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Chapter 3
My afternoon classes were English, economics, and lastly, calculus. In English they were analyzing the book they had been reading. Since I hadn’t read the book, I just put in my earbuds and listened to my iPod. In economics I actually had to do stuff. But it was nothing I couldn’t handle. We talked about the Monopoly board game and how by playing it we are subliminally learning how such things work in our own economy.
There were only eight people in my Calculus class. This made it less awkward when they stared at me wondering who the new kid was. I sat in a row by myself and the teacher, who introduced herself as Mrs. Cooper, handed me a book. She had short blonde hair and bright green eyes. Her teeth glistened as she shot me a big smile. I pretended to understand what I was doing, even though I had no idea. I just nodded a lot and doodled on my notes. I found myself thinking about Tony. Something inside of me wanted to talk to him, but what would that do? Some closure would have been nice though.
A boy running into class late broke my train of thought. He had long curly black hair and tan skin. He wore a light blue Hollister T-shirt that was too small and gripped his arm muscles and pecks with khaki cargo shorts. He stood at the teacher’s desk and swept the hair from his eyes as he explained the reason for his tardiness. She didn’t seem too convinced by his story. I found myself staring and quickly looked away. I hoped no one noticed me looking at him.
He headed to a seat in the row next to me. I accidently made eye contact as he plopped down into his chair.
“Sup?” The boy asked. His hazel eyes seemed to sparkle.
“Oh…nothing,” I replied, kind of caught off guard.
“You new?”
“Uh..yeah. Today is my first day”
“Cool,” replied the boy.
That was the end of our conversation. In a way, I wanted to talk to him more. He intrigued me. His nonchalant attitude left me wanting more. Maybe that was how he intended it. Maybe he wanted people to wonder. He didn’t even tell me his name, or ask me mine for that matter. I cheated and glimpsed at a test that the teacher had passed back. Gabriel Covarrubias. The name sounded exotic in my mind. I wished I had a cool name like that. I’m sure Clayton Oakley didn’t have such a ring in people’s minds.
I spent the rest of seventh period contemplating talking to Gabriel again. I didn’t know what to say, but I felt like I should have said something. Before I could utter a word, the bell rang and he sprinted out of the door. I was the last to leave the class.
“Did you enjoy your first day at Glencrest?” Mrs. Cooper asked.
“Yes ma’am,” I replied, “But it’s gonna take some getting used to.”
“Well that’s understandable,” she smiled, “Have a great day, Clayton.”
“I like being called Clay. I hope that’s okay”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Clay,” she said politely.
“Thanks. See you tomorrow, Mrs. Cooper.”
I headed out of the door and towards the front of the school where my mom was picking me up. She agreed to not make me endure riding the school bus. I spotted our dark red Kia sitting across the street waiting near a light pole. I jogged across the street and practically dived into the car.
“Hey sweetie! How was your first day?”
“It was fairly uneventful. I did make a couple of friends though.”
“Well that’s great! I knew you would. You’re a very loveable fellow,” Mom smiled.
“Haha thanks, Mom.”
I watched the students load onto their buses as we pulled off to head home. I thought as we drove farther away. This was officially my school now. The first day was out of the way, I had a few familiar faces, and now I knew what to expect.
When we got home, I headed to the kitchen and grabbed a snack. Then I called Lauren to update her about my new life in Portland.
Lauren: Hello..
Me: Hey you!
Lauren: What’s up, Clayton?
Me: Ew! Don’t you dare! My teachers called me that today.
Lauren: Well I hope you corrected them.
Me: Yeah. But one refused to call me Clay.
Lauren: Well they can bite me! Pass it on.
Clay: Hahaha I don’t think so.
Lauren: So did you meet any hotties?
Me: Actually there are some pretty hot guys in Portland.
Lauren: Get any digits?
Me: Do girls count? Hahaha. I made a couple of friends and we traded numbers.
Lauren: Negative! You need to hook up with some guys.
Me: You make me sound like a whore!
Lauren: Well if the shoe fits hun..
Me: Oh thanks bitch! Hahaha.
Lauren: That’s what I’m here for. Hahaha.
Me: But yeah…it isn’t that bad here, but I miss everyone back in San Fran.
Lauren: We miss you too hun. School was not the same. You should just, like, escape.
Me: Oh how I wish…
Lauren: Oh shit, I gotta go. Mom’s bitching about the dishes. TTYL K?
Me: K…talk to you later. Love ya!
Lauren: Love you too hun.
I hung up the phone and pulled out the homework that Mr. Ferguson has assigned in chemistry. I looked at it, didn’t understand it, folded it up, then put it back into my backpack. Since I had made a very strategic decision against homework, I decided to pop in my Kelly Clarkson CD and rock out to Since U Been Gone. She always had a way of making me feel better about relationship bullshit. I jumped around my room as I sang along with my anthem to Tony.
How come I never hear you say “I just wanna be with you?”
I guess you never felt that way.
But since you been gone I can breathe for the first time.
I’m so moving on, Yeah Yeah!
Thanks to you now I get what I want.
Since you been gone…
The lyrics soared through my room and I felt great. But as much as I tried to convince myself that I was moving on from Tony, I knew it wasn’t true. Not even the 635 miles between us could keep him from driving me crazy. I let a few more songs play before turning off the CD. A feeling of loneliness came over me and I actually found myself wanting to be next to Tony. A memory of Tony and I sitting in his room came into my mind. We were cuddled up on his bed with his arms around me as I laid my head on his chest. Our legs were curled together in a way, and he lightly kissed my forehead. This memory was from about a year ago, but it was still as vivid as ever. It was the last time I can remember a compassionate moment with Tony. I wished that we could be like that again but I knew that it was never going to happen.
I laid in bed for a while just thinking. Thinking about Tony, Lauren, my old house, my old school, my new school, my new house, my new friends, and anything else that happened to cross my mind at the moment. A roar of voices outside interrupted my thoughts. I looked out of my bedroom window but all I could see was that huge tree and the side of the next house. I went to another window to see where the voices came from and noticed a group of guys standing in front of the house next door. I recognized one of the boys. It was Gabriel. He was with 4 other guys, leaning up against a white Ford Mustang. I watched them for a while, but closed the curtain in fear of being seen. I wondered if he lived there or new someone that lived there.
“Clay! Dinner!” Mom yelled up the stairs.
“Coming!” I replied.
I went downstairs for dinner and decided to let myself stop thinking so much. As I ate my mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I described my day to my family.
“Did you find a bestfriend?” Amanda asked.
“I wouldn’t say that, but I did meet some cool people.”
“I found a bestfriend! Her name is Ashley!” Amanda said excitedly.
“That’s great sweetie,” replied Dad.
This conversation went on for a while until I asked to be excused from dinner.
“I’m going to go finish up my homework,” I lied.
I actually just went upstairs to call Lauren. We talked for about an hour and a half before I headed to bed. I laid down on my bed, anticipating what to expect at school the next day.
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