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Vincent was high as hell, one arm around Jason, as the blue-haired boy’s fingers flew over the keys of his laptop. I tapped Jason’s foot with mine but he barely looked up, his bloodshot eyes focused solely on the screen.
“AP Physics is going to kill me,” he said as Vincent rubbed his back reassuringly. I leaned my shoulder against Lucas as I smoked, sighing heavily when I noticed Principal Lector coming across the parking lot toward us with a security guard behind him.
The others spotted him right after I did. Vincent hurriedly removed his arm from Jason’s shoulders, then the two of them climbed out of the bed. I stood up, dragging my backpack with me as I hopped out.
Lucas took his time.
Principal Lector stopped at the back of the car and tapped his pen against the metal. I had no idea why he was carrying a fucking pen out here; maybe he thought it made him look professional, like his annoying-as-hell habit of referring to all of us by our last names.
“Mr. Bent...” he began, but cut off when Lucas stood up. He hopped out of the El Camino’s bed, crushing his cigarette under his shoe.
“Don’t touch my fucking car again, Michael,” he said, and the principal blinked repeatedly at the careless use of his first name. “If you want me to leave, then get the hell out of my way.”
We all moved back, and I gave Lucas a wave as he started his engine and threw the car into reverse. It lurched out of the parking space, the tires leaving a trail of burnt rubber on the asphalt as he peeled out of the parking lot.
Principal Lector’s accusatory gaze was on me, but I really couldn’t care less. Staying out of trouble wasn’t all that simple when trouble simply existed around me and I was caught in the crossfire.
“You’ve been warned before about smoking on campus, Mr. Reed,” he said. Vincent and Jason were lingering, waiting for me to join them so we could walk together. I clenched my jaw, keeping back words that would have only made this worse. “That’ll be detention for you. Again.”
I smiled tightly. “Sick. Cool shit. Can I go?”
The principal sighed, as if I’d exasperated him already. “Language, Mr. Reed. Don’t be late.” I turned to go and had only caught up with Jason and Vincent when Lector called Jason back. Vincent waited for him, throwing up a peace sign as I kept walking. I only caught what the principal was saying, but I heard, “...concerned. I would hate to see your future suffer because of a poor choice in friendships. You’re clearly dealing with some confusion...”
My hand tightened on my backpack’s strap as I dug my nails into my palm.
You’re confused.
You’re rebelling.
This is a stage you’ll outgrow.
You’re a fucked-up disappointment.
Pussy. Fucking freak.
After a while, they all sounded the same. People disguising bigotry and judgment as concern.
I hated them all. I hated this entire fucking town.
My shoes squeaked on the linoleum floors as I headed to my locker, shoved and jostled by the hundreds of students crowding the hallways. I put in my earbuds and turned my volume up, blasting Night Bird’s “Born to Die in Suburbia” loudly enough to drown them all out.
Most people ignored me. I had my group of friends, and I was on good terms with the school’s other rejects. The jocks and the privileged popular fucks had better things to do than harass me — most of the time. They’d gotten used to the mohawk and the dirty clothes; I was no longer the most entertaining target to go after.
At least, I wasn’t for most people. Some individuals couldn’t get enough of making me their personal punching bag.
Turning the corner toward my locker, I grimaced. Kyle Baggins and Alex McAllister were there, crowding around the locker next to mine, waiting for Kyle’s girlfriend — or ex-girlfriend now, since he’d cheated on her. I hung back, hoping they’d leave so I could get my shit. But they weren’t going anywhere, and the last thing I needed was to be late again.
Kyle didn’t move as I approached. He shifted around, turning to face me and blocking my locker with his shoulders. He said something and Alex laughed. My earbuds blocked it.
“Move,” I said. The words were too sharp but also not sharp enough. I wasn’t trying to start shit, but my intentions didn’t matter. These fuckers knew they could overpower me without a problem.
I wasn’t even scared of them anymore. I was numb, as if my chest had been hollowed out and all that remained was a vast, cold, dark space.
Alex yanked my headphones out of my ears. The motion pulled my phone out of my pocket, sending it flying through the air as the headphone jack disconnected, and it fell to the floor.
“Late again, freak?” Kyle laughed as Alex kicked my phone and sent it skittering toward the stairway. I forced myself not to react. It was just a phone. It didn’t matter. Better than my face.
“The fuck do you need your books for?” Alex said, pocketing my earbuds as if he needed the damn things. “Studying for your bright future?” They chuckled at each other — a gross cycle of reinforcing their own piss-poor jokes.
