Myles and Cole

Chapter 1 | Myles

"What would you like?" The waitress asked.

I looked up at the pretty blonde waitress, smiling down at me. She was around my age, this was probably her part time job.

Glancing down at the menu for the hundredth time, I knew exactly what I wanted to order. But I couldn't get the words from my head, to exit my mouth.

"I-I will have the... uh-"

"He will have the cheesy fries, and I'll take the pepperoni pizza." My older brother, Mycah answered for me.

It was seriously pathetic. What sixteen year old couldn't order food for themselves? I shot my brother a grateful look and he smiled understandingly. I was so lucky to have him.

Mycah and I were at our favorite fast food restaurant, trying to have a good last day, before school starts tomorrow. I was going to be entering my sophomore year. Not only is tomorrow the start of a new school year, it was also the start of a new school year at an actual school. I have been homeschooled since fifth grade but tomorrow I would go back to the regular public school system. My brother had gone to school all along; making him a senior this year.

The reason for my homeschooling was because of my terrible social anxiety.  What more can I say? People - whether I've known them for a long time or not - scared me. My parents ultimately knew that deciding to homeschool me wouldn't give me a chance to experience various social situations. Overall, that wouldn't help with my anxiety. Back when I was a child, I would get hysterical upon arriving to school. My mom has told me numerous times that I used to cry during every car trip on the way and by the time we got there, I would already be having a panic attack.

Having to deal with that routine every morning took it's toll on me and my parents. They eventually came to the decision that I would be homeschooled temporarily. I think they only thought it would end up being for a couple of years but instead, it became the new normal. Until now.

I was only going back to school because of my mom's new promotion at her workplace. That meant I wouldn't be able to have anyone around me from the hours 8:00am until 4:00pm, five days a week. The separation was too much for me to handle.

I knew I was about to be served the most mouth-watering fries, but even that couldn't stop the dreadful feeling I had for tomorrow.

"So how are you feeling about tomorrow?" My brother asks curiously.

He was attempting to make small talk about school, which I understand is a large change for me. I just wanted to focus on something else, instead.

"Nervous. Really nervous," I replied.

"Don't be. You'll be fine. You'll make lots of friends. Oh, and hey, you might even get a girlfriend." Mycah grinned cheekily.

I smiled at that. Yeah, lots of friends and a girlfriend. That'd be nice.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive, and we dug in straight away.

About halfway through my my serving of fries, I noticed Mycah was silent. I looked up to see that his plate was now empty. Of course, it was. The guy ate like a pig- no, a wild boar. There wasn't a crumb left. What did he do, lick the plate clean? It wouldn't have been surprising. He was just sitting there staring at me, silently begging me with his eyes to eat faster.

After leaving the restaurant, Mycah blasted his classic rock music, singing and bobbing his head up and down to the beat of the music like a maniac, while driving home. I wish I could share his current enthusiasm. At least, someone was happy about going to school.

Mycah and my parents were the only ones I felt comfortable with. Not even my other relatives. Mycah was just so loud he did all the talking between the both of us. And as for my mom and dad... Well, they were my parents; they loved me unconditionally and so did I to them.