Learning to Cope

Ch3 Page 3

August:

It's been a few months but I finally found an apartment that will take me. Andrew doesn't know yet. I signed the lease yesterday. I can move in sometime in the next three weeks. I have a car of my own now, it's not great, but it's something. Andrew and I are going to his parents for the weekend, they still don't know we're together. but I'm sure they have a hunch. Apparently, I was the only one who didn't know.

I've got our bags in the backseat of my car. I'm picking him up from class again. "Hey!" Andrew chirps as he takes a seat in the passenger seat of my small car. I've been picking him up from his classes for a week. "Hey!" I kiss his cheek and start the car. "How was class?" I ask. "Long and boring. I also failed the practice test." He sighs. "I wanted to talk to you about this weekend, though." He looks down at his lap.

"What's up?" I glance at him for a moment. "I got a text from a former classmate. They are having a reunion on Sunday. Since we'll be close, I thought it would be fun to go together." He quietly trails off. "Sounds good to me, what high school did you go to?" I ask. I don't think he told me, but we grew up pretty close to each other so I probably know it.

"Stone Hill, it's down the street from my parent's house." His tone shifted from nervous to excited. Did we go to the same Highschool? I don't remember him...? I mean, I skipped my classes a lot and I was two years ahead of him, but the school was rather small and mostly full of rich kids.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah...? why?" He looks at me confused. "I just don't remember going to school with you." I laugh.

"You went there?! It's a reunion for you too then!" He basically yelled. "well, no. They aren't in my graduating class, but I was in school at the same time as you."

Andrew frantically reaches into the back seat and grabs his bag. He pulls out an old yearbook. "You brought that with you?" I chuckle. He must have known about this sooner than he let on. maybe he was nervous to ask? as if I could ever tell him no. He flips to the 11th-grade section and is clearly searching for me. "I don't see you here..." He looks at me confused. "My legal first name isn't August. Flip over to 'H'" I hate my legal name, I've been going by my middle name forever. I guess I forgot to mention it to him.

"Here you are! You look so miserable." He laughs. "Henry Galloway Junior, huh?" He looks at me with a smug grin. "Don't make me turn this car around." I chuckle. He flips through, with a pleased expression. "I would have dated you." He giggles. "No. I seriously doubt that." I laugh. I was a little shit in school, most of the student body thought I was going to set the school on fire on any given day.

Andrew spends the whole drive telling me about his antics from school. I'm glad he's opening up a bit more about his childhood. He hardly talks about it.

"And there was this one guy who physically fought a teacher for a chicken sandwich. I don't know how he didn't get expelled." Me neither. It was totally worth it though, that chicken sandwich was really good. I won't tell him that was me, he doesn't need to know that he's dating a guy who broke a teacher's teeth. "Everyone talked about it for weeks, apparently he broke the teacher's teeth. The teacher was apparently dating a student though, so I guess he earned it." "He was dating a student?!" Shit. "Do you remember the fight?" He asks. I laugh. "I remember it pretty well, I had no idea he was dating a student though." I'll tell him another time.