Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

High school is one of the most excruciating and painful periods of any teenager’s life. Adults claim that these are the four most remarkable years of your life―are they insane, or just in denial? What makes high schools some of the most dreaded places on earth? In my humble opinion, it’s the jocks! Just by definition, they are the opposite of who I am. Jocks are tall, strong and almighty. I am short, weak and pathetic. I guess being one of the brightest brains in school places me at the bottom of the food chain. All I ever wanted was to be noticed and loved by everyone, but the charlatans here criticize me until there is no tomorrow. Yeah, life sucks, but high school sucks even more.

And there I stood, at the entrance of the school, wishing I were anywhere else but in this goddamn rat hole of hypocrites, liars and backstabbers.

“Move it loser!” Andrew shouted, knocking me to the side.

And then there was Andrew Cooper. He and a couple of his jock friends laughed and teased me as they walked inside the building. Andrew Cooper, the asshole jock, was the main reason why I hated my life at Gelson High. I couldn’t wait for graduation at the end of the year, so he could kiss my white ass goodbye once and for all. I loathed that pathetic little loser with all my heart, body and soul.

“Take comfort in the fact that this is his fifth year here.” A voice behind me caused me to immediately turn around.

And there she was, Kylie Bursnell, in all her glory. Now, since she is my best friend, me, a geeky little loser who’s afraid of a big, muscular jock, many of you may think that might make Kylie either a nerd or a reject from hell. Well, that isn’t the case at all. In fact, Kylie is one of the cheerleaders on the Gelson High cheerleading squad. The girl is a freaking bombshell! Every guy wants her―except for my other best friend, Josh, the rebel of our senior class. That’s the clichéd part of this story. For some reason, he doesn’t like her, or they just don’t click. You may be wondering why a girl like her would even be friends with a loser like me since cheerleaders are mostly shallow, arrogant and mean. Well, she’s not the typical cheerleader, that’s for sure. She is real and down to earth, just like me. I love her. We have been genuine friends since the first grade, and our bond extends beyond any stereotypical label that school and society can place on us. She knows all my secrets, and I know hers.

“Yeah, freaking asshole,” I mumbled, standing up and dusting off my butt. “I swear to God, if I could pound him into the floor, I would do it without mercy while he cries like a little b***h and yells for his mommy.”

“Bring down your testosterone level, Kylee Boo.” Kylie grinned.

“Don’t call me that in front of people! I don’t like it!” I protested as I followed her inside. “I’ve told you a million times to call me Kyle at school. You can call me Kylee Boo in private.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?” Kylie playfully poked me with her elbow.

“Hey Kylie Bombshell!” Andrew shouted from down the hallway.

“It’s Bursnell, you bumbling i***t! Honestly, is your tiny brain an exact replica of your tiny p***s!?” Kylie barked at him. A small chorus of ooh’s echoed among his friends. I’d seen the look that followed on Andrew’s face only a few times before; the look that said he truly felt like the i***t he was. We stopped in front of Kylie’s locker and she proceeded to open it. “Oh, f**k my life! What day is today? Asshole Day?” She asked.

“Why’s that?” I scratched my head, slightly looking around.

“It’s Luke again.”

Shenanigans! The minute the L and the U came together, my heart stopped, twisted, crawled into my stomach and took a dump…yes, a dump! I slowly glanced back. There he was… in all his manliness and awesomeness, Lucas Edward Johnson, the hottest guy on the face of the freaking planet, with his dirty blonde hair and blue puppy dog eyes! And no, he’s not the secret gay guy in this story…that’s me. Kylie focused her attention on her locker while Luke came to a halt behind her. In a pure state of nervousness, he glanced at me then rested his eyes on Kylie.

“Hi, Kylie!” he exclaimed, sweating nervously.

Kylie glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and started digging in her locker. “Hey, Luke.”

“How was your summer?” he asked.

“Good, yours?” Kylie replied, still not looking at him.

“Awesome! Tomorrow is the Back to School Dance and I―”

“Hey Luke!” Andrew called from the other side of the hallway.

Luke turned in Andrew’s direction, and then rested his eyes on Kylie again.

“Talk to you later, Kylie,” he told her, with a smile that would melt anyone.

“Yeah, see you later, unfortunately…” Kylie replied, slamming her locker shut.

After Luke walked away, I turned to Kylie. She could really piss me off sometimes.

“What’s your big deal? Why are you such a little b***h to him? I would do anything for that man.”

“Then go suck his d**k. I bet a jock wouldn’t resist the opportunity to get his d**k sucked, even by a gay guy like you.”

