3.3 Initial communication

"So, what's this school like?" Mike asked. Raymond knew he wasn't the correct person to ask but he answered truthfully. "It's pretty good, most of the students get along well and we have really good sports teams." "Fuck sports, I'm not into that shit. How are the girls? You guys got a bunch of hot ones here? I looked at the bus as I came in and it doesn't look like there is much talent" Mike said as he laughed to himself. "Um, yeah we have girls" Raymond answered with a shy tone as if he was scared to talk about the subject. "No shit you've got girls at the school, but are they hot. Do you not understand the question? Are you gay or something dude?" Mike said as he looked Raymond up and down as though he could tell if Raymond was gay just by looking at him. "I - I'm not, we have some good looking girls but most of them are taken by the jocks and the skaters" Raymond answered back trying to seem more comfortable. He could tell that Mike was definitely not a jock but maybe he was a skater or a punk. Either way by the time they finished Mike's first day of school, Raymond knew Mike would see he was a loser and that would be the end of this friendship or whatever this was. "Sick, maybe I'll have to bring my board to school with me. Chicks at my last school hated skaters so I didn't bring it today. We were labeled as losers, fuck em all anyway" Mike said with a sick grin.

Not much else was said for the rest of the ride to school, Mike asked a few more questions about the girls and a couple questions about the local area. Raymond got the vibe that Mike didn't care much about him as he never asked anything about Raymond's personal life, although he liked that. The bus parked at the front of the school and the kids filed out one by one, not one of them saying anything to either Mike or Raymond as they passed. Mike lit a cigarette as soon as they got off the bus and started toward the schools entrance. "You can't smoke on school property, they suspended someone for it last week" Raymond said nervously. "I do what I want and if they suspended me, it's just time off" Mike laughed as he spoke. Raymond knew Mike was no good but at least he could be someone to talk to, if he stuck around that is. "What grade are you anyway?" Mike asked. "Grade 11, you?" Raymond answered. "Shit you're older than me? I would have thought you'd be in grade 9. You're pretty short for a grade 11 but I guess you can't help that. I'm grade 10, looks like I chose the wrong kid to sit beside, we won't even have classes together. I'mma check out the school halls and be late for class, fashionably as they say. See ya around kid." Raymond knew this was probably the last time they'd speak but he was hopeful that it wasn't.