Contemplations From A Black Star Citizen.
With every achievement, comes a new checklist
Re-affirmed vision, aiming higher
Like a three-volley salute.
The future is not determined
By that significant other,
Principles can never be bent
For that passionate lover.
No matter how tempting
Stick to those beliefs
That you grew knowing
The good, not the bad.
Peer-pressure, Social constructs
Nothing more than barriers,
Its like having a fly trap
To catch a Dreadnought
I know right,
Laughable outcome.
-Dante
The ever-changing terrain,
Of the road so far
Ups and downs,
Like a life line
Just more for the adventure,
Right?
Mountains on one end,
Flat ground on the other
With category five storms,
That could tore you asunder.
A witness to life’s montage of events,
And sometimes
An unwilling contributor.
When the bad is hurled in my direction,
I try, with all I have,
To stop hope from diminishing,
Its simple really, mainly ’cause
I’d rather have anything,
But that drive finishing.
-Dante
Waist encompassing
Platinum plated belts
Invisible to the eye,
Born attached
Determination,
That makes hearts melt
Pessimism is smashed
With the ability
Not to quit
Because that
Is what we inhabit.
A moral compass
With one direction
Dream chasers,
Like the movie Inception.
Earplugs,
For negativity holders
You know
…They
A.k.a
The Positivity Smolders,
Definitely not perfect
But striving to be
The “Change” express
With a radiating ambience
Starting
With the victory dance
Practically a norm
For us
Champions.
-Dante
(Still not completely free, decided to post a poem when I got the time though)
Contact me: michaeldante01@gmail.com
-DARY! and indeed it was, smiles all around for my sister, and that’s all that matters. I’m glad to have been part of the overall experience, took a lot of energy but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for family. Even from my blogging station I hope she enjoys her Honey-moon and continues to be an inspiration to her younger (but definitely more ambitious) brother.
*WARNING!* ++++PERSONAL MUMBO JUMBO INCOMING+++
So, the New Year huh …hope it went well for everyone, mine was, well …okay …not to be a party pooper or anything but the last couple of weeks haven’t exactly been breath-taking. Illustration: Imagine you’re eating your favorite meal, devouring each and every bit, and out of the blue you find a cockroach in the depths of such a marvelous delicacy; that’s what I’m feeling. I like to believe the best in people, I really do, but right now …there’s something amiss …my sixth sense keeps tingling (minor Spider-man reference, don’t judge). Once someone betrays you, building that trust is really difficult, I get over things pretty quickly, ’cause I know I mess up at times, but when you start seeing the same pattern being exhibited again, a sense of de ja vu which you know leads to the same emotional pain? you have to ask yourself if its all worth it …I’m a fighter, but I work well in a team, If I don’t feel the same investment I offer emotionally ….I withdraw without even realizing it at times. I won’t mention any names, I believe in addressing problems face to face.
I don’t know whether to call it a curse or a gift, but I pay attention a bit too much… If I see an inconsistency, I feel the need to find out why… and i’ve been seeing plenty. This is probably the first time I’ve posted something so personal, and I know there’ll be people assuming i’m talking about them, but no, its just a thought that’s been piercing my mind of late.
I’ll admit (even my friends know this) that I’ve never liked sharing my inner emotions, makes me feel vulnerable…and I don’t like that feeling ….I guess this is a start.
-Dante
After orientation Walter and Ned got out of the lecture room and waited by the entrance. They were bickering as students passed them on their way out.
“Is this necessary?” Walter questioned.
“It is Walt, just give it a chance” Ned said wiping his forehead.
Serra and Beatrice exited the lecture room laughing amongst themselves.
“Uh, excuse me…” Ned said, cutting the girls’ laughter short.
Serra responded with a puzzled face, “Yeah?”
“I know this is kinda weird but – – – would you two mind hanging out with us?”
“Um…” Serra looked just as confused as Beatrice “…why?”
Ned scratched the back of his head, “Well, we got off on the wrong foot, and uhh, since we’re all new, it’d be nice if we became friends”
“Uh, o-kay?”
