This story is fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place. Really, though. It's perplexing.
"Who's the new kid, anyway?"
Kari stopped, then Kae stopped, then Alan stopped. He was new, alright; the three of them knew everyone at Cinder High, and vice versa. This guy was an unknown.
Kari leaned back to talk to Alan. "He came yesterday. He's in me and Kae's Bio class."
Kae, starving for gossip, leaned in as well. "So what's the scoop? Sociopath? ADD? Overachiever? Bulimia?"
"All of the above?" Alan joined in on the brainstorming. "No..." Kari pondered. "Actually, no one knows anything. Yet. Oh, but his name's Dean."
Dean, gathering the rest of his books from his locker, turned to face the three people staring at him from across the hall. They quickly swiveled in the other direction, into a nearby classroom. He sighed, and looked at the clock. He swore under his breath; he was about to be late.
He ran to his right, taking note of the hallways that were quite quickly emptying. There was room E-3, E-5, E-7... Dean was lost. Panic started to creep in, mostly out of fear of ensuing humiliation. There was a crossroads, and he ran down the left, taking out his schedule and scanning it mid stride. He started thinking to himself, a frantic mess; `Alright... Math, room... B-7. B-7?? How do I get there???'
"Aah!" Dean let out a yelp, running into someone's body at full speed and hurled backwards from the impact. His books flew in every which direction, the sound of scattered papers filling the air. The hard linoleum floor had whacked his head, and he found himself feeling a bump on the back of his skull. "Ow..."
"Hey, are you alright?" He opened his eyes, almost frightened that something might hurt him more. A guy, muscular and older than he was and dressed in baggy jeans with a well fit t-shirt bearing a funny quote, was standing over him, offering Dean a hand. Dean took it, and he felt himself being pulled back up to his feet. As soon as he was standing again, the guy bent over to pick up the things he dropped. "You took a nasty fall."
Dean realized that he must've just bumped into him. "Oh, oh... oh no... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Harried, Dean scanned the surrounding ground, snatching several pieces of loose paper, including his schedule. He couldn't find his books; the mystery man cleared his throat, and Dean looked at him. He had his books in his hands, offering them with a smile. Dean took them. "Ahehehe, um... thanks."
"You're new, aren't you?"
Dean scratched his head. "...Wow. Is it that obvious?"
The guy smiled. "No. Don't worry, I just recognize new faces." he held out his hand again, this time to shake. "I'm Jake."
Dean shook it. "My name's Dee." For a second, their eyes met. Jake was tall, with spiky dirty-blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He had a rather large build and very clear, tanned skin.
"Dee? That's a cool name."
Dee laughed. "Well... my real name's Dean, but I hate it."
"Alright, Dee. What class do you have right now?"
Dee snapped out of his daze. "Ahhh...! Oh, I forgot! I'm really late for class right now. I'm supposed to have- er, Math I think, and I don't know where to go, and-"
Jake came up from behind him, and looked over Dee's shoulder at his schedule. His arm reached out and almost encircled Dee, and he was getting a bit nervous from the proximity. He pointed at the Math class, and spoke in his ear. "That's Mr. Conway. He's infamous around here for always being twenty minutes late. Don't worry, you're fine for now." He let out a sigh of relief. Jake tapped him on the shoulder, and Dee looked at him. Jake pointed to the hall behind them. "Go down this hall, then walk to the right to exit the building. Then keep going and you'll reach the B building. That's where your class is. Come on, I'll walk you there."
Dee followed Jake's lead, and they exited the building. Jake continued asking questions. "So, Dee, how old are you?"
"I'm fifteen. I'm in 11th year though."
Jake's mouth opened. "Whoa, seriously? I'm almost seventeen and I'm 11th year. You must be pretty smart, huh?"
Dee blushed a little. "That's what they said at my old school too. But I just pay attention well."
"Why'd you leave your old school?"
"I-" Dee hesitated. "-well... it's... kinda embarassing."
Jake smiled. "I once got a foot stuck in the toilets here. And it took two custodians and a health ed teacher to get me out. Not to mention it was the women's room." he laughed, and Dee did too. "Don't worry, whatever it is, I've done more embarassing things."
Again, Dee paused, as though in thought. Jake thought it a little odd; it was as if he was thinking of what the right thing was to say."I was really... bullied a lot at my old school. `Specially by upperclassmen, of course. When one of them accidentally fractured my arm, my mom got really scared and transferred me to another smaller school."
