Free Fall

: Chapter 4 : Isn't that kind of like velocity?

(Unedited)

The sound of my alarm wakes me up. On most days, I will jump out of bed immediately to turn off the noise before either my parents or Dryden come to see if I have not died in my sleep. This is not the option that I prefer.

Finally, after getting up and proceeding further onto a warm shower, I finalised my routine. Except something deemed different from usual, yet I couldn't figure out what. Slipping on my Ember River sweater vest, placing the tie correctly, I hear a ping from my phone.

A new selfie had appeared from Christian. This time, he was wearing a New England Revolution jersey, a black fedora, and blue sunglasses. His confidence became evident from the corner of his mouth. Stereotypical and inaccurate media portrays homosexuality as a parade of faith, as homosexuals like me navigate acceptance and rejection alike-Christian's confidence in who he has eroded my confidence as I stared in awe at the picture.

In the kitchen, I hear my parents talking amongst themselves about something. I didn't pay any attention before I left the house. I didn't want to take the bus, but I didn't ask either Christian or Dryden for a ride.

***

It still didn't feel natural when Christian proudly referred to me by my nickname as I approached my locker. "What are you doing tonight?" he asked as I opened my locker and grabbed the copy of Lord of the Flies I needed.

"Time travel, maybe Netflix, that Cobra Kai season, yeah, totally with Robbie," I tell Christian as I shut my locker. However, he wrinkled his eyes in disdain, and he seemed to have had something else in mind.

"You're something else," Christian tells me as we start heading towards class. I question the right time and way to tell him who and what I am each passing step. Even if you barely know them, every interaction you have with anybody is a never-ending anxiety battle. It's the stereotypes they cling to you without your knowledge or consent. My lingering thought being he's not far from the truth.

"That's your return to the one you worked with last night?" I blurted out as we walked into the classroom. As we walked to our bench, silence slipped between us. If this were an alternate universe, I am sure we would have had a very different outcome. I knew I didn't hold the confidence that Christian Day held with every stride he paraded around, yet I found myself wanting to understand him more by the day.

As class lingers on to notes and endearment of homework assignments with deadlines, I wager into more diagrammatic drawing as to how it would come with hope for passing a requirement spectrum.

After class, I left for my lockers when I heard a notification ping, and I did not have to look to see who it was. I didn't reply this morning, as I thought I'd do it later -- maybe in art class.

Could Christian think I was trying to avoid him if I didn't reply to him? Is that usually the case when you don't respond to someone? I wasn't entirely sure, but I didn't know what to expect either.

Like the previous night, I decided to text him even if it was something as simple as a smiley face. I started the text but erased it immediately. Why would I text him at school? Would anyone even notice?

While attending art class, I decided to draw a squiggly line, even though it had no actual plot or goal. I figured it was the first step and could very well end up leading to some brilliant artistic work by the end of the semester, and as Simon had put it, my inspiration would come to me.

I had no idea who Dryden was talking to as he stood up against his car. I could have been another football player, but I wasn't sure. Slipping my earbuds in, instead, I found myself walking towards Christian's Jeep.