An impatient Walter entered the conversation, “He has a ‘need to fix everything’ problem, so either you say yes, or get the hell –“
Ned quickly stepped in, “ – SERRA, and Beatrice, forgive Walter’s politeness. It would be nice if you said yes, please. It’ll just be for a few minutes, just a few, I promise”
*******
Beatrice and I tagged along with Walter and Ned, we had some small talk as we walked casually towards the Sports field. I still didn’t get it though, why Ned would go out of his way to stay on good terms with complete strangers such as us. It wasn’t because he was interested in either one of us, I was sure of that, as we talked I could feel he was genuinely being friendly. Walter on the other hand kept staring into the distance, he would smile occasionally; it wasn’t clear if it was because of our conversation with Ned or something on his mind.
We reached the Sports field and a number of students were there, some were playing basketball and others tennis. The rugby field was not being used, the number of students sitting there idly chatting made that abundantly clear. From where we were standing we could see the entire field with ease, there was a long set of stairs ahead of us leading downwards to the lush green rugby pitch. All four of us stood by the first step, silently soaking in the view, and noise.
“Walt, there she is” Ned said with his eyes focussed, Walter and Beatrice looked in the same direction.
“Good luck, soldier. I’ll pass on this one” Walter gave a weak handed salute.
Ned looked disappointed as his shoulders dropped, “Really? Come on man”
“Well Ned, it’s been nice talking to you and walking around, but it’s time for us to, um, go” I said preparing to turn around and leave.
“Serra! Its Marie, look!” Beatrice exclaimed in excitement pointing towards her. Marie had a bunch of girls surrounding her, a common sight, even in high school.
“You know her?” Ned asked looking intrigued.
“Of course! She’s our best friend!” a joyous Beatrice responded.
“The irony of it all, I was just planning to talk to her and introduce myself, isn’t that amazing?” Ned grinned.
Beatrice beamed with excitement, “It is! Serra, we’ll introduce Ned to her right? We owe him that much at least”
“Um, sure” I could feel my throat swelling.
Ned turned towards Walter, “Last chance, you sure you don’t want to come along and be a good wingman?”
Walter gave Marie and her friends a second look, “You know me, I rarely change my …” he paused as his mouth opened, like he’d seen a ghost, “… mind”
“Whats up?” A concerned Ned asked.
“Let’s go talk to her” Walter said proceeding down the stairs.
Ned raised his eye-brow, “Whoa – – – I don’t know what peaked your interest, but I’m glad it did”
********
“I’ll take the girl with the red hair, your friends can take the other ones” Walter said to Ned, he looked excited about all this.
It was none of my business how Ned was planning to get Marie, in fact, I didn’t really care that much. Although, the sudden interest by Walter came as a shock; all of a sudden he had this drive and eagerness I hadn’t seen since I met him. This was the closest I had seen him get involved with the three of us that afternoon.
As we came closer, Marie and her friends were now sitting by picnic benches on the very edge of the rugby pitch; it was common for students to have picnics and hang-out there I’d heard.
Once we were in Marie’s earshot Walter made our presence known, “Hello, Cherise” he said, looking at the girl with red hair.
“Wait, wait, wait, you know her?” Ned was highlighting our shock as well.
“Walter!?” Cherise said in disbelief, “Wow, I-I can’t believe this” she stood up and gave him a hug, “It’s been so long!”
“Yes, it’s been long” Walter was actually showing his teeth as he smiled, the girl must have been really special to make him do that.
Beatrice and Ned quickly greeted Marie and her other two friends, I did the same. It all made sense why Walter was eager to help, he knew the red-haired girl, but from where? Cherise gently pulled Walter away from the picnic bench where everyone was, she probably wanted to talk to him privately.
******
*****
(Please leave a comment, and if there’s a particular part that struck you or if you have a favourite character, i’d love hearing about it) 😀
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
Walter’s cellphone rang by the bedside table as he lay in bed; he had no intention of picking it up, afterall, he was battling a hang-over. The digital clock beside his phone had the time 6:57 am written on it. The previous night Walter had been partying with ‘friends’ at a club; the fun had lasted until 3am in the morning. After a few minutes of trying to ignore the ringtone he reached for the phone. He looked at the time on his digital clock before glancing at the caller I.D, it was Ned.
