Thud. The sound of a student being shoved in the corner of the bus. That woke me up. I looked around to check the location, and it seemed that we were close to school. Roddy is beside me, staring at the sky. He's definitely imagining a shadow figure jumping around with us. I used to do that back in the day. Arthur was sitting across my seat, playing a game. I might ask him about that. But then he noticed my stare.
"Hey," He mouthed.
— 7:30 am, Tuesday: December 17, 2024 —
Oh, he gave a small wave, and I nodded awkwardly. Some part of me was afraid of waving back. It felt weird, I didn't know why I wasn't glad to see him across me. Was I new to this feeling? Was I not used to having someone around to notice me aside from my intelligence? That's uncommon.
Screech!. That's the stop. Roddy rushed out and left me, guess he's really excited. As per usual, though, I waited for the bus to be empty before heading out. I looked outside the window to pass the time. I almost dozed off, but before I knew it, Arthur had grabbed my wrist!
"Let's go!" Arthur called, he was beaming, sparkles dancing around him—and a halo that made him look like a saint. What is that?
Ah! He grabbed my wrist and dragged me across the crowds! In the tight corridor of the bus! Can you believe that? What was the matter? Why was he running? Why is he dragging me?
"Come on!" He shouted.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
He didn't reply. A lot went through my mind at that time, but it was a totally different way to wake me up. Why did he grab me, though? My eyes couldn't process the locations, for some reason, he was running so fast that it felt like I was flying. I was being dragged around.
...
Silence. The crowds started to disappear along with the noisy chattering around the school. It took him a while to reach the destination, but we finally managed to stop. But where were we? The place seemed familiar, though, we're still at the school, at least around the field.
"Where are we?" I questioned him, looking around.
Pant pant. Seriously, though, I didn't know which part of the school we were in, and I was out of breath first thing in the morning. I was dripping with sweat too, ew. He opened a passageway and had his hand out like some butler showing his master where to go, you know, that sort of thing. Hesitant, but I walked into the room.
"It's my secret hideout. Shh." He replied, lowering his voice.
A hideout? This guy, isn't he new here? I look around to check this 'hideout'. It seemed like one, like from those movies you'd imagine. It was pretty small and didn't have much in it. Has he not settled in yet? I mean, there weren't any bean bags of some sort, it's just.. empty.
"Pfft, your face is easy to read. I was exploring the place when the principal was talking to my father." He added.
"My… face.? Never mind that, you mean you found this, around what, Saturday?" I questioned him.
"Yup, anyways, come sit down. You have a few minutes before class, right? Come rest here, we don't want the guys hovering around you now, don't we?" He remarked, patting a space near him. Isn't he.. glowing? Like some angel? It's too bright.
Ah. I might have muttered something last night about the boys hovering around me. Did I also mention wanting somewhere to escape during free time? This feels weird. Is someone acknowledging my 'selfish' desires?
"Thank you… I appreciate it." I expressed my gratitude to him.
Thud. The sound of my bag dropping on the floor. I sat beside him since the space was small. We were sitting against a wall, which felt pretty uncomfortable, but I couldn't blame him. I had half an hour before my class, so I took his offer to rest and closed my eyes. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. I kept feeling a warm sensation on my right side, where Arthur was. I put on some music to help, but I still couldn't. Suddenly, I felt his hand on my head.
"Rest, Jeremy,.. shh." He whispered gently while removing my earphones.
Thump thump... The sound of my panicking heart started to calm down. He continued to pat my head gently. I… I didn't know what it was that calmed me down enough to put me to sleep at that time. I just- my mind disappeared into the abyss, like a magician snapping his fingers. He might have put my head on his shoulder while I was asleep. Or at least that's how I think it went, seeing as I woke up with my head on his shoulder, again, for the second time. Seeing that I didn't bring a jacket, he might have felt bad and placed his jacket on me. This guy, he's really kind, isn't he? Especially to someone he just met yesterday. This feeling is weird; I don't like it. I snapped back to reality and got my head up from his shoulder. I found him nodding his head. I guess we both lacked sleep. I guess that was my fault for making him stay up late.
"Huh? Oh, hey, Jeremy.." He mumbled while rubbing his eyes.
"Hi, are you good?" I asked.
"Yeah… Let's go? Oh, and don't worry about me staying up with you." He replied as he stood up.
Is my face that easy to read, or does this guy know how to read minds? He reached out for my hand, helping me stand up. He stretched out a bit while I dusted off my clothes. I fixed the cord of my earphones and folded Arthur's jacket.
"We have 10 minutes before class starts, so we should head out. Wait here, I'll check if there are people around, can't let anyone find out about our hideout. Hehe." He stated as he walked out.
"Sleeping in there was refreshing. I wish I could do that more often. Can I? I mean, we're friends now, right? I hope he allows me." I thought to myself.
"There's no one, let's go." He came back in and grabbed my wrist.
"Here, your jacket." I reached out.
"You can have it. You'll need it." He responded. Walking us out of the hideout.
Ding ding. The sound of the ten minutes before class rang. We walked on our separate ways as we got out of the hideout.
"Jeremy! See you later!" He shouted, waving back at me at a distance.
Ping! The sound of my notification. It's time for my English class. What do I do with the jacket, though? It felt weird wearing it, so I held onto it as I walked to my class. The boys in the corridor were looking weird at me, I wasn't sure if it was anger, judgment, or just glares. But then their stares shifted at the end of the corridor. It was the guys. Those guys were asking me to do their papers. I stopped by my locker and as I unlocked the door, their steps shook the ground. It's like marching men, but instead of men, it's childish losers who think they're superior. It gave them an intense atmosphere, though, bonus points for the effort of trying to faze the crowd. They surrounded me with my back to my locker.
"Leighton, we missed you, bro! Where have you been?" This guy in front of me asked, slamming his hand against my locker.
"I have them in my bag, let me get them," I replied, averting the question.
I only had 10 minutes left before class started, but these guys became a hurdle to my attendance. Although I doubt they subtracted my tardiness from my performance, it still worried me.
"Is that Heino's jacket?" One guy whispered to me. Pulling away with a smirk.
I could tell he was up to something, like using it as a free way to my services. Sigh, this is my life, this is how I get treated despite being the smart guy. Disappointing, isn't it? They must've waited for me to drop my walls to take advantage of me. This exact event was the reason I did a background check on everyone. I didn't think I'd be able to use them one day, I'll wait for them to strike.
Ping!The sound of my 5-minute reminder rang. I finished handing out the papers and had a few minutes left before class started. I started dashing through the corridor to my class, hoping I still got in time. I finally arrived in front of the classroom, panting as I leaned by the doorframe. Having the teacher arrive after me by just a millisecond.
"Take your seat, Leighton." He ordered.
I nodded, walking to my seat. I hung Arthur's jacket on my chair and took my seat. I can sense some boys from the bus staring at me, or at least at Arthur's jacket that happened to be in my possession.