Our little arrangement💫

-1- Axel💓

Axel Williams?

I looked up as the teacher did the register and raised my hand to let her know that I was here. The class barely noticed my existence and the teacher marked names on her clipboard. I looked out the window , which showed the cheerleaders dancing around and chatting with the jocks of our school. I always requested a window seat cause it gave me a view of other things. I'd make up imaginary scenarios in my head and maybe I'd write a short story about it. Maybe.

I got taken out of my trance when Mrs. Blake started explaining literacy and focused on the poem we were busy with.
I wrote down what was on her screen and took out my book as everyone was super slow. English was one of my favourite subjects mainly cause I was so good at it.  Every time I got a distinction in primary school my dad would give me a hug and take me out to lunch at McDonald's. I smiled at that memory.

English dragged on and I found myself lost in thought once again. Dalwood High was a big building on its own but not as big as most sponsored schools. It was the place to be for some and simply a nightmare for others. It was like you were an animal trying to protect itself against the circle of life. Dalwood may not be as fancy as other schools but it still had the same principles. The same annoying principles.

You had this pyramid of all the popular kids , them being on the top and the rest of the rankings below them. You had the kids who were popular because of their wealth , which was basically most of them. Then you had the - I slept with him/ her - which automatically earns you popularity points. You had the teachers pets of course and last but not least everyone who did sports - a.k.a the jocks and cheerleaders. The rest of the rankings are basically the rest , including the ones who thought they were smart and the ones who were actually smart - the nerds.

I didn't see myself as a nerd although almost everyone put me in that category. I didn't wear glasses or contacts , my clothes were quite nice and I wasn't as nervous as most of the nerds here are. If someone was being an ass , I'd confront them which surprised most. My face was acne free and I actually liked the way I looked. I drove my own car and I was proud every morning whenever I'd park it. Far away from the populars of course. So why would they put me in the nerd category even though I've fulfilled none of the requirements?
The answer to that is simple.

People thought just because you liked reading or you could answer some hard question the teacher asked that it automatically made you smart. People would think anything. I've been a nerd all my life and although some choose to give up whenever they're assigned that title, I actually use it to my advantage. I looked up to see the teacher talking about poems and each line that had some ethereal meaning. It didn't matter that I didn't pay attention now cause I'd study it later. Not because we had a test or anything but simply because I liked studying.

The bell wrung signaling that it was break time and I walked to the lockers at the end of the hallway. After about five minutes the hallway was empty and I glanced around hoping to see my best friend in the whole world , Amber Jones. I couldn't see her anywhere and tried calling her three times. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I was glad to see it was Amber. She looked out of breath and I helped her with packing her books and held them for her.

"Thanks. Crazy morning. Had to stay behind to finish my essay.

I laughed at her enthusiasm and she hit me on the arm , not hard since she hated violence, it still made me hit her back. It wasn't hard either since I hated violence too. I hooked our arms and we walked to the cafeteria. We laughed the whole way there and took our trays to go sit down. People greeted Amber and some greeted me but all I could do was act polite.

Everyone knew Amber because she's a cheerleader and does choreography for the team. She waved at everyone before joining me at the table. She was popular , had a jock boyfriend and had been asked to sit at the popular table many times, yet she sat with me. Sometimes I still couldn't understand why she hung out with me and other times I was glad to be friends with her.
I remembered the day we met. I walked up to her to ask her where class was and she thought I was hitting on her, once I told her what I wanted , she laughed it off.

Later she sat with me cause I was by myself and so we stayed like that for about five years. Amber was eating a chicken sandwich and trying to calculate math when her boyfriend joined us. Erick Muller wasn't a bad person, in fact he was actually nice to me, nicer than other jocks had been. He had his arm around her waist and watched as she did her math. He wasn't one of those guys who wanted attention constantly and that had made them last for about three months. I had gotten used to Erick and could talk to him now.

I got up to throw my leftover lunch away when suddenly someone grabbed me. We were out of the cafeteria now and I turned around to see who had grabbed me. I saw that it was Jake Rivers and relaxed a little bit. I moved my shoulder so that I was free from his grip and he turned to the two jocks behind him.  I recognized the one , his name was Nick Anderson and the other one I knew perfectly well. It was Duncan Edwards.

Jake pushed me against the locker and I felt a bruise coming. He turned to his friends then looked at me like he was planning something.

"We need a favor.