“That’s not the point, Kylie.” I stomped my right foot on the ground.

“Yes it is! That’s all he wants from me.”

“No, Luke’s a nice guy; one of the few left in this world. He would go all out for you and treat you like his queen. Luke is that type of guy. He doesn’t care what people think, as long as he’s happy.”

“Are you saying that because you’ve always had a crush on him, or because he’s saved you more than once from Andrew’s little gang? In case you didn’t notice, he completely ignored you just now!” Kylie was right about everything she’d just said. I’ve always had a crush on him; he’s always saved me from Andrew; and he’s always ignored me. I bowed my head in disappointment, sighing, knowing she was right. Suddenly, Kylie stomped her feet. “Kylee Boo, I’m sorry okay? You’re right. I feel like a total b***h. I’m having a bad day, and I feel like s**t. It’s not your fault.”

Kylie always made me laugh. Our relationship was all about honesty, even if that meant hurting each other’s feelings. That’s what friends should do. They should be real and down to earth. At that moment, I smelled him. s**t, I think everyone did, because even Kylie turned around. Josh Bogwood stood at the end of the hallway. I saw his roughed up black hair and charming good looks illuminating from the distance. As Josh strode down the hallway, everyone made way for him; everyone feared him. His badass reputation, including his use of foul language, permeated the air around us.

“Now, that’s a man!” Kylie announced. “He commands respect and attention.”

“So does Luke. Everyone loves and respects him. He’s a nice guy.”

When Josh walked beside us, he waved at me and completely ignored Kylie.

“I’ve got to have him.”

“Who? Josh?” I asked.

“No you dumbass, the Pope. Who else, but Josh BigWood?”

“Bogwood.”

“Whatever. Let’s get to class before we get on Old Bat Betty’s dark side.”

I sighed, preparing myself for another mundane year at Gelson High.

* * * * *

In every high school, lunch is one of the most important times of the day. This is the time where you sit with your kind and socialize. During this time, we transform into the people we need to be in order to survive the established hierarchy placed on us; ours was the Reject Table. Once you get labeled, there is absolutely no going back, no matter how hard you try. However, if you are brave enough to try, you’re instantly relegated to our table, the Reject Table.

No one knows our names or where we sit since we blend into the background like air. All in all, three people sit with us: Josh, a math geek and a girl from Chemistry class. In all honesty, we’ve sat together for three years, and I still don’t know their names. They just sit next to Josh and eat their lunches with one or two words exchanged between them. It’s sort of sad, but you can’t change the hierarchy, even at our table.

“School sucks!” Josh exclaimed, tossing his hair backwards. I knew Kylie was enjoying the show. “We should only come to school once or twice and get high the remainder of the year.”

“That would get old fast.” I told him.

“Sounds like fun to me,” Kylie added, smiling.

“Whatever,” Josh retorted, looking away.

His words cut her like a knife, but Kylie was a strong woman. Last year, she punched the gym teacher because he drilled her ass. Well, he didn’t literally drill her ass, but he gave her extra laps to run around the field, or so Kylie told me. We didn’t share that horrible class last year. Anyway, when Kylie refused, he walked up to her and got in her face. That was the final straw. She curled her hand into a fist and punched him in the face. The man didn’t see it coming. The only sad part was that she served a week’s suspension, and I felt really alone during that time without her.

“You’re coming over tonight, right?” I asked Kylie while she literally drooled over Josh’s lean and toned body.

“Yeah, sure,” she answered, still looking at him.

On the first day of every school year, we would get together and make a list of things we wanted to accomplish during the school year. I always wrote the same thing; that I would have the courage to speak to Lucas Edward Johnson. Every year I failed miserably at it. I mean, we’ve talked a few times, but that’s it. During our freshman year, he asked me where gym class was. It was our first and only conversation that year…sophomore year, he asked me for the time. That was also the first time that he asked his friends not to pick on me. And that’s nothing, people! Last year, he saved me twice from them, and asked me where Kylie was going for summer vacation. That was a record-breaking year. We talked three times!

“Earth to Kyle!” Josh said, waving his hand in front of my face. I immediately gazed at him. “Finally! I thought you were drugged up, or the empty-headedness of that cheerleader had rubbed off on you.”

“f**k you, Josh!” Kylie shot at him. “You can be a real asshole sometimes.”

“Only with you, sweetheart,” Josh murmured, standing up and walking away.

“I really hate that guy.” Kylie sulked.

“No you don’t. You love him.”

“f**k! I do, and a lot, but he can be a real ass!”

