Gossip and Goodnights

Jay's POV

My other classes fly by until it's eventually time for lunch. I leave my English class and head to the cafeteria. The smell of food was a big difference from the crisp autumn air outside. I go in line and check what they're serving. The food they had seemed… unappealing. I opt out of eating and decided to just wait until get home. I leave the cafeteria and go back to the courtyard and take a seat at the table I was at this morning. A cool breeze swept its way through the area. It was a refreshing change from the artificial A.C. inside the school building. I look around in the hopes of seeing 1 of the 3 boys I met today. Luckily for me, Johnny and Miles were coming straight for me. I offered a smile and they gave one back. This time they both sit on the other side of the table.

"Sup Jay," Johnny said as he brushed away some of his fallen strands of hair out of his face. Miles takes a seat right beside him.

"Hey man!" He said in a much more enthusiastic way than this morning. Maybe he's just not a morning person. Or maybe that's how he acts around strangers. Who knows.

"Hey, guys!" I say as Johnny takes the biggest bite of all time out of his slice of pizza. Miles smacks him in the arm and his eyes snap away from his food and to Miles' face.

"Dude?" It was more of a question than a statement. One I'm assuming he wanted to be answered.

"Can't you at least try to eat like a normal person in front of Jay?" Wow, look at Miles trying to make sure I feel comfortable, I feel special. Although, I'm not sure about him changing how he is just because I'm around.

"It's okay, I don't mind," I say to try and get rid of the bit of tension I was starting to feel. Tension that makes my shoulders tighten and nervous laughter escape my mouth.

"See, Jay says he's fine with it." He said triumphantly. He then took another bite with a smile on his face. Miles rolled but you could tell he wasn't too serious.

"So, Jay, how's your first day going so far?" Miles asked with clear interest. He seems a lot more friendly than he did this morning. I wonder what happened between then and now. Maybe he just isn't a morning person.

"Well, I found out that the chem teacher is a crazy person."

"Yeah, Ms. V is just like that." Johnny said. I didn't even have to say her name for them to know who I was talking about.

"Also, turns out there's another new guy. He seems pretty nice. And he's kinda cute. So that's pretty much the peak of my day." I'm sure my face has the dopey smile plastered across it. Miles' face looks confused for a second before the realization kicked in. He lets out a small 'oh', like that just filled in a big blank for him.

"Oh, I didn't know you were gay." The way he said it wasn't rude or anything. It wasn't even said in a mean tone. It was just a comment. And yet, I still got defensive.

"Yeah, does that bother you?" I give him a hard stare. Johnny slowly turns to look at him with wide eyes. He doesn't say anything, just looks at him like I do. I'm sure he's just messing with him, they're obviously very close.

"No I- It doesn't- I'm not-" He keeps stuttering and his face goes red. It was funny watching him try to prove he's not a homophobe or anything. As funny as it is though, I should put him out of his misery.

"Miles, it's okay. I'm just kidding." His face shifts to a deeper shade of red. Johnny laughs at him with no remorse. He buried his head in his arms on the table. I reach over and pat his head. "Anyway, back to the new guy. He introduces himself to the class with no problem, right? Then he's stuttering so much just asking me for a pencil. Isn't that weird?"

"I guess that's a little strange. But maybe he's just good with public speaking." Johnny said as he got up to throw his tray away. Suddenly, the bell rings for class to start again. Myles sits his head back up and blinks rapidly t readjust to the light. During the time Johnny and I were talking, I went from patting his head to running my fingers through his hair. I was saddened at the loss of contact because I was enjoying running my fingers through his hair, which was longer at the top than it was at the sides. We say our goodbyes and we all go to our next class.

-

The walk home was uneventful this time. No strange men running into me or weird books being dropped in front of me. I unlock my door and enter the silent house.

"Mom? Dad? You home?" I call out. No response comes though, so they must be at work still. I set my bag down by the door and walk into the kitchen. I open the fridge then immediately close it because I don't feel like eating. I go to my room and change into more comfortable clothes. To procrastinate doing the homework I have, I decided to unpack and set up my room. I go through each box and put everything where I want it to be. I put all of my pop figures on a shelf I had my dad hang up, and I hang some lights up to make it feel homier. When I'm close to finishing, the only thing being left are the clothes I need to put away, I hear the faint sound of keys jingling and the door being opened. I almost missed it because of the volume of the music I was listening to. I'm not sure which parent it is, so I have to go out to check. I open my door and quickly go down the stairs to get to the front door. My mom walks in, bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hey honey, how was school?" She asked tiredly. Most likely from the combined stress of moving in and getting settled into her new police precinct. She set her bag down on the kitchen island and got a glass of water.

"It was pretty good. I think I actually made some friends." She looked surprised by this. I'm not sure if I should feel accomplished or offended. I struggled with making friends back in Cali, but here, it just feels easier.

"That's great sweetie, I'm happy for you. Oh, and before I forget, I found you a new gymnastics studio." I get really excited at this. I've been doing gymnastics since I was a little kid. I'm basically an acrobat. Flips, splits, handstands, etc, they're all in my realm of skill. I don't wanna brag, but I am pretty good.

"That is amazing, but before I go back to doing that I wanna take some time to settle in, you know?" I know she'll get what I mean. She's clearly going through the process of getting settled herself. She seems like she's a little frazzled, I can't imagine the stress she's put under at the moment, but I know she'll get through it. She's a strong woman.

"Yeah of course honey, take all the time you need. But, if you need me, I'm gonna take a shower and go take a nap. So, goodnight." She then picks her purse back up and walks to her bedroom, the sound of boots clacking against the hardwood floors fades until her door closes completely.

Considering I haven't eaten since breakfast it's time for me to fix myself something. I make a sandwich with some things from the fridge and take it with me to my room to do my homework, which I have yet to start. *Heavy sarcasm* So that's gonna be so fun.