He yawned and then answered, “Ned…”
“Walt – – were you still sleeping?” Ned asked.
“Its seven in the morning, couldn’t this have waited?” Walter replied with a hoarse voice.
“For your hang-over to finish? No, no, no, the sound of your suffering is music to my ears” Ned laughed.
Rolling his eyes Walter responded, “Well If you’re satisfied, I’ll be going to bed now”
“You wish. Did you forget? Today is the first day of our university orientation”
Walter quickly got out of bed and rushed to the calendar positioned by his door, Crap.
“It starts at seven-thirty, so don’t be late. They’ll be registering names”
“Y-yeah, sure”
“Okay. See you there”
Walter hung up showing no sign of enthusiasm, he browsed through his phone and noticed a set of missed calls and messages from Rachel. Not HER again. He cleared his call log and deleted all the new messages without even looking at the content. The Rachel situation was a severe case of a clingy ex, he didn’t see the need to entertain her, she was nothing but a relic to him; Four months had passed since finishing high school at Quanterbury High, he felt as if all the memories he had made at that school were left behind, with only a few exceptions; he tried not to think about it all too much. All his attention was focussed on getting to the university campus on time.
*****
“Serra! Wait for me!” Beatrice exclaimed as she called out to me. She had just stopped to buy a packet of chips from a nearby vending machine; but it was taking too long for them to come out, “It’s been five minutes since we got to this university and I’m already having trouble with something”
“Hit it, like they do in the movies” I suggested.
She widened her mouth, “I’ll be patient, no need to hit anything”
I walked over to the vending machine, “It’s faster”
Beatrice looked around to see if there were any students nearby, we were near the main parking lot of the university. There weren’t many students around, maybe because it was orientation. The parking lot also had a few cars; many of them were in Staff parking.
After her small scouting mission Beatrice slapped the front glass of the vending machine as hard as she could. A packet of chips fell out, it’s only then that I noticed the glass had so many scratches, probably from all the students who had done the same thing.
“Ow – ow – ow!” Beatrice shook her hand rapidly as she picked her prize.
“By the way, where’s Marie? I thought we would have seen her by now”
Beatrice was still shaking her hand while holding her chips in the other, “She said she’s already in the lecture room with the orientation stuff. I guess we should go there”
Beatrice and I had been friends for a pretty long time, since primary to be exact; I liked her company, she was unintentionally funny at times. Over the years, she hadn’t changed much when it came to her appearance; she had long curly blonde hair and pale blue eyes which she frequently kept behind her frameless glasses. It didn’t come as a surprise that Beatrice had brought the same satchel she had always used in high school, she never really liked change. It probably explained how we had stayed friends for so long, because I felt the same. We were good friends, but I couldn’t say the same about our mutual friend Marie.
As we walked to the lecture room I couldn’t help but have a closer look at Sunderlake University. It was a slightly big campus that had five main buildings; each of them were for different departments of study I had heard, among other things. A smooth grey pavement was used as the main walkway connecting all of them. There were long stretches of green lawn in the areas surrounding each building and on the far ends of the campus. The only places without lawn or some fancy looking flowers were the walkway and the main road that divided the campus in two; leaving three departments on one side and two on the other. Beatrice and I had followed the main road deeper into the campus earlier on, hoping to see where it went; it lead to the Parking lot.
We used the zebra crossing on the main road to get to the other side, although I didn’t see the point; there were hardly any cars. The only thing we had to worry about were the stray students walking around; other orientation students I thought. As we walked closer to one of the buildings a man wearing an ‘Ask Me’ shirt pointed us towards a nearby lecture room; it had the sign ‘Orientation Students here’. Even though the door was closed, we could hear loud voices on the inside; the room sounded full.
Beatrice threw the empty snack packet in a nearby trash can and clutched nervously to her satchel, “Well Serra, this is it”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as I reached for the door handle.
********
Walter cruised past the main campus gate with his motor-bike. No one could get lost looking for this place he thought as he drove past the massive archway written Sunderlake University. He repeatedly looked left and right trying to see where he was supposed to go, out in the open he saw Ned waving his arms; trying to signal Walter where he was. Walter drove over to Ned.
