LOVESICK {Cameron James}

CHAPTER ONE

"So, Cameron..." Ms. Perky, a far from normal guidance counselor, started her typical speech for the new kids of Padua High School. "9 schools in ten years, my, my... Army brat?" She asked, not really caring for his answer.

On the opposite end of her table sat a shaky sixteen-year-old boy, he moved schools often but the lonesome feeling of being new never left him. Teenagers are cruel, sure, but this year he didn't plan on being clumped together with a group of geeks. This year, he wanted to stand out. "Yeah. My dad's a..." Cameron started to say before Ms. Perky cut him off.

"That's enough. I'm sure you won't find Padua any different than your old school. Same little asswipe shit-for-brains everywhere." When those words came out of Ms. Perky's mouth, Cameron almost choked on his saliva.

After a moment with a puzzled expression and a little stuttering, Cameron replied, "Excuse me. Did you just say... Am I in the right office?" Ms. Perky was wrong already, this school was different than his last, he could feel it already. 

一一一

In front of Cameron stood an optimistic senior with the fashion sense of his uncle. "Michael Eckman. I'm supposed to show you around."

"Oh hi." A sigh of relief washed over Cameron, he was used to slobbery, undergroomed, four-eyed freaks showing him around; Michael was a nice change. "Thank God! You know, normally they send down one of those audio/video geeks."

Don't let the "fashion sense" fool you, Michael Eckman was in fact one of those geeks. In fact, he was the king of those geeks. But, Cameron didn't have to know that. "You know, I do. I know what you mean, yeah." Michael rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unable to tell if his response was convincing enough.

Just as Michael started to show the new junior around, one of those said A/V geeks, Michael's friend, stopped them. "Hey Michael, where should I put those slides?"

Michael quickly brushed off his friend, with a far from sly or discreet, "Michael?!" He turned back to Cameron, making sure that his jig wasn't up. "So, uh," He checked Cameron's schedule sheet one more time so as to not mess up the new kid's name. "Cameron. Here's the breakdown." He started with, breathing in and preparing to give Cameron James the ultimate guide to Padua High School, Michael Eckman style. And by that, he would pick his words tediously, so Cameron would see him as a new friend, and the only sane person at this school.

Walking down the hall, Michael gestures to a clump of well-dressed students. "Over there you've got your basic beautiful people. Now listen. Unless they talk to you first, don't bother."

"But wait." Cameron looked at them for a moment before asking, "Is that your rule or theirs?"

Michael simply replied "Watch" and turned to one of the jocks as they chatted amongst themselves, "Hey there." He said and the jock aggressively sized him up and replied with "Eat me."

Continuing down the hall, and making their way outside, Michael gestures to several belt-wearing, rope wrangling, redneck guys in a group, "Those're your cowboys."

"That I'm used to." Cameron would be lying if he said that the sight of those God-awful cowboy hats didn't feel comforting to him. Seattle was a lot different than his small town in North Dakota.

"Yeah but, the closest they've come to a cow is McDonald's," Michael replied, then paused their tour to laugh at his own unfunny joke. "Haha... McDonald's!"

Next up on the Cameron and Michael expedition was passing the treacherous cloud of smoke that smelled of cheap weed. "And these delusionals are the White Rasate." Michael pointed them out to Cameron. A group of unbathed boys with dreadlocks and Bob Marley t-shirts looked their way. "They're big Bob Marley fans. Semi-political, but mostly..."

"Think they're black?" Cameron knew that group from his last school, even with his old class of thirty-six. Cameron turned with Michael, following him to the next location. "So where do you fit in all of this?" Cameron needed to know that his first chance at a friend would be a good fit for him- or at least not send him into a social suicide.

Michael sighed and pointed to a group of yuppie students dressed in plaid and immersed in their studies. "These are your future MBAs- we're all Ivy League accepted." One of the boys, Bogie Lowenstein, scoffed when Michael walked by. "Yesterday I was their God."

Curious, Cameron asked, "What happened?"

Michael sighed, acting like he was about to recall a traumatic experience, "Bogie Lowenstein started a rumor that I... that I buy my Izods at an outlet mall."

"So they kicked you?" Cameron said, shocked, and now a little scared to make friends at Padua.

As reassuring as he could be, Michael replied with, "Hostile takeover. But don't worry. They'll pay... Now over here..." Before he could finish, Cameron touched Michael's chest and gestured towards a girl walking past. Well, not just "a girl", It was Julia Chalamet.

"What group is she in?" Cameron asked, his heart practically beating out of his chest. Not to mention that his mouth was now parted open, smitten with his new object of affection.

"The "don't even think about it" group. That's Julia Chalamet. A sophomore." Michael rolled his eyes, unable to see the attraction people feel for her. It's undeniable that she's pretty. Really pretty. But Michael's seen her pick her nose and burp after one too many Root Beer floats. That's the perk of being her next-door neighbor since childhood, Michael has seen it all.

"I burn! I pine! I perish!" Cameron dramatically said, although he's never even spoken to her, he was already yearning.

Julia was clumped in between her two best friends, Bianca and Chastity. Michael and Cameron trailed behind them as the girls shared their deep thoughts. "See, there's a difference between "like" and "love". Because I like my Sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack." Bianca perkily said, directed at Chastity.

"But I love my Sketchers." Chastity responded. This made Julia giggle, she had no part in this meaningful conversation. It's not like she was above the girls, but she preferred to listen to their back and forth discourse, only chiming in when she felt necessary.

"That's because you don't have a Prada backpack," Julia said, finally speaking after several minutes of hearing them banter. Cameron was ecstatic upon hearing her voice. Unsurprisingly, she had a high-pitched and flowery way of speaking.

Michael noticed something crazy starting to form in Cameron's eyes. He quickly pulled him aside and said, "Listen. Forget her. She's taken. It's a widely known fact that her douche of a boyfriend, Joey Donner, won't let another man go near her."

Clearly not listening, Cameron simply responded with, "Uh-huh... yeah." Cameron knew he had to try, Joey Donner had nothing on him. Well, except the fact that he'd already wooed Julia enough to date him.