Chapter 2 First Day Worst Day
Jason
Senior year. Jason had one more year and then he could possibly leave San Francisco behind him forever. Jason was desperate to leave everything familiar to him behind. For now, it was just one more year. Then the possibilities would be endless. Chicago. New York. Massachusetts. Georgia. Alaska. Hell, out of the county. Open doors would mean infinite opportunities. Just as Shakti Gawain said, The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf.
Jason woke up late. He'd stayed up later than he meant to. Forums to various colleges, any place but here, were stuck to his face. He'd spent almost an hour scrubbing off letters from the side of his face. And drool. All he could think of the night before, was where he'd like to go first. So he couldn't sleep. He end up with less than six hours of sleep.
He skipped breakfast. He didn't have much of a choice. He took the stairs instead of the elevator. Jason only lived on the third floor, plus he could have used the exercise. He didn't get to shave either since he had under ten minutes to get out the door. There were no overly chatty neighbors to slow him down while he carried his bike down the stairs.
Jason's mom left a note on front door, just before he left. Stars can't shine without darkness. Since his mom believed Jason was going into depression, she'd started leaving words of encouragement every day. But Jason was NOT depressed, so he kept trying to explain to her, yes he often felt lost and more than a little hurt, maybe, but NOT depressed.
He'd recently broken up with his boyfriend of three and a half years. He caught him having a three-way. One guy and one girl. Brett had tried apologizing over and over again. Jason wouldn't stand for it.
In a way, he felt their relationship was already dwindling for some time. Like he could feel Brett was drifting further and further away from him. It started with a lack of communication, Jason was the one trying his hardest to get the conversational ball going and Brett didn't seem to care. Brett was also one year older than Jason. He graduated first. Sometimes it would be days without any form of communication and that led to silent tears.
Eventually, Jason found himself caring less and less. They drifted apart. Then caught him in the act after getting himself ready to call it quits. So Jason wasn't all that devastated. It just made things easier for him. As a bonus, Jason felt a tad smug with himself. Like he'd made the right decision all along.
It hit him later that night while he lay awake in his bed. He was staring at the dark ceiling thinking about what Brett would be doing right now. He rolled over towards the nightstand to grab his phone to call him, then remembered he was recently single.
It felt like a sledgehammer slammed into his gut that he had to stop, fold in on himself and choke. He did manage to pull himself back together two days later. Jason was done with love. There was no prince charming waiting around the corner for him.
Fairytales were for the desperate and the delusional.
Jason listened to Jonsi during his bike ride. The hills were sometimes like murder, and what could have been a simple 10-20 minute bike ride, turned into 30 minutes. Sure the sun was out and the skies were endlessly blue, his luck sucked. Traffic was hectic.
When Jason saw he had less than 3 minutes left to get to his first period class (World History), he started to panic. He stopped waving cars to go ahead of him and raced to the school. He made a hard left turn that he could have ran his fingers across the street with his free hand if he wanted to. Cars honked, Jason ignored them. He didn't even care that he crashed his bike into the brick building to Glendale High.
His backpack of five years also picked that moment to fall apart. Not that it was the first time it happened. His mom offered to buy him a new one, but Jason would adamantly shake his head. She'd done enough for him. She pushed him out into the world, fed him, clothed him and raised him all by herself. She worked as a receptionist at a small magazine company in the city. So it wasn't like they didn't have money, more than a little to get by but Jason wasn't like most kids his age with their hands out. He believed in earning his way through life than to have it handed to him just because he could.
He never noticed 'Tall and Handsome' until he looked up after quickly gathering his things. The guy's eyes were glacial, slightly interested and maybe a little frightened. He watched his Adam's apple bob up and down like he wanted to say something.
Jason's first impression of the guy was, bad news, and more than a little dangerous. Extremely handsome too, not that he would admit that out loud, because didn't he give up on love? Maybe love worked just fine for others, particularly for Caitlin and Nicklaus (Nicklaus father is a major golf fan). They'd been together ten years strong, even when they were too young to date, and a lot of people made fun of Nicklaus since girls back then were supposed to be gross. Nicklaus loved Caitlin anyway. They were both were athletic and did nearly everything together without ever getting on each other's nerves.
They were and still are, the perfect couple.
Since Mr. Tall and Handsome had nothing to say, Jason offered a small greeting, which was not returned. Jason had better things to do than to worry about some strangers manners. He walked in through the front doors right in the nick of time before they locked.
Since Jason had attended this school for 4 years in the running, he had no trouble finding his locker. It was near the front doors just past the metal detector. He hurried through his bag and duct taped it up some. He ignored the giggles of two girls behind him. They probably thought he was poor or something. Jason was used to that.
The final bell had already rang, it was inevitable. Jason didn't have that great of a start to his day. Instead of getting frustrated with himself, he took it all in stride. Whatever mundane punishment the school had in store for him, he could take it.
