Rubik

Chapter 1: Out of the Blue

     I was skateboarding through the streets from my home to my college campus, with all the time in the world. I wore a red t-shirt, a blue denim jacket, a pair of black pants and a simple pair of white sneakers. And in my hand was one of the biggest inventions ever created; an amazing concept of puzzle and entertainment: A Rubik's cube. No one on campus knew how to solve it, and I held a solved cube in my hands. Of course, no one would believe me and they would be quick to yell out that I lied and just bought the thing, but I didn't care. I knew I solved it myself, and I wasn't lying about it.

     As I arrived on campus, I picked up my board and walked over to the few friends I had. No one liked me a whole lot for being one of the smartest in class, but I didn't care. My intelligence would get me somewhere in life, but I just didn't know when.

     I sat in my small circle of friends and the first to greet me was Rachel, a nice girl who seemed to love being invisible to everyone, who waved and said, "Hey Ray." Her voice was quiet but sweet, no matter what she was saying. I waved back and placed my Rubik's cube on the table. Everyone just stopped what they were doing and stared at it.

     "So did you just get this thing?" Oscar asked me as he stared at it. Oscar was this larger fellow, more into card games than anything. I swear, you couldn't win against that guy with his cards, and I always thought he had somehow rigged his deck.

     "No I did not just get this 'thing,' as you call it," I responded with an annoyed tone. "I actually took the time to figure out how it works and solved it." I sighed with a sense of self appreciation as I observed the cube. The cube just sat there on the table in front of me, doing nothing but sitting there already solved.

     "How long did it take you to solve it the first time?" Our friend Oliver asked as he looked at the cube. Oliver was scrawny and pale, but he was still the most outgoing and sociable one out of all of us.

     "So moving away from the topic of this cube, are you still coming over tonight Ray?" Our other friend, Dylan, asked me. Dylan was a blond haired kid with an obsession for this board game, Dungeons and Dragons, that could make drug addicts look like sugar rushed kids.

     "Yeah I'm coming over," I replied as I leaned back. "We still working on tha--" I was interrupted by a carton of milk hitting my back, splattering against my clothes, and a roar of laughter from a much large crowd behind me. I pulled my denim jacket off and looked over at this crowd of popular kids, as if popularity actually mattered in college.

     "Sorry about that nerds," One of the main guys, Jeremy something or whatever, said as he walked over with his little posse of forgettable faces. "I was aiming for the trash and hit you by mistake. Guess you could see why I got confused." He placed his fist to my head and rubbed his knuckles through my hair. I struggled to get out of his grip and moved away from him.

     "Must you do this every day?" I asked, obviously annoyed. "You really can't pick on anyone else but me?"

     "Well if you're so annoyed by it, make me stop," Jeremy said and stood up, towering over me. I felt him grab my shirt and he pushed me down onto my back, laughing with his group. "That's what I thought pipsqueak." He turned with his posse and they all walked off. Oscar, Oliver, Dylan and Rachel all helped me up and I groaned as I got up.

     "If only I could actually take him on..." I said to myself as I grabbed my cube off the table. I walked towards my class and away from my friends before any of them could say anything about what had just happened. Rachel chased after me and walked beside me quietly, not saying a word as we both walked to the one class we shared.

     About ten hours later, the sun was setting and I was making my way to Dylan's house. I felt the night breeze brush past my skin as I rode my skateboard through the empty streets, the only noise heard was the sound of my skateboard wheels rolling over concrete. I stopped and kicked my board up as I stood outside Dylan's door, balling up my hand into a soft fist and knocking my knuckles against the door.