“Always with the flashy entrances” Ned said with his hands in his pockets. He had a short sleeved grey t-shirt and black jeans on; he probably felt good not having to wear the Quanterbury High uniform anymore.
Walter took off his helmet. “One of us has to be cool right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you barely made it, we’re supposed to go there” Ned said, pointing at a nearby door.
Walter got off his bike, “I’ll just leave this here”
“By the zebra crossing, seriously…”
“At least people will have something good to look at as they cross the road”, Walter patted Ned on the shoulder.
Ned scratched the back of his head smiling hopelessly, “Your logic worries me”
Walter had already begun walking towards the lecture room entrance, “Come on Nedric, we’ll be late”.
They both entered the lecture room hoping they weren’t too late. It was a large room with a downward slope as you walked further away from the entrance; Walter decided that it was best they sit in the middle-section. There were quite a number of people in the room but not too many. Most students had either gone to sit at the very front or at the back, leaving plenty of space in the middle; their loud chatter made it sound full from the outside though.
As they sat Ned whispered to himself, “Oh, no…”
“What?” Walter said looking around hoping to find what might be the highlight of his day.
“Its, uh…” Ned hesitated.
Walter looked at Ned’s face, “Crap, I know what that glow means”
“Walt. Its Marie” his eyes were quivering.
“And she’s supposed to mean something, isn’t she?” Walter asked in a condescending tone.
“Do you ever listen? That’s the girl I’ve been telling you about – – – from my neighbourhood. The one I like?” he looked at her. “Looks like she’ll be learning here as well” his eyes started glowing.
“Love-struck. Perfect.” Walter shook his head, “If you like her so much why haven’t you told her yet?”
Ned took out a note pad from his bag “You know why”
Walter had heard this story plenty of times. Ned had never asked out Marie because for the two years her family had moved into his neighbourhood he was staying with his aunt in Quanterbury; a different city altogether. He had to move so he could attend school at Quanterbury High; and every day he’d talk about asking her out when he went back to his neighbourhood. But each time, he never did.
Walter sang, “Because you’re a C – O – W – A – R -“
“Uh-uh, don’t you dare” Ned crossed his arms, “Maybe if you got a real girl instead of that bike you work on everyday you’d understand”
“Heeey, low-blow. That’s something I’m supposed to say, you’re the good guy here”
“Uh-huh” Ned laughed to himself as he leaned back onto his chair, “So, uh – – – how would you let her know you like her if you did?”
A dismissive Walter responded, “You don’t want my advice Ned, you know what I’m going to say”
“Yeah, you have a point”
“You boys are sad” a female voice said from behind them, they looked and saw a girl with black hair at shoulder length, she had a strip that had been dyed blue, “you’re talking about a girl that probably doesn’t even know you exist, please, try whispering next time”
*****
“Serra, what are you doing?” Beatrice whispered with a surprised tone.
I put my elbow on the mini-desk and rested my cheek on my palm, “Doing them a favour, they were speaking too loud”
The guy with the short blonde hair, Ned, looked like he wanted to say something; his secret had just fallen on a strangers’ ears; my ears.
Walter retaliated “We’re not trying to hide anything”
“Walter, was it? why dont you want to help your friend Ned over there get the girl?”
Ned stretched his face upward groaning, “Awww man, she knows our names already?”
Walter paused for a moment then turned around to look at me, “I’ve been around a lot of stupid girls, or b*tches, if you’re feeling so dramatic, and none of them scream ‘I want attention‘ more than you”
“WOW” I smiled, never had I seen a guy talk to a random girl with such a murderous vibe, “…you need a leash, and some help”
Ned kept looking on the ground while squeezing the bridge of his nose, “Um, guys, is this necessary?”
Beatrice had her head buried in her hands, from embarrassment I thought. We hadn’t actually noticed how many students had entered the lecture room while having our little exchange. A few of the students were already gawking at us, trying to hear what we were talking about. I wasn’t bothered, nor was Walter, Ned looked like he was close to having a heart attack; his eyes kept alternating between Walter and I as we talked.