"Aw, dude." Jake noticed Dee's figure; he was short, and fairly skinny. He hated to say it, but he did seem to be a likely candidate for bullying. "Don't worry, you won't find anything like that here. If you do, just talk to me, alright?" Dee gave a puzzled look to him. "...That means I'll beat anyone up for you."
He winked, and Dee laughed along with him. "Haha! Thanks." They entered the B building, and walked halfway down the hall, in front of Dee's classroom.
Jake peered through the window. He turned his head again to Dee. "Coast is clear. Mr. Conway is late again."
Dee smiled. He looked up at him. "Jake, thank you. For helping me, I mean. Seriously, so far you're the only one who's been nice to me."
"Hey, no problem." he gave him a pat on the back, and walked back towards the door. "I'll see you later then."
"Yeah. Oh! And sorry for bumping into you!"
Jake turned around, giving a full-teethed grin. "I'm not sorry! It made us meet, right? I'll talk to you later!" he pushed the door open and walked into the sunlit courtyard. Dee breathed in, and rushed into the classroom, taking a vacant seat in the front. `This... is a brand new school year.'
Kari, Kae, and Alan walked in near perfect synchronization, legions of students tumbling out of their ways as they walked towards the cafeteria. Alan tusseled his hair. "Hey, that kid Dean's in my Calc II class. He came in ten minutes late too. But damn, he's smart."
Kari turned to glare at a small girl with dreads who she knocked into and caused to drop her books. She looked back ahead. "And young. Asked around; a certain office secretary says he's only 15. Goes by nickname `Dee.'"
Kae pushed open the cafeteria doors, and proceeded to sit down to Kari's left, at their table. Alan continued, taking his position to Kari's right. "So what do we do? Peg him down as a dweeb? `Cos that would be easy enough."
"No." Kari turned to her right to face Alan. "I think we should give him a chance. Did you see the way he was dressed?"
"...Like a fashion hobo?"
"Well, yeah. But he made the look work for him! He had that little hood thing going on, and the slim jeans and the t-shirt-"
"You just like him." Alan said. Kari rolled her eyes.
"Besides" Kae interjected, rather sarcastically. "You can't be popular and smart!"
"Oh, shut up, Kae. You're just jealous because you used to be the youngest one in the class. By a minute, anyway... My point is, he's a real pretty-boy type. And we could use some more of those."
Alan smirked. "Kae's not enough for you?" Kae scoffed. Alan continued. "I mean, sure he's pretty. But we don't have use for pretty. That's what you two are for."
Kari laughed. "Oh, fine. We'll just give him the silent treatment until he does something really out there."
"Speak of the devil." Kae motioned to the door; they turned around in unison. Dee was there, backpack, books, and all. Kae gasped, and pointed at him. "What's that thing he's carrying in his hand?"
Alan leaned over. "That's a lunch pail."
Kari and Kae's faces wrinkled. Kari stuck out her tongue. "Disgusting."
Dee felt eyes staring at him; he turned to his right, and saw the same three people in the hallway that morning turn around in their seats. He scanned over the entire cafeteria a bit awkwardly. There were lots of tables, and a long line for the school lunches. But as far as he could see, there wasn't a single place to sit.
Then, in the back; he saw a table, occupied by a lone girl, whose eyes were pasted to a book. He wove his way over, and stood at the table. "Ummm, excuse me..."
She barely looked up from her paper-back pages. She was about Dee's height, with her thick black hair in long dreads, and a rich ebony complexion. She had deep hazel eyes. Dee, not finding any verbal response, continued. "Can I sit here?"
She reached over and pulled out the chair, still not speaking. "Thanks." Dee sat down. She went back to her book. It was a raggedy thing, the covers worn, but Dee could still make out the title: Sophie's World.
"Hey, Sophie's World! I've read that book." The girl raised an eyebrow, and peered over to make eye contact. "It's really good. One of my favorites."
Dee waited. She looked back at her book, but finally spoke. "It's a bit boring so far."
"Yeah, I bet. It took me a couple of months to get through the first few pages, it was that bad. But it gets really intense about halfway in." He smiled. She did too; with pearly whites.
"You're new here, right?"
Dee pouted. "How does everyone know...?"
She put down her book, and put a finger to her head. "Cos I'm psychic." Dee gasped, and she gave a laugh. She put down her hand. "Nah, I was in your biology class yesterday. You know, the one where Ms. Goldfree told you to stand up in front of everyone and talk about your sex life!" She snorted.
