Grievances And Other Things

Doubtlessly Clueless

Today's the day that the battle of the bands starts. But apparently we need to go through the regular school day before that excitement can happen. I can't wait. I've never seen nor been to such an event. A few bands have signed up, amongst them Transcendence, the band that Penelope and Co. had formed. It's compulsory to attend, so there's no getting out of it. Class is dreary as usual, the only excitement being that I'm in a city, not a town that pretends to be one. It's really refreshing, seeing all those people on the streets. And having more than 4 bus lines. It's amazing. I can't believe that I've missed out on it. We get saved by the bell and rescue ourselves to the break room. "Chloe, why do you look so glum?" She shakes her head. "It's fine, it's just that mom cancelled the trip to New York she promised me." I tilt my head. "New York? But you've got all sorts of interesting places to go, all just waiting to be discovered here! Why did you want to go to New York?" She chuckles. "Yeah, I guess Åle, but I still really wanted to go there. It's kinda been a dream of mine." She changes the subject. "Lyle, how's things with Chester? Is he really as temperamental as they say?" Lyle shrugs. "Well, kinda. We've been off-again on-again for a while. I don't know why I keep him." Wait, what? "I kinda miss him though, but I should start looking for someone else. After all, Chester's not the only guy in Portview." Lyle's gay? "Yes, Åle, I'm gay." Did he read my mind? "Stop looking surprised." He laughs. "Sorry Lyle, I just didn't know you were playing for the other team. But please, don't hit on me." Lyle smirks. "I won't, you're not nearly hot enough for me." Skyler laughs. "Ooh, burn!" Penelope opens her mouth for the first time since class. "Has anyone got an idea what's up with our english class?" Chloe shrugs. "Don't know, Mr. Hedd's sick, so we probably have homeroom." What is this "homeroom" that she speaks of. I guess I'll see later. Right now I've got some homework to copy from Chloe. As I finish writing the last word, the bell rings and we hurriedly rush to our class, geography, taught by a sentient racoon plush mistaken for a human, Mr. Karijpla. His name even sounds like a racoon rifling through a bin. "Good morning class! Today we will write a short test. After everyone has recieved a piece of paper, you may begin." His dutch accent is grating. He begins handing out the papers and I wreck my head over what could possibly be the topic. Doubtlessly clueless, I start running through all my options. "You may now begin!" I turn over my paper and yes! It's something I know the ins and outs of! Swiss cantons! Back home, our geography teacher, Mrs. Rantëïvø made us learn every single swiss canton off by heart. Name, Capital, Largest city, you name it. Suffice to say, that day many innocent students where slaughtered. By their books. It wasn't a pretty sight. I run through the questions and effortlessly answer them. This is a piece of, how you say, cake!

~~~~

We get let in and I rush to find a good seat. It's the first round of the battle of the bands and I'm rather excited. Up first is Transcendence, starring Penelope amongst others, then there's Factory Girls, featuring the same brainless cheerleader cloned a couple of times, and after that, there's Wolf Stirfry, I don't think I can make a witty comment about that one, and a few others I couldn't be arsed to remember. The band members of Transcendence get announced by the principal. "Penelope C. Grayson, Chloe Andrews, Lyle Carterlon, Skyler De Larson, together, they are Transcendence!" Now THAT was cheesy. Gouda levels of cheesy. I hope the other introductions aren't that insufferably cheesy. Chloe starts strumming the electric guitar and starts singing with Penelope. "Welcome to the present, the righteous are to be righted, the prudish to be covered, come on, masses, make some noise!" Lyle starts on the keyboard whilst Skyler assaults the drums. "Tax dollars are financing bribes, given to all of the brides..." Chloe and Penelope stomp. "...of your Senator! Ladies and Gentlemen, truth is unacceptable, faith is unobjectable, life is now reparable, can you taste the advancements?" This song is amazing. It's getting people to punch the air. I join in, because this song is pretty catchy. I have a feeling this round belongs to them. They finish to a roaring applause and now it's the Factory Girls' turn. Four of the five girls walk a few steps back and start dancing. The remaining one takes the microphone and dances with them. "If I was a rich girl, na na na na na na na na na na na, then I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl..." Captain Obvious must have kept this song from being a scathing commentary on the top one per cent. After a few more acts finish, I meet up with Penelope and Chloe backstage. Penelope's strumming a guitar and quietly singing to herself. "Standing on the corner of Marseille Avenue, looking back on what has passed, ripping up my letters and the Polaroid of you, wondering how we could last..." I ask her what she's doing. "I'm thinking of what song we could do... I'm kinda tired, it's kinda hard to perform like that, but it's worth it." I ask Skyler when he's going to take the bus. "I'm gonna sit around for a bit, my mom's fetching me." Oh. I say goodbye and wander to the bus stop and get my iPod out. I decide to put on some music. It's Autumn, and the leaves are changing their colours, making it look almost picturesquely beautiful. The bus arrives and I call my aunt to tell her I'll be home soon. Tonight was fun. It just seems that I'm kind of a burden to Penelope and Chloe... I guess I don't have much of a choice. I'm somewhat socially awkward, I mean, I'm friendly and generally peaceful, but I'm absolutely terrible at making friends. It's weird, I know. I'll have to ask Penelope how it was when she first came to Beacon High. The bus arrives at my stop and I walk to my aunt's house. "Hey Åle, how was your day?" I sit down, somewhat tired. "It was great, thanks. What about yours, Aunt Lissa?" She nods. "Mine was okay too. Theo has to work a bit later today, so why don't we just order pizzas?" I tell her that's a great idea and run to my room to get my laptop. I strike up a conversation with Penelope on AIM. "Hey, how are you?" She types. "I'm great, what's up?" I close a pop up ad and start typing. "Well, I kinda wanted to ask you something. I feel like I'm a bit of a burden to you, and I wanted to know how you made friends when you first got here." She starts typing and I go to the kitchen to make myself some tea. "Nah, you're no burden. When I came here, Chloe took me under her wing, and I quickly made friends with the others. I'd recommend you join a club or something." I smirk. "Do I look like I have the time and attention span for something like that?" She replies with a laughing smiley and I say goodbye. I lean backwards on the couch. I feel a little fatigued. I decide to hit up Newgrounds. Nothing beats tiredness like a good old-fashioned flash game. My aunt asks me what pizza I want. "Pepperoni, please!" I look out of the window. Portview is very pretty, especially during Autumn. My thoughts drift away into nothingness and I close my laptop. I close my eyes and fall asleep. Jetlag is a cruel, cruel thing.