Chapter Text
“JIMMY, GET UP BEFORE YOU MAKE US BOTH LATE”
I wake up to the sound of my sister yelling. I look over to the dingy alarm clock on my bedside table.
It reads 6:43.
“Shit!” I hop up from my bed. My alarm was supposed to go off 20 minutes ago, Liz is going to murder me. I quickly put on the first shirt I find while stepping into my jeans. I grab my flannel and look in the mirror. I run a hand through my hair before running to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I finish getting ready as quick as possible.
I rush down the stairs, skipping the last step, and round the corner to our kitchen. I grab a banana and my backpack and meet my sister, who is most likely texting her boyfriend, at the door.
“I told you we had to pick up Joel,” she says slipping her phone into her pocket as we walk out.
“I know, I know. I set my alarm! It just… didn’t go off”. We get into the car as she starts it.
“Yeah yeah, I’m just saying, not a good way to start your Junior year.” She says giving me a sideways look as we make our way out of the neighborhood and to Joel’s. I start to fiddle with the radio.
“So… are you excited?” She asks as I find a station playing ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ by All Time Low.
“Eh, it’s whatever. It’s just another year.” I saw shrugging.
“But it’s more than that! This year you get to go to prom, and it’s your second to last year of High School. You might as well get excited.” She says as we turn into Joel’s neighborhood.
“Yeah, I guess” I say as we stop at his house. Joel swiftly hops in the back seat behind Lizzie.
“Hey babe,” he says kissing her cheek. “And hey sleeping beauty” he says with a laugh, relaxing into the seat.
“Hey!” I shout, giving Lizzie a glance as she giggles “It’s not my fault that I have a faulty alarm clock”. We sit in silence for a little bit before Lizzie starts with her first day questionnaire. Even as a senior, she still seems to get excited for the first day of school, which is crazy because Grian is the exact opposite. She asks us all kinds of questions like who we are most excited to see again or what we hope we have for lunch.
“What’s your first class, Jimmy?” She asks me as we pull up to the last light before we get there.
“AP Lit, in which I know absolutely NO ONE” I whine. Last year Lizzie told me I needed to start taking APs so I could get into a good college, and since I had the highest grade in Lit, she suggested that.
“That’s what you get for being a nerd” Joel says from the back seat.
“Ignore him, it’ll be good for colleges and I’m sure you’ll make friends, don’t worry.” She smiles. Lizzie has this thing where she can say things that could seem impossible but when she says it, it seems plausible. I think it’s because she’s secretly magic.
“Thanks Liz” I smile back as we park.
We get out of the car and walk towards the school when I spot Grian and Pearl getting out of their car. As we approach, Grian’s distain towards the early morning gets louder.
“Hey Dude!” I say as he looks at me with a look of pure obdurate.
“Hey Timmy” he replies with a tired expression. “Lizzie, Joel” he addresses. They both reply with their respective ‘good mornings’.
“You’re looking great, the bags under your eyes really bring out your hatred for life” Joel smirks. This comment brings a scowl to Grian’s tired face,
“Thanks Joel”, he replies with sarcasm. There is a bit of chatter between our group before Lizzie and Pearl seem to notice someone. They say bye and make their way over, Joel in tow, to who seems to be Gem and someone with short teal hair. “I do not want to be here” Grian says before taking a swig of his water bottle.
“C’mon, it can’t be that bad. It’s your senior year. Lizzie seems ecstatic” I say bumping his side with my elbow.
“Well it’s a good thing I’m not Lizzie” he replies with a false smile. We start to make our way into the building.
“Are you so excited to start comp practice next week?” I say sarcastically. He gives me a dirty look in response.
“Don’t even talk to me” he says leaning on a wall.
“What’s your first period?” I ask as he looks through his bag for something.
“AP Stat, I have it with Mumbo” he says pulling out a container of Fruit Punch Ice-Breakers.
“Lucky” I reply, as he pops one into his mouth. “I have AP lit, which NO ONE else is in apparently”.
“That’s your fault. You’re the one who waited until Junior year to start taking AP classes”, he offers me a piece but I deny. “If you had started earlier, maybe you’d know more people”.
“Well sorry I’m not some over-achiever like you” I say rolling my eyes. Grian has been taking basically all APs since Sophomore year. He spent freshman year at some school in Japan and came back ahead of everyone else. “And besides, I do know other people in APs, Gem is also taking AP lit. It’s just for some reason the school decided they hate me”.