Yes, Ms. Goldfree had asked him to go up and talk about his sex life, as some sort of demonstration of human reproductive habits or something. She also made it an opportunity to tell everyone that he was new. "Yeah... I knew you were familiar."
The girl rolled her eyes, and flopped her book. "It's always familiar. Yup, but I'm surprised you remembered at all. In case you're wondering, you are currently talking to the Hollow Man, in person."
Dee slumped in his chair. "At least you don't have any enemies. I'm new, and those three over there by the door have been glaring at me behind my back all day."
She leaned over to see who he was talking about. "Those ones dressed as mimes?"
"Mimes, what- no. That girl and those two guys."
"Let's see... looks like you mean Alan Stanfield and Kari and Kae Delana. Ouch. Not good enemies to have."
Dee perked up. " `Ouch?' "
"Yeah. They're about second tier most popular kids at school. No, actually... popular' isn't a good word. Dreaded' is a lot better, but if you can think of anything stronger then use that. Alan's dad is the principal, and the twins are just notorious suck-ups with the grades and looks to back it up. They can all get away with anything, anywhere at this school." Dee frowned. The girl followed up. "But do you have any other friends?"
Dee shook his head. "One guy helped me find my class this morning. I think we're friends, but that's all I can think of. Oh, and you. Can I say you're my friend?"
The girl couldn't help but think he was a little pathetic. She sighed. "Sure kid. But please, I've gone three years in high school without any friends, so don't go expecting anything."
Dee smiled. "I'm Dee, by the way."
"I'm Allegra." They shook hands, and Allegra took out her book again.
Dee found his lunch pail, and pulled out a salami sandwich. In between bites, he talked to Allegra. "You're the first person I've seen reading at this school."
Alllegra raised an eyebrow again. "You're the first one I've seen eating." Dee widened his eyes, surveying the lunch crowd. He was the only one with food in front of him besides a rather large boy with a box of dark chocolate in the process of smothering his face, and all of a sudden his appetite thinned a little. "... Well anyway, are you surprised by that? You're the only one I've seen who knew what book I was reading. So kudos to both of us; we're islands of literacy in a sea of...er, high school."
Dee laughed. "You're smart."
Allegra paused, not sure what to say. "Um... I suppose. I don't ever get noticed for it, but yeh, I suppose. But you are too. 15 years old and already in 11th grade..."
Dee took a bite of his sandwich, and talked with his mouth full; careful not to spew crumbs in Allegra's face. "I'm not. I just understand stuff easy."
"Whatever you say..." Allegra shut her book, and flung her book bag over her shoulder. "I need to get to class. Not that it would matter if I were late anyway..."
"You're also very pessimistic, Allegra." she turned on her foot, to face Dee. "I noticed you, didn't I?"
Allegra flicked her dreads over her shoulder. "Great. One down, an entire school to go." She walked away at a brisk pace, and waved behind her. "Bye, Dee."
Dee waved back. "Bye." he finished off the last pieces of his sandwich, and again felt people staring at him. He just kept drinking his water bottle, and tried to ignore it.
Kae shoook his head in disbelief, watching Dee chug his water. "What a weirdo."
Alan and Kari got up from the table, and Kari caught a glimpse of the girl he was talking to as she strode out the door. It was in fact the same girl whose books she knocked down earlier. "Hey, Alan. That girl's name... what is it again?"
Alan paused. "Uh... Annnnie? Annnise? No... Layla or something. I'm pretty sure it started with an `L'"
Kari pouted. "I know I have a class with her! Some time... God, does she even go this school?"
Kae stood up. "He's getting up again."
Kari took his arm, and went in the direction of the door. "Alan, screw the silent treatment. He's starting to piss me off a little. You can do whatever." Alan nodded, and the twins left. He saw Dee take his back pack and books, and exit out through the courtyard. Cracking his knuckles, he slowly followed.
To be continued...
Hola, readers!
Thank you for clicking on that link of that terribly unspectacular title. Pleaseplease, I promise it you won't regret it! This story is for all of us that had to go through high school... being in college, it's still painfully ingrained in my mind. :P But hey, I guess that's life. sigh
Questions? Comments? Reccomendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna just chat? Email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!
If you like Diana Celes, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll like other stories I've submitted:
Charmed Reborn, Final Fantasy Rosa, Pokemon: Amethyst, Teth, and Hallow. (...although not all of these are submitted at this time :P)