When We Were Humans | Book I

Chapter 1: We, the People

Viewpoint: Eli

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."

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*RING* *RING* *RING*

I looked at the clock hanging from the wall and made the conclusion that it was lunch time. Well, the bell also told me that, but the teacher would have given, "The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do" spiel. Everyone in the class does the usual routine: grab their books, put on their backpacks, some talk to their friends, and then we exit the door. Some people like to make it dramatic. Sometimes you'd hear, "HELL YEAH!" or "FINALLY, I WAS STARVING!". The teachers never really minded the students during lunch time, mostly because they were hungry as hell, too. Good thing my current classroom was close to the lunchroom. I always beat the herd of testosterone filled meat-heads and whatnot.

The lunchroom food was supposedly "amazing" and a "Five Star experience."  Bullshit. Our principal made the lunches here sound amazing, but in reality it all tasted like old, soggy bread mixed with card board shavings and oil. I reluctantly got in line and picked the least disgusting thing on display: a cheeseburger and french fries. What could get more American than that? Also, I needed some meat on my bones. I was your average brown haired, blue-eyed white kid; nothing too spectacular, physically speaking. I loaded my tray with food, and I decided to sit outside today. The weather looked too good to pass up, and I was due for my social activity for the day.

I sat in no man's land; the place where no particular cliques sat, per say, just a few outliers like myself. I scanned over the sea of teens to search for my friends who happened to be in my next class. Figures, most of them were doing their own thing.

"Hey, Eli!" I heard. From behind me came one of my best friends, Joel. He stood at 6'0" and always wore a blue jacket and pants that sagged as if he had soiled himself. He was one of those people who wore those bluetooth headphones around their necks and it made you wonder if they get chafed under there. Joel had a very interesting personality, compared to the rest of us. He looked, sounded, and ate like a star athlete, but his true interests lied in the fantasy world. No, not knights, dragons, and witches. Well, not most of the time. He was an avid gamer who I shared common interests with in video games.

He placed his tray down next to mine, say himself down next to me and said, "Hey Eli, have you heard of the new game system coming out this month?"

What would I have expected him to say? I responded with a frank, "Oh yeah and I already preordered it and everything." I checked his expression to see that it had grown green with envy.

"Lucky." He looked down at his feet. "My parents said I have to pass Mrs. Price's test to even get a chance at buying it."

I tried to cheer him up by attempting to get his mind off of it.

"You know what's better than that new game system?" I asked him.

"Games to come along with it?" he looked up hopefully.

"No you dweeb." I flicked his forehead. "A girlfriend," I said, as I chuckled a little to myself.

"Girls aren't my forte Eli," he snapped back.

"Well, I know for a fact that you won't get a girlfriend by playing videogames," I teased.

"I have no talents. I can't do anything." He looked down at his poor selection of lunch items.

"Why don't you try picking up a sport like Dwayne and Zoey? Or try being a justice hero and musician like Michael?" I said, while I motioned to the gym and library for the respective characters.