I rush down the stairs and grab a granola bar from the counter before entering the living room. I watch my mother attempt to reach the button to raise her bed. When she notices me standing in the doorway, she waves me over.
"Ivory, honey, can you hit that button? My show's on." I press the button. "Thanks dear."
"No problem, ma."
I pull on my bag that was previously laying on the couch before reaching over to kiss her on the cheek.
"I'm leaving now. I'll be back around three, okay?"
"Okay. By the way, Helen will be here after school to bring my pills over. If I'm asleep, you better behave. If she tells me otherwise, you can kiss your iPod goodbye."
"I know, ma, you tell me the same thing every day. I'm a calm human being, there's really no need to remind me every day. However, I would recommend you tell Josh. That boy is a slob." I groan.
"There is nothing wrong with your brother." She scoffs. "Now, get to school. We can't have you being late."
"Bye, ma." I chuckle.
I unlock the door to my chevy, throwing my bag into the passenger seat. I start it up, turn on my music, and begin the treacherous drive to school.
*****
"Hey, Mar. Check me in, please." I smile at the attendance lady.
"Sure, dear. Hows your mom doing today?" She asks.
"She's well." I pluck the sheet of paper from her hand and give her a parting wave before heading to the stairwell.
With my iPod out of my bag, I plug in my headphones and blast music. Grabbing my textbook, I decide to finish the homework for third period.
Suddenly, the door beside me swings open and Kennedy stumbles out. She looks at me with a panicked expression for a moment, before calming down slightly. She gives me a slight smile before continuing on her way. I examine the leg that she had run into, and find a small scrape. Oh well.
I stand again, not wanting to risk getting another cut before second period. Collecting all of my things, I open the door to the hall and start walking to the library.
About halfway there, a boy bumps into me. I spin around, and hear him mutter an apology.
"Wait!" I call as he continues walking. "Come back." I say more quietly. He turns around, facing me with a confused expression.
"I'm Ivory. What's your name?"
"I'd like to keep that a mystery. Otherwise it ruins the mystique of the situation." He smirks.
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Alright, wise guy, got a nickname?"
"Not normally, but you're hot, so you can call me J."
"Is that an initial?"
"Yep. Whether it's my first or last, however, I'll leave you to ponder."
"Alrighty then. Are you new here?" I ask.
"No shit sherlock." He replies.
"I was just asking, calm your tits." I tease.
"What do you have first period?"
"Spare. Otherwise I'd be in class right now."
"Second?"
"English. What about you?"
"First is a spare, like you, but I have gym second."
"You get to be stinky for the entire day!" I laugh.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Come with me, let's go out to the field." I suggest.
"Wow, babe. That's a bit forward. But by all means, let's go."
"I didn't mean we'd go to the field to do that dimwit. The teachers get mad if we're too loud in the building. Outside however, no one cares."
"Aren't we not allowed outside the school during spares?" He inquires.
"Do you really care?"
"Not a bit."
I grin. "Then let's go."
*****
"I swear, those girls are mental." J says behind me as I take a seat at a table to eat my lunch.
"By what means?"
"They flirt so shamelessly. I could have a girlfriend back where I came from, and they probably still wouldn't care. And they dress like whores, not that I'm complaining," I punch his arm. "and they're so blonde it gives me a headache.
"Yeah, well, welcome to hell."
"I wouldn't call it hell. As I said earlier, they dress like whores." He says in response.
"See them?" I point at Kennedy's table. "They're pretty much stereotypical blondes. Idiotic cheerleaders with no self respect."
"Those over there are the nerds." I say as I point at another table.
"And those over there are the baddies. You'd fit in well with them." I say.
"Where do you fit in to the high school drama?"
"I don't. Before you decided to grace me with your presence, I ate alone. I avoid drama like the plague."
"Sounds like shit. You know, no friends to gossip with. No slumber parties."
"The day I attend a slumber party, please shoot me." I beg. "I refuse to talk about makeup, nails, hair, and boys to other girls who will make your life hell if you like the same guy as them."
"Females are difficult to understand."
"Males are harder!"
"That's what she said." It took me a moment to realize the perverted meaning behind what I had said.
"You're nasty."
"I know."
*****
I walk in the front door to my house and peer in on my mom. She's passed out in bed. Entering the kitchen, I see Helen hunched over the counter filling containers with pills.
"Good afternoon, Helen." I greet.
"Nice to see you. It's been awhile, how've you been?"
"Helen, you saw me yesterday." I smirk.
"Ah, so I did."
I grab a chocolate chip muffin from the counter and take a bite.
"Did you make these?" I ask.
"No, Timmies did. I just paid and drove off with them."
"I was giving you the opportunity to bask in excellence. I saw the name on the wrapper."
She frowns, and then joins me at the table. I push a muffin over to her, and she smiles gratefully at me.
"It's been a long day." She says. "You guys should move closer to the hospital, it'd be a much shorter commute everyday."
"You know ma, she wants to be close to where papa's buried. I think she's already chosen herself a matching headstone. The woman is planning ahead- farther than the rest of us." I mutter.
"Do you really blame her though? All the poor woman can do is watch T.V and eat. If I were in her position I'd be willing to do anything in order to avoid that television."
"Agreed."
Helen looks at her watch and groans.
"Well, I've gotta get going, dinner's not going to make itself."
"Order the kids a pizza or something." I offer.
"I'd like to see them try to pay. They would, too, they'd empty their piggy banks for that pizza. Why is pizza so delicious yet so unhealthy?"
"Well, to those of us who can't make a huge dinner, pizza is the most amazing substance in the world." I grin.
"You should come over for dinner sometime, the kids are dying to see you again."
"Maybe I will."
And with that she picks up her purse and walks out the front door, shutting it behind her.
*****
I hate math. I hate physics. I hate school. I hate homework.
I spent at least three hours doing homework for tomorrow, so by the time I get downstairs it's very silent. Ma's still asleep on the couch, the t.v on in case she wakes up.
I tug my hair into a bun and pull on a plain white t-shirt and jeans with converse. Grabbing my keys off the table, I write a note and stick it to a book before heading outside and hopping in my truck. I drive to the cafe I work at, Jen's Cafe, and put on my apron before starting my shift.
Hey I'm Noelle. What up? Comment what's happening in your lives. See you every other Wednesday! The picture is of J :)
Byeeee