A diplomatic Ned intervened, “Guys, please, this is the first day of university, let’s be, friendly”
Walter turned his back towards me yet again, the look he gave before he did so was a clear hint that I shouldn’t try pulling off a stunt like that again. He didn’t know me very well, I didn’t like doing what other people told me to do. Just then, the lecturer walked into the room.
Ned resumed, “I’m sorry we were talking too loud Serra, it won’t happen again” he looked at Walter, “And I’m sure my friend here agrees”
It was a bit shocking hearing that, I would have expected him to be as angry as his friend with the black hair. I didn’t even know why I had intervened in their conversation, was it really because they were speaking too loud; or was it because they were talking about Marie?
Ned stretched out his hand, “By the way, I’m Ned, and this here is my friend Walter”. Walter kept looking forward, alienating our conversation.
I whispered, “Hey Ned…” while shaking his hand for a proper introduction, “… I’m Serra, sorry for lashing out at you”
Meanwhile Walter had the no one asked you look on his face. He did not enjoy my presence.
“And your friend?” Ned said, looking at Beatrice who still had her head buried in her hands.
“Oh, that’s Beatrice, a good friend of mine”
Ned grinned, “See? That wasn’t so hard, now we can talk like nothing ever happened”
I couldn’t help but smile and feel a bit bad about what I had said earlier. It wasn’t their fault, but whenever her name was mentioned something inside of me could not control itself.
(Please leave a comment, and if there’s a particular part that struck you or if you have a favourite character, i’d love hearing about it) 🙂
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
Walter’s cellphone rang by the bedside table as he lay in bed; he had no intention of picking it up, after all, he was battling a hang-over. The digital clock beside his phone had the time 6:57 am written on it. The previous night Walter had been partying with ‘friends’ at a club; the fun had lasted until 3am in the morning. After a few minutes of trying to ignore the ringtone he reached for the phone. He looked at the time on his digital clock before glancing at the caller I.D, it was Ned.
He yawned and then answered, “Ned…”
“Walt – – were you still sleeping?” Ned asked.
“Its seven in the morning, couldn’t this have waited?” Walter replied with a hoarse voice.
“For your hang-over to finish? No, no, no, the sound of your suffering is music to my ears” Ned laughed.
Rolling his eyes Walter responded, “Well If you’re satisfied, I’ll be going to bed now”
“You wish. Did you forget? Today is the first day of our university orientation”
Walter quickly got out of bed and rushed to the calendar positioned by his door, Crap.
“It starts at seven-thirty, so don’t be late. They’ll be registering names”
“Y-yeah, sure”
“Okay. See you there”
Walter hung up showing no sign of enthusiasm, he browsed through his phone and noticed a set of missed calls and messages from Rachel. Not HER again. He cleared his call log and deleted all the new messages without even looking at the content. The Rachel situation was a severe case of a clingy ex, he didn’t see the need to entertain her. Four months had passed since finishing high school at Quanterbury High, he felt as if all the memories he had made at that school were left behind, with only a few exceptions. He tried not to think about it all too much, all his attention was focussed on getting to the university campus on time.
*****
*****
The full chapter will be posted real soon, I apologize If the wait was too long. 🙂
-Dante
His heart had been broken numerous times; there was little to nothing to call a heart anymore. In a way, you could say there was no ‘heart’ left to break. All that was left was a huge gaping hole; a void in place of his heart.
******
7th grade, he had a crush on a girl named Cherise; but who didn’t? Every boy in class liked her, maybe it was because of her fair complexion, or her trademark red hair; whatever the reason, he wanted her. It didn’t take time for him to ask her out and she accepted. They went out for a week, everything was going well until he decided to kiss her in class, after school; which he did. It was a small kiss that barely lasted two seconds; but clearly it was enough time for Cherise’s father to walk in on them. The father wasted no time shoving him away from his daughter; the rumours about the father’s short temper were true after all. He had been shoved away so ferociously that his head made contact with a nearby wall. The result was a bruise that was highly noticeable.
