fangs / matt champion

part one

"Catalina, ven a lavar los platos (come wash the dishes)!" yelled my mom from downstairs. "Mami, me estoy arreglando. Quieres que llegue tarde? (I'm getting ready. Do you want me to be late?)" I groaned. I put on the last bit of mascara and sprayed on some perfume before swinging my bag over my shoulder and running down the stairs. "Never doing the dishes, Cata. I'll take away that car one of these days." said my mom, handing me my breakfast. "Love you, mami." I smiled, giving her a quick hug and running over to my car. First day of senior year, it was a whirlwind. I put on some music and sped over to school. It wasn't too far from our house, maybe 20 minutes. I ate my granola bar as I waited for homeroom to start. Once I finished my food and it was time to go, I gathered my things and walked through the front doors. I threw away my wrapper and walked towards the back of the classroom.

I popped my earphones in and drummed my nails against my desk to the beat. "What are you listening to?" said a deep voice next to me. I turned to face him, a white dude with scruffy hair and a big hoodie. "Frank Ocean." I smiled, taking one of my earbuds out and facing him. "Channel Orange?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Nostalgia Ultra." I answered, biting my lip. "That's a good one. I'm Matt, by the way." he half smiled. "Catalina, but you can call me Cat." I smirked putting my chin in my hands. He wasn't conventionally cute, but something about his energy just drew me to him. He had that skater boy kind of vibe and I was really into it. The bell rang, dismissing us to our next period. "See ya around." he said, gathering his things and walking out. I waved before heading to my next class.

-

I sat with my friend Ian at lunch, picking around at the food that seemed semi edible. Ian hated being here, he hated most things that restricted him. He was one of the most creative people I knew. He had been fucking around with music stuff with his friends and I knew that's where his heart was. He was built for that shit. We'd lay out in the grass and just sing for hours. Ian was a person that you trusted would take care of everything. He was truly one of a kind. "Have you met Matt?" I asked, bitting into a french fry. "Matt who?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't catch his last name. He's white, kinda has a skater aesthetic going on." I mumbled, throwing down my fork with a sigh.

"That's not enough info." said Ian with a laugh, putting his head in his hands. "I fucking hate it here." I groaned, throwing out my food and walking out onto the football field with Ian. We met with his friends Ameer and Merlyn who were passing a joint under the bleachers. "Look who finally decided to join the party." laughed Ameer, passing me the joint. I smiled appreciatively and put it between my lips, inhaling the smoke and passing it along to Kevin. He copied my motions and passed it on to Merlyn. "I'm so tired of the same bullshit everyday." said Ian, kicking at the dirt. "This isn't forever, man." said Merlyn, patting his back.

"I'm gonna make sure it's not." mumbled Kevin, staring down at his feet. "Let's talk about something less depressing." I groaned, taking another hit. "Have you heard back from UT or TSU?" asked Ameer, looking up at me. "Nothing yet." I admitted, shaking my head. "Is that what you wanna do, college?" wondered Merlyn. "Who really does?" I muttered, shifting the weight on my feet. "It's what I have to do, for now anyways." I shrugged, biting my lip. "Well, it'll be prom season soon. Who are you taking?" laughed Ian, making me roll my eyes. "I'd rather be dead than go to prom." I deadpanned, making them all laugh. "Prom after party, that's where I'll be." said Ameer, taking a final hit of the joint before tossing it on the ground. "Back to hell." groaned Ian, dramatically running back towards the school building and making us laugh.