It wasn't long before the metal detectors lit up and a shrill sound filled the building that Jason had to fight not to cover his ears. A very overweight security guard with bifocals for glasses heaved and huffed down the hall. He ran right behind Jason that Jason felt inclined to see the fuss was all about. The security guard's name was Ben, or something like that. He heard that Ben Bishop once attended this very school and was a super senior.
The man had to breathe through his mouth as he wobbled towards the front entrance. A scandalized 'Tall and Handsome' stranger looked on the verge of crying or fainting as he tried looking for the source of whatever it was making that sound. He was new alright. Jason guessed this guy never went to a school with a metal detector before.
Jason didn't mean to laugh, but he did. Mr. Tall and Handsome looked his way, glacial eyes zeroed Jason's way, at first in confusion. Jason covered his laugh with a cough and pretended to look busy in his locker.
Ben Bishop started to slow down as he got closer with his fingers clasping at the belt. Jason couldn't hear what was said but the guy was shaking his head as if he was getting a stern lecture. He watched the guy lift up his shirtâHoly cow, he must have worked outâwhere his belt wrapped around his perfectly shaped torso. It had one of those large silver buckles, the source behind what made the metal detector go off. They were banned in this school.
A man that could have been anywhere from his mid-thirties to his early forties materialized from behind the guy who was starting to look more and more harassed by the second. Ben Bishop took his job too seriously sometimes. The man wore a friendly smile, his hair was salt and peppered, laugh lines creased the side of his face while he talked. Jason had never seen this guy before. Maybe he was a new Dean.
Mr. Tall and Handsome started to visibly relax and he watched the conversation happen before him. Whatever was said, Ben Bishop backed down. Jason assumed, since this guy was new, he was going to let this incident slide for now. He slowly backed away and went back the way he came, a chair he centered in the middle of the hallway, his vantage point.
Since this was not Jason's lucky day, Ben Bishop noticed him.
"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me." He said.
That's when Jason heard it. A laugh. He didn't have to turn around to know it came from near the front doors. Jason knew he deserved it, but that didn't mean he liked it any better. He acted like he didn't hear it and shut his locker before grabbing the things he knew he was going to need.
He followed Ben Bishop over towards the Dean's office trying to look obedient.
Ten minutes later, Jason walked out from the office with a blank lunch detention slip. Jason's Dean, a friendly woman in her late twenties pretended to give Jason an earful to appease Ben Bishop. She had instantly taken to Jason like he was a little brother she never had two years ago. Jason could almost get away with murder if he wanted to.
Jason was escorted to his first class, another way of appeasing Ben Bishop. In many ways, the man was like the Argus Filch of the muggle world. Jason chatted with the woman, excited about the promising colleges she had set him up with. There was no Princeton, Harvard or Yale in his options, but like Jason always had to repeat, "Any place has to be better than here."
A woman with shoulder length brown hair was teaching World History II. She looked about the same age as Jason's Dean and she didn't look all that surprised to see a latecomer. Jason made sure to hide his detention slip. He only let Ben Bishop see it without making it too obvious.
Caitlin was there. She immediately looked up from the notes she was copying from the whiteboard. Caitlin was blonde, athletically built to perform mixed martial arts, chocolate brown eyes and naturally tanned to perfection without overdoing it. She worked at a local tanning salon at the front desk to take appointments and whatever odd jobs they had her do there.
There was no Nicklaus to speak of around here. They may be going ten years strong and almost never got on each other's nerves, but they weren't that kind of couple that carried a belief that they needed to share every single class with each other. They both believed in giving the other some space. Caitlin had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was grinning. At least someone was having a good day.
The Dean and History Teacher, Ms. Christine exchanged a few words before Jason was told he could take a seat. No one else bothered looking up because this was the first day so it was no shock that someone was bound to be late. Plus, these were fellow seniors. They were all too mature to make a fuss.
"Hey," Caitlin whispered.
Jason responded with a stiff nod. His lips were pressed together when he realized he was missing a pen. There was about a page and a half of notes to take, not to mention the rest of the school day of note's to write and he had nothing to write with. He was up the river without a paddle.
Caitlin must have read his mind because she pushed a black pen into his almost balled up fist.
"This is mostly a review of what we learned last year," she said without looking at him. They were apparently allowed to talk as long as they did their work.
Jason grunted his response.
"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"
Jason refused to look her way. Mostly because he was bound to burst out laughing and draw unwanted attention. He could never feel grumpy with someone like Caitlin around. She was what kept their small but tightly knit group strong.
"Maybe." He tried not to smile but the edges of his mouth wouldn't stop twitching.
Jason tried to keep his head in his work. He tried focusing on the words on the whiteboard. Even on the handwriting that was elegantly scrawled. He remembered reading that people who don't fully cross their T's were people that never finished what they started. People who wrote tiny words were focused, and messy writers were creative.