He remembered how Cherise lied to defend herself, claiming that he had forced himself onto her; a lie that resulted in him being suspended for two weeks, and a good beating at home. He didn’t understand how he had become the bad-guy in all of this; why wouldn’t anyone listen to his side of the story? Apparently the role of Cherise’s father in the PTA held more power than he had initially realised; everyone in the Disciplinary Committee listened to his side of the story as if it were gospel. The bruise on his head was regarded to as nothing more than an accident that had occurred before the father walked in on them; a ‘playground’ brawl they called it.
Oh, I get it – – I’m just some kid from a stupid family, how could my version of the story hold up to an important member of the PTA? Princess Cherise, the daughter of a well-known family would NEVER lie.
He clenched his fist, it was the only thing he could do to deal with the injustice he had witnessed first-hand. After those two weeks he tried talking to her but she ignored him; a few days later she transferred unannounced, and he was left alone. That was the end of that.
******
9th grade, same school, he started dating a girl named Kimberly. She was an attractive brunette with an outstanding figure, but unlike Cherise, she wasn’t ranked as a ‘most wanted’ by other guys, which meant less competition, so it was good for him. He asked her out not willing to waste any time, there was no need to, after-all they had known each other as acquaintances since primary. She also knew of the Cherise incident, which saved him from having to come clean about what he considered to be the most embarrassing story of his life.
Everything was going smoothly, three weeks passed and he found himself growing very fond of her, her sense of humour had a large part, it always left him smiling for the rest of the day. He would always see her in private and not so often in public, she preferred it that way. He never disputed with her decisions, he figured it better not to rush things like his past attempt at romance.
Kimberly was part of the Student Council, a very prestigious group according to high school standards, as a result, every Tuesday afternoon she was always busy with meetings. She would tell him to head-on home because her parents would personally come pick her up after work. This was the only day he wouldn’t use the school bus with her; he hated the thought.
One Tuesday, he decided to surprise her by waiting, even if it meant seeing her for a couple of seconds, he believed it was worth it. The meeting finished and he hid behind a hedge full of daffodils, he had plucked out a few, it was all part of the surprise. Every member of the student council came out besides her, where is she?
He couldn’t wait any longer, so he decided to enter the meeting room; though if he knew what he would see, he wouldn’t have. In plain sight, he saw Kimberly kissing the new guy who went by the name of ‘Pablo’, the new recruit of the student council. They were sitting side by side, near the main council table, mauling each others’ lips in an almost routine fashion. She looked so happy, he hadn’t seen her smile like that, ever. The daffodils he had been holding started feeling unusually heavy, unwillingly slipping through his fingers; it took an eternity for them to hit the ground. Kimberly and Pablo noticed the fall and stopped kissing, they started to giggle among themselves.
What’s so funny? He thought to himself. Pablo calmly stood up smiling, he picked up his belongings and kissed a blushing Kimberly on the cheek. She had obviously seen him, but her eyes were too engulfed by Pablo, who was naturally tall and muscular; a fight was tempting but the end result would have been utter defeat. Pablo had an arrogant look on his face as he mumbled, “bench-warmer” on his way out.
Before he could ask Kimberly any questions, she told him that he should have expected it, he didn’t understand why until someone broke the ice. Pablo was already her boyfriend, but he had been learning at a different school until then, put bluntly, he was the time-pusher. All of a sudden, It all made sense, why she thought he should have expected it, and why she never wanted to see him in public; he was just an option. She was not willing to risk her reputation by being seen with the likes of him. He spent the rest of the year feeling utterly humiliated and used.
These people, they knew – – EVERY LAST one of them knew, and they didn’t tell me…
******
Two years after, he had other relationships. The first was with a girl named Meryl, it was a good one, even his friend Ned spoke highly of her. ‘Our friend Meryl. She has angel on her CV, I checked’ he’d always say.
Not only did Meryl’s long black hair always leave him stunned, her brown eyes were so enticing, looking at them was addictive. She had this aura, he could never read her like the others, she was always smiling, and how she did it was a mystery. After three months of ceaseless chemistry, she moved to another country. There was little to no contact through the phone, so in the end, both of them stopped communicating. In a way, he had purposefully stopped trying to communicate with her because he felt it would make him get too attached, then later on disappointed. Even though she hadn’t hurt him, he didn’t want to take any chances.
