but slightly muscular boy with skinny black jeans and white T-shirt and blue eyes looks back at me. If I pay close attention, I can slightly see the black ink marks on my torso through my shirt. I had gotten the tattoos along with the piercings to provoke my parents, and it didn't even work. 

I grab my favorite black leather jacket, tousle my hair a bit, and adjust my lip ring before going downstairs to grab the aspirin and Gatorade. Finally, I’m sitting in my car, ready to go.

***

I walk into the cafeteria after my first four classes and most heads turn towards me. I just glare at them, trying to tell them to mind their own business with my eyes until they stop staring. 

I start walking, my backpack hung over one shoulder while trying to ignore the whispers. The words “He’s so hot” don’t escape me though, and I wink and smirk at the girl who says them. I'm looking for Delilah, we had Swedish class together and she invited me to sit with her and her friends. So far, she seems like the most popular girl in school, which is good. I can get dating the most popular girl in school off my list of things to do. 

Until I finally spot her. She waves at me enthusiastically as I walk over. “Well this will be easy…” I whisper to myself as I reach the table. I sit next to Delilah and am surprised to see… her. It’s Brooke from the party! The girl I can’t stop thinking of, and she’s sitting next to Delilah. 

I sit there shocked for half a second until I remember where I am, and snap out of it. I place a cocky grin on my face. 

“Hey. Brooke, isn’t it?”