Beep Beeep. The sound of the horn woke me up.
"See you later, Twinkerbell!" Some boys jeered while getting off.
— 7:30 am, Monday: December 16, 2024 —
Did I mention it's an all-boys school? Homophobia is common, not that I fuck with it. I'm a neutral guy. If my friends do it, only then will I meddle. Says the guy who doesn't have a single friend. Funny.
"See you later, Roddy," I bid farewell to my brother.
Ridiculous, right? The only person I talk to is my brother, with the same words every day. Although I'm the top student, I still don't have any friends. I guess they consider me a nerd, even though I won them multiple awards from quiz bees to spelling bees. Students started getting off the bus, it's always such a ruckus. I would wait for these things out, having the thought of squeezing myself into the crowd is not my thing, it's definitely claustrophobia. As I looked around, I saw the same guy across my seat. He moved. I didn't mind it since the boys at the back probably told him to. What I did mind was the fact that he was staring at me the whole time. Only then did he look away when I looked. I got off the bus thinking nothing of it.
"Hey Leighton! Got my paper?" One of the boys shouted, putting his arm around me and handing me the money.
"I'll give it to you before class," I said, grabbing the money and removing his arm from me.
This is how they treat me. The top student. One of the smartest guys in school. The winner of all trophies, they say, they treat me like a lackey. The only time I received proper treatment was when I had competitions coming up. The only reason I'm not being bullied to death right now is the fact that they need trophies to fill the Hall of Fame. Other than that, the Principal doesn't care. Why haven't I reported it? It was shrugged off as "dumb teenage boys teasing/joking around"; they didn't even try to defend their top student. I envy Filipinos, I saw a video once on the internet. It shows how the 'nerds' are superior, immune, and even hotter than the bullies in the Philippines. Can you believe that? I wish I were studying there. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be living a better school life.
Ring!There goes the bell. First class: Volunteerism. They added this class last year. As the name suggests, students are tasked to volunteer somewhere during the summer vacation while taking photos and writing an essay about the experience. Oftentimes, we were just introduced to organisations we can apply to. It's a once-a-week class, so it's not that special, unless you want your résumé to look pretty. Summer vacation is the only highlight in this class; it's the projects. You can say it sucks to spend your summer on works and stuff, but it is a volunteer class. Participate if you like it; otherwise, don't.
"Leighton~ Sup, Bro."
The guy earlier, who is now sitting in front of my seat. I handed him his paper. What's in the paper? Just some application for the organisation that this guy decided to apply for. Funny right? He still applied to volunteer with the application I made.
"Settle down, class." Our teacher, Ms. Charlotte, ordered as she walked in.
"I know you're all excited about summer vacation. But don't forget your project. I hope everyone has filled out their application form along with the organisation you'd be applying to." She pointed out.
"I want everyone to go in front and state the organisation with their forms." She instructed.
"We'll start from the front row." She added.
Everyone started going. It's mostly animal shelters, foster care, and environmental care. That guy? He applied for environmental care. Interesting choice, I'd say. Oh, it's my turn.
"So this is my form. I applied for Waitakere Hospital as a helper at my mom's cafeteria," I stated.
You're probably wondering why there of all places? It's mainly because of my mother. As I mentioned, she works there, and I thought of helping her this summer. It's not like I have anything to do this summer anyway, I don't want to waste it lying around my room, playing video games all day.
"That wraps up our class. I'm proud of you guys for doing this." She spoke, feeling all proud. "I'll see you after summer vacation. Goodbye, class." Ms. Charlotte bid farewell. Now that you mention it, it is the last week before summer vacation.
Ringggg! And just like that, the school has ended for the day. Roddy should be sleeping back home right now; he has class for half the day, unlike me. You probably know why I haven't been telling stories to my mom. As I walk towards my locker. Around 6 people hovered around me, paying me to write essays for them… I needed the money anyway. It's the safest way a student can earn some cash, at least for me.
After that, I rode the school bus on the way home. Surely, I saw the same guy in the same corner. He was sleeping. He looked peaceful, pure, and innocent. I must have been staring for a while, he started waking up. He almost caught me staring if I hadn't hurried and sat down. I listened to some music and leaned on the window. In an instant, I fell asleep.
Snap! A camera shuttered. Along with a bunch of guys laughing, which woke me up. I opened my eyes slowly and lifted my head.
"Nice pillow, Leighton!" Some guy in front of my seat laughed.
I didn't know what they were talking about until I looked at my side. … I'm shocked, alright. It was that guy, the same guy who was at the corner earlier. I fixed my face and moved back near the window to grow some distance between us. What a way to wake up, right? I was wondering why I felt comfortable. I flipped off the guys, and they went back to minding their own business.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to disrupt your sleep." The guy whispered.