“I don’t get it.” I scratched my head. “He can be very sweet and caring when you’re not around.”

“I wish I could get to know that Josh, but then that would just make me love him even more.”

“Now you know how I feel about Lucas Edward Johnson. Anyway, tonight?”

“Yes, Kyle, tonight at your house. But please tell me that you guys got cable, because I’m not going to miss my shows.”

“Nope, we still got an antenna.”

“Great! Perfect. This day could not get any worse.”

Boy was she wrong.

* * * * *

The moment I hit my street, I was chased by Xavier, one of my neighbors’ dogs, who hated me with all his guts. For some reason, he always waited for me at the entrance of my street with a menacing growl. Then, our confrontation would start. He would chase me nonstop until I reached home. My mom, knowing all about our daily confrontations, would always keep the front door open…thank God!

“Tie that bloody dog up, would you!” I shouted at the ninety-year-old Mr. Jenkins, the dog’s owner, while I ran for my life.

“Darn kid! Stop chasing my dog!” the old man yelled at me while waving his rotten cane.

Once I crossed my yard, I flew through the door and locked it. A few seconds later, I heard Xavier crash into the door with a small thud. My first thought was that he knocked himself out, and usually I was right. Xavier and I were once acquaintances, but never really friends. Everything changed after I played a really funny prank on him. It was the first of July and fireworks were everywhere. Kylie and I sneaked into Mr. Jenkins’ backyard to scare the old man. When we found Xavier sleeping like a rock in his old dog house, we immediately set out to work on him instead. We surrounded his little house with fireworks, and lit that s**t on fire! The dog literally flew into the air and landed on top of me. At that moment, Xavier saw me as his mortal enemy. Our fractured relationship was never the same.

“Groovy, my ankle biter is home.” Mom wrapped her arms around me and squeezed the air out of my lungs. Yes, my mom was still stuck in the 1960’s. “Had a far out day?”

“Yes, Mom. Kylie’s dropping by tonight.”

“That’s so fab! Have a gas!” Mom replied, picking up her raincoat. “We’re protesting for the rainforest today. They’ve got the right to live as well….later Hun!”

“Go and save the world Mom. Make a difference!” I smiled.

And just like that, she was off to save our corrupted world.

I ran into the living room and flopped onto my inflatable cushion. Lucas Edward Johnson, my definition of love and perfection and the embodiment of my wildest fantasies. He was also the man of my dreams and daring imagination. Lucas Edward Johnson, my one and only true love. Lucas Edward Johnson, that sexy god was the only reason I put up with school. What I would give to be wrapped in his arms! Suddenly, I heard a bang, the first of many that shook the ground. It was a sign of what would be one of the biggest thunderstorms of the season. I brushed it aside, since they were common in our small town of Gelson which was located next to Lake View, a rival town. I closed my eyes and continued to dream about Lucas Edward Johnson, the only man I dreamed of and could never have because he was one hundred percent straight! What I wouldn’t give to share one kiss with Lucas Edward Johnson…

Bang! Bang! Bang! I immediately fell to the floor and looked around. The rain had picked up, and the thunderstorm was at its worst. But wait! Those bangs were not coming from outside. They were coming from the front door. Kylie! I sprinted across my living room and went straight for the door, opening it. I must have fallen asleep while I was daydreaming about Lucas Edward Johnson. Seriously, I need to stop calling him by his full name.

“You son of a b***h!” Kylie was soaking wet from head to toe. “I’ve been standing out here for ten minutes! What the hell were you doing?”

“Sleeping.”

She pushed me aside and walked straight to the living room. “Get me a towel!”

Boy was she pissed. I ran to the bathroom and retrieved my bathrobe from the towel rack. When I returned to the living room, I found Kylie banging on my old black and white television with all her strength. “What are you doing?” I asked, baffled.

“I’m trying to get this old piece of s**t to work! I won’t miss my shows tonight!”

“Shenanigans! Are you insane?” I asked, tugging on her right arm. “We are in the middle of a thunderstorm! It’s dangerous, Kylie. That s**t is acting like a lightning rod right now.”

“Dangerous my ass! I want to see my shows right now!”

As Kylie banged on the old television, I heard a loud crashing sound that made my ears tingle and caused my entire body to go numb. Yet, there was something so peaceful about that moment that felt unearthly and dreamy. Being powerless and lacking control was like nothing I had ever felt before. Suddenly, an enormous flash of light clouded my vision and I was instantly thrown backwards. Two loud thuds hit the ground. Then everything went black.