He's Just a Skater Boy (boyxboyxboy)

Chapter 49: Get a Bucket and a Mop

It took me a while to get ready in the morning because while I rarely had to shave and never actually got used to it. That and the prospective beard that tried to peak through usually chose weirdly high and low to attempt to exist and that meant awkwardly scraping close to my ear and just behind the corner of my jaw. I nicked myself twice, cursed at the blade, and eventually cleaned off my face.

I looked like shit, I decided. 

Sleep deprived and hungry and just in general looking like a prick.

I smoothed my hair back, it curled forwards and sat in a messy lump on my head. I'd need to go to the hairdresser to get my sides shaved soon. 

I yawned. I didn't sleep well last night. I was kind of pathetic yesterday and didn't bother picking anything up from the grocery store and by the time I got home was too lazy to even call for some fast food delivery. The food only just started getting to me when I woke up too late in the morning to do anything about it even if I had, had any ingredients to work with.

Eggs, milk and bread. All things I needed.

I hated getting groceries. I bought a couple things and it all went rotten before I could get half way through them. A waste.

Whenever my mom came back to stay at home she'd fill up the fridge with everything, and when she left it all went off, the only thing left in there ever was some particularly bendy carrots and sauces of every kind and make. There was more stashed in the fridge door than there was inside the fridge.

It was a bright sunny morning and by the time I reached the gates, having skated the entire way there with the least cars and pedestrians I'd seen in a good while, I was there early.

I actually felt pretty lost walking in through the gates with my skateboard under my arm, along side other students who had seen fit to arrive at school earlier than necessary.

A good couple of them stared at me, maybe they knew that I didn't know what the hell people did here when they weren't late for class.

I ambled in and didn't come face to face with Callen or Michael or even Ellen the head of the Tardy Committee, a real group the school had set up which was made up of three students, two girls and a boy, or any of the others that seemed to follow me around almost as much as teachers did liking feeling like they were better than me.

Instead of an early morning argument to get the blood running or being shoved into marching pace by Jacob to get to form room in time.

I stood around feeling awkward as I reached the main building, allowing people to walk by me as I moved to the side of the main path.

What did I do now?

If I went to form room this early they'd think I was going to make a habit of it, worse, they'd think Jacob had brought about a reformed character in me. The thought of that made me want to kick them all ahead of time.

I turned around to look around at the groups of students greeting each other as they moved in on through the gates in a giant spaced out herd. A sea of spectacles and perfectly ironed uniforms. All the good children coming in early.

I walked over towards the side of the building, out of the way but not entirely out of sight from the others who didn't notice me way off to the side. There were some noises coming from inside the building on the ground floor, some people laughing.

When I thought about it, it was a Thursday, which was cleaning day. Not for everyone, just for those who were put on the cleaning register.

That included crazy, scary, old delinquents like me and other students who were usually late or didn't tie up their shoes when asked. Maybe even some of those wild students that wore non-uniform shoes to school. Some real criminals. Them and people who just scored badly on tests, got bad marks on homework and projects, that sort of thing.