The other one was with a girl he knew had a crush on him, Rachel was her name. They connected from the word ‘go’ but as time passed she became possessive and expected him to do everything for her, so he broke it off. Through-out high-school he didn’t see the point of being in a relationship, he had tried his best to fall in love again, especially after Kimberly, but he found it difficult. That would probably explain why he dumped Rachel a few days later, because she expected him to commit and to always provide attention. She was a good person who he felt deserved more than he was giving her. At a younger age he would’ve loved Rachel’s possessiveness, because it would’ve made him feel ‘needed’, or special, but at this stage, he found that to be a no-go area.
******
Four Years Later (Leaver’s Party)
It was just another Leaver’s Party, their significance had diminished after having seen so many of them over the years. They always took at night in the main building, the poor decorations around the entire campus were courtesy of the Student Council. Ear-drum rupturing noises could be heard all over, with girls screaming, music playing and loud chatter; mostly boys trying to sound as impressive as possible. He hated the noise, the day, the scene, the weather, the people, everything.
He was on his way to the school bus with Ned, intending to leave the premises, when out of the blue…
“Hey, Walter!” Pablo called him, he had recently broken up with Kimberly and was going out with another girl named Monica. She was prettier.
He turned around and looked at Pablo without a word, Ned continued walking towards the bus.
“Why are you leaving the party so soon man?” Pablo spread his arms as if he was an all important figure at the occasion.
He smiled to himself and walked slowly towards Pablo, “Well, there’s not much left for me to do here I’m afraid”
“What do you mean? There are a lot of girls here” Pablo said, hugging Monica by the waist.
Walter responded, “Yes Pablo, there are. But my curiosity is not really there anymore” he started looking at Monica’s figure.
“Don’t eye-ball my girlfriend like that Walter, you know you can’t have her right?” Pablo chuckled lightly, hovering his free hand in front of Monica’s upper body. He was genuinely joking.
“I’ve done more than eye-ball Monica my mis-informed friend”
“What are you talking about?” Pablo’s smile began to fade and Monica started fidgeting with her purse.
“Let’s go baby” Monica said trying to move towards the main building, but Pablo’s arm clung even harder to her waist.
Walter let out a sigh, “Oh, she hasn’t told you yet?”
“Told me what?” Pablo’s eyes shifted between Walter and Monica.
“Monica and I have been seeing each other for weeks now, in secret — and I have to say, our meetings are always so full of energy, and intimacy. It’s a shame she doesn’t show that particular side to you”
“Is this true?” Pablo asked Monica, she didn’t answer, “Hah! You’re a funny guy Walter, you almost got me!” Pablo said giving a light punch to Walter’s shoulder.
“…It’s not like she’s denying it” he looked at Monica, “are you..?”
Monica mumbled to herself, “Walter…you promised…” immediately after, Pablo removed his hand from Monica’s waist.
“What!?” Pablo said as he started fuming, anyone within three metres could have heard him breathe. He couldn’t help but start pacing. After a long pause Pablo looked at Walter with his finger pointed at him, “You little bastard! Y-you knew — Y-you knew I wanted to ask her out and you-”
Walter cut in,“- warmed the bench. I AM the ‘bench warmer’ aren’t I? Just like I did with Kimberly, I made sure Monica was ready for you” he grinned for a brief moment, “As I said before, there’s nothing left for me here”
Pablo was speechless, but his bloodshot eyes were a clear hint of what he was feeling deep inside. It was a mixture of hate and humiliation, whatever the case, Walter didn’t seem to care. Monica stood there teary eyed, looking at the destruction that had just occurred right in front of her very eyes. She tried holding Pablo’s shoulder, but he moved away.
The school bus was getting ready to leave and Walter started walking towards it. He made a quick pause with his back faced towards Monica and Pablo, “Happy New Year”
To be continued…
Danté
Please leave a comment, or two, or three 🙂
(I would also love some input on whether you found the story interesting so far, if so, what parts struck you the most. Since its the prologue not much was revealed about the other characters, however If any characters intrigued you, please mention how and why. I would really appreciate it 🙂 )
O.D. 