I nodded in reply. We had half an hour left before my house, so I brought out my notebook to do some assignments. However, I found myself writing "thank you" in the corner of the page. Before I knew it, I handed it to that guy. Wait what?! He took out a pen and wrote "You're welcome". We looked at each other, and he gave me a gentle smile. He gave the notebook back. I could have ended it there, but no. We asked for each other's names and all. We started talking through the notebook. Can you believe that? I might have just made a friend.
Half of the students on board had left and it was the two of us. It was awkward, but we stopped talking at some point. That is, until we reached my house.
Pshhht. The sound of the bus door opening. As I stood up, Arthur handed me a piece of paper.
"Open it when you get home." He said, seeing me off with a gentle smile and wave.
I was curious, but I'm obedient. I ran quickly to my room and opened the paper. It was his number. Oh, Mom would be so happy to hear I made a friend. I took off my sweater and bag. For some reason, I was so excited to text this Arthur guy. I jumped onto my bed and texted him.
"Arthur?" Sent just now.
I was nervous, waiting for him to reply.
…
No reply, who am I kidding? Who would want to talk to me? He probably just wants his essay written like any other guy in my class. I stood up and got ready to do some work.
Ding! My phone pinged. I grabbed my phone and checked what the notif was about. It was him! I jumped onto my bed once again and checked the message.
"At your service." Seen just now.
Oh wow, he actually replied to me. But I was still nervous, maybe he wants an essay.
"So, what service will you be buying?" I asked, assuming he wanted to pay me.
"Service? Noo. I want to be friends, haha." Seen just now.
Friends..? Now that's weird, I don't think anyone approached me this way—is he trying to get a free way in?
"Being friends with me won't give you discount for my services." I texted, I have my guards up.
"You're funny, haha. Arthur Heino, by the way." Seen just now.
Does he really just want to be friends? With me? Wow.
"… Jeremy Leighton," I replied.
"Woah, as in the top student?"
"Sure."
"That's cool. I heard you're in the main building."
"Not as cool as you think, but yeah."
"It is though, unless someone gets the same grades as you, they won't be able to take classes in the main building, rightt?"
"Some cheated their way in, not that hard."
"But still, you got there by pure skills! You're amazing!"
It's really not that impressive though.. This guy's crazy.
"… Thank you, I guess.."
Can you imagine how long our conversation went on that noon? That's the longest time I've ever talked to someone, world record indeed. All of a sudden, it's already dinner time.
"Kids! Dinner time!" My mom called.
I heard Roddy running around the house as my father turned off the TV. I told Arthur I'll be back after dinner, in case he wondered where I went.
"Today's dinner is mushroom soup. I was lucky enough to have some leftovers." She added.
See what I mean? I'm grateful for the leftovers. Mostly because she cooks healthy and delicious food. I mean, it's a hospital, Jeremy. What did you expect? We sat on our respective chairs and said grace.
"So, Jeremy. How's your day?" My mom asked.
"It's fine, got tasked with a few homework," I replied.
It was indeed not fine. My services were bought, which were normal, but I made a friend, if anything, that's new. But I didn't have the energy to express it. All I can think of is Arthur—my first friend throughout my high school life.
"Mom! I drew something for class!" Roddy expressed.
Thank you, Roddy, phew. If he hadn't meddled again, my mom would've given me an earful about enjoying my youth. It's not that I'm not, I just can't enjoy it. Mostly because I'm supposed to be a 'nerd' while hanging out with people who pay me for being a 'nerd'? Which, I'd rather not do and spend my days alone and rich.
"Really? Let's see it later, then." My mom replied.
Clink, the sound of the utensils hitting each other. I chowed down on my mushroom soup immediately. Managing to escape another question from my mom. I rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I didn't wait for Roddy to finish eating. They won't suspect my actions, if anything, they'd think I have a bunch of homework piled up—which is true, considering my services. I took advantage of my dumped work to stay up late while talking to Arthur. It's crazy to think you can talk for hours with just one person about anything. We haven't started talking about our interests, it was all about his experience from moving everywhere and my experience as the top student.
I just found out he's from Finland, but moved due to his parents' jobs. Oh, and he had a pet fish that died after it was dumped on the toilet. In the blink of an eye, it was already 2 am, and I had finished all my work. Time sure is fast, but it wasn't this fast. All my life, time was slow for me. No pressure, no rush. But somehow, this one time with Arthur, time moved so fast.
It was time for me, for us, to go to bed, and somehow, it felt heartbreaking to end the conversation. I didn't want our time together to end. Can time stop on this very moment? So we came up with a solution and agreed to call each other until one of us fell asleep.
"Goodnight.. Remy."
The words faded as I closed my eyes.