“Yeah, whatever. You don’t need friends in there anyway. You get distracted too easily”.
“Thats so not true!” I become defensive.
“Yeah it is, you have the attention span of a 2 year old.” He laughs out. I just decide to ignore him.
“What time is it?” I ask, quickly changing the topic. Right then the warning bell rings. “Oh my god, uh I got to get going”.
“yeah yeah, go be late” he shouts as I run away.
—_—_—
When I finally reach my class I examine the room. The overhead lights are off and the room is lit by lamps and led lights. At least the teacher is probably chill. There is a slideshow up on the board and art all around the classroom. And then I see it. The worst thing that could have happened, the desks are set up in pairs. I start to scan the people that are already here.
Most of the desks are already filled with people chatting away. Then I see someone in the front row sitting near the window with short teal hair. He has a binder and a note book set out, along with a coffee and a pencil case. Everything on his desk seems to be neatly organized. Then I realized, that’s the guy from earlier. That’s who Lizzie and Pearl went over to. I slowly make my own way over to him.
“Hey, is anyone sitting here?” I ask timidly. He looks up from what seems to be a drawing and seems to examine me before smirking.
“Go right ahead” he says smoothly, nodding towards the seat cueing for me to sit down. I follow his instruction and take the seat next to him. He goes back to his drawing and I look over to see what it is. It seems to be a black and white picture of a flower.
“That’s cool” I say awkwardly.
“Oh, uh thanks, it’s a poppy.” He responds looking back towards me. I start to examine his face. He has bright icy blue eyes that match his slightly over grown teal hair. His eyelashes are so long I don’t understand how they don’t get tangled up when he blinks.
“That’s really cool, do you um… do you do a lot of art? Or just like sketches and stuff” I say trying to start up a conversation because honestly an awkward conversation is better than awkward silence.
“Um yeah, I do a lot of art downtown, like murals and stuff.” He replies with a smile that indicates that maybe I’m not being annoying.
“Really? That’s so cool!” I exclaim. This earns a giggle from him. “Oh! Um my name is-“
“Jimmy, yeah, I know. My names Scott, Scott Major.” he finishes with a smirk. “We tend to have alot of mutual friends, so I’ve heard about you Jimmy”. Then he adds “Y’know, through the grapevine”.
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about you too.” I lie.
“Have you now?” He asks with a smirk.
“No… not really, I just felt bad.” I admit. This earns yet another laugh from him that brings a smile to my face. “Well um… uh…” I stutter, scanning his physique, desperately trying to find something to change the subject.
“Take your time.” He teases.
“How long has your hair been… um…” I pause, losing my train of thought as I stare into his eyes, “… blue?” I finish.
He laughs “Well my hair has been teal for about 5 years now. Last year I tried a rainbow halo and that was cool for a little bit.” He starts twirling a part of his bangs wear if you look close enough you can see a few green hairs. “At the beginning of summer I had a green streak in my bangs but dyed it back about a week ago”.
“That’s really coo-“ I start but then get interrupted by the teacher starting class. She talks about some of her rules and the syllabus, basic knowledge we need to know about her class. I watch as Scott slowly starts to continue his drawing instead of listening. He starts adding vines and more detail to the drawing. He seems so focused. The look in his eyes is amazing, like all he sees in life is art. It’s a truly beautiful sight… the art I mean.
Our teacher, Mrs. Garber, stops around 4 minutes before class ends. After she goes to her desk, Scott looks back up to me, catching me watching him. I quickly turn my gaze to a picture of an ocean with some random inspirational text on it.
“So, are you excited for the insane amount of homework we are about to get this year?” He asks.
“Absolutely not”, I laugh watching him slowly pack up all of his stuff. “The only reason I’m even taking this class is because Lizzie told me too.” I say, laying my head on my desk while still maintaining eye contact with him. “This is going to be hell… but maybe you can make it bearable”.
“Well I’m flattered” he smiles, tucking his pencil pouch into his bag. “Do you even like literature?” He asks.
“Not really, but it was the class I had the best grade in last year so Liz said I should take this class.” I say straightening back up, “Little does she know the only reason I even passed last year is because Pearl helped me”.
“Yeah, that definitely sounds like Pearl” he says before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Well lucky for you, I’ve just decided that you are going to be my study buddy for this year.” I pause “You know, my new Pearl.” I say half jokingly.
He tosses his bag over his shoulder and stands up. “You know what Jim?” He says. Just then the bell rings, “Count me in”.