Jason's laugh spit out like a raspberry. He tried sealing his lips shut, but it was impossible. Caitlin kept staring at him, a small knowing smile forming on her lips. It wasn't something that could be easily missed.
The rest of the class passed by uneventfully. The homework pile was already starting. Jason and the rest of his classmates had to write a two page paper about the renaissance period. When the bell rang, Caitlin and Jason shared the same relived looks, but the day was far from over.
Second period was calculus, not necessarily a breeze but not particularly hard either. The math teacher was a rod thin woman that recently had Botox injections, or was flat out boring that way. Her voice carried no emotion. Jason wasn't the only one fighting to stay awake in that class. He didn't have anyone to talk to, so he kept to himself.
Third period was... gym. Jason usually shared this class with Nicklaus and Caitlin. It was because of them gym class became bearable. It came as no shock to find Nicklaus there. Nicklaus was Cuban. He was born there and didn't come to America until he was three years old. One way to describe him would be to say that he was a pretty boy. His hair, eyebrows and skin were preened to perfection. It might have had to do with Caitlin. Though he had only eyes for her.
Today Nicklaus wore a simple pair of baggy shorts with a white and orange tank top. He was sitting by himself on the bleachers when Jason entered. The gym was shaped into a wide dome. Flags from previous championships hung from the ceilings. The boy's locker rooms were to the right, the girls to the left. A small staircase led down to each locker room.
Nicklaus waved Jason forward but Jason was looking for Caitlin. Most of his fellow peers were standing wherever they felt like standing. Some were standing by themselves, the rest in small groups. No one was interested in who walked in through the door.
"They split us up." Nicklaus said with a wide, prize winning grin when Jason got close enough. His teeth looked like they could win millions over to buy whatever toothpaste he used. Caitlin had no problem telling him about how much his teeth complimented his skin tone.
Jason was used to the way they complimented each other. It was like bringing up the topic about the weather to Jason now. He no longer felt any pangs of envy. They were just so happy together. Jason wouldn't have wanted anything less for them.
Jason sighed and let his chin fall on his chest before he sat down.
Like Caitlin, it was hard to feel bad around Nicklaus. "Don't worry, you've still got me."
Nicklaus patted Jason's shoulder playfully. The guy had no accent despite his upbringing. Jason had met his family numerous times and could never understand a word they said. He never heard Nicklaus say anything back to his family in the same language. Jason assumed it was because Nicklaus didn't want to come across as rude, even though they had been friends for a long time now.
"If anyone screws with you, I'll pretend to be your boyfriend if I have to. Caitlin said she would kill me if I don't!"
Even Jason knew Caitlin wasn't the type to throw around empty threats so carelessly, she called them facts. So far, she never proved otherwise. It was still too bad she couldn't be there with them. Not that he had a problem with Nicklaus any. It just felt like there was this void without her presence.
Nicklaus suddenly turned his head and sat up straighter. Jason mirrored the same out of instinct. It looked they would be doing things out of uniform today, much to Jason's dismay. That wasn't because Jason had any major aversion to physical therapy, he simply preferred doing it in an environment that didn't grade him. Jason worked out, mostly with Nicklaus or Caitlin to spot him. When Jason had heard of stories about gay bashing and fellow members of his community getting beaten, Jason knew he had to find a way to help prevent that from happening to him to. Not to mention his firsthand experience... His friends were quick to comply, they couldn't always be there for him.
Nicklaus had a cousin who recently took a job up as a gym teacher here. Jesus, the J pronounced like an H. Jason had met him numerous times as well. The man was always built like a lean ox. He was also at the butt of every Nicklaus, Caitlin and Jason's joke. "So then, tell us, what would Jesus do?"
This was his first year. The man was just a few years older and was joined by two other men with one woman. The woman once taught World History I. Jason had her last year. She also served in the military but was super nice, but he couldn't remember he name at the moment for some reason.
Much to Jason's dismay, they would be playing either volleyball, basketball, run track or badminton today. At least, that's what Ms. Kelplinger (ha! So that was her name!) would be leading today. Each gym teacher would take a fourth of the entire class. Nicklaus's cousin was going to teaching basketball, as if more than half the class didn't already know. Jason felt Nicklaus stiffen next to him, his eyes widened with excitement. Jason had lost his one and only friend to basketball it seemed.
Another teacher was going to have them run track indoors. Jason felt most comfortable with that, so he raised his hand and went with a group. There were mostly girls and they were eyeing Nicklaus like he was a lollipop. Nicklaus was completely unaware and that was the truth! Even Jason thought Nicklaus was hot, but not exactly his type.
Jason had to shake himself out of the thought about what his type was, because, why go there?
The rest of the class joined badminton, much to the last gym teacher's disgust.
Jason hardly noticed the stranger he met before, was in the same period as him.