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After spending the entire summer together, Jasey had grown absolutely inseparable from her new friend group. She was happy Rian had finally tricked her into meeting Alex and Jack that one day. Beside the fact that Jasey could barely imagine her life before these two insane boys, she now found herself happy on a September first, which was something that had never once, in the history of ever, happened before.
The thing was though, that Jasey really loved hanging out with Alex. She was particularly in denial of her true feelings, for she had never actually felt real, genuine feelings for a boy before. I mean, how could she after all? She only ever talked to two boys and she saw them both the same ways one sees their brother. But she could feel deep down that she felt differently about hanging out with Rian and Zack and Jack then she did whenever Alex was invited. Though usually she chalked it up to delusion or nerves.
Anyway, the gang was making their way back to their crappy high school for the first time in months. It was still summer and still definitely too hot to go sit in some class rooms for seven hours, yet there they were; walking to school.
Rian whipped the sweat from his forehead as he squinted up at the sun through the tress and asked which period everyone had lunch.
Jasey Rae hadn't had any classes with her favorite two boys in forever, which was hard enough to deal with, but now she had four idiots to worry about. She tuned them out as they shared their respective periods, being unable to bare the thought of being without either of them for lunch. Though again, she never had before.
The fact that she had a bit of a speech impediment was enough to bring their ever-knowing principal practically down to his knees. They evaluated her endlessly like she was some kind of animal back, in her eighth grade year, and ever since she'd just been deemed fit only for special people classes.' Classes where she'd work on her speech for an hour in between her actual work. Work, that I must mention, was easy but still somehow considered on "grade-level". Odd for a girl who could read at a college reading level in just elementary school.
But not this year. This year things would change. This year her dad managed to just barely take her out of all the weird, hypocritical, special education programs. After months of Jasey pleading. The principal had finally retired and a new, more understanding one would replace him. She would no longer be remaining in the same classroom all day, but obtaining a full schedule and finally gaining the opportunity to switch classes. Her shyness only served as an excuse to be placed in all the same classes as her friends- which she thanked the high school gods for. She had pulled through by the skin of her teeth, and now lunch without any boy seemed fatal.
"So, you excited, Jase?" Rian asked, noticing her lack of participation in the conversation. The other three boys looked up from their feet curiously.
The group was walking together in a line; two on the sidewalk (Rian and Jasey Rae), and three on the street. They had seriously considered driving today, but then they figured that they all needed to lose their summer fat anyway. This was what they got for choosing to spend their entire summer at an arcade during the day and roasting marshmallows at night. They brought this upon themselves.
"I-If thirty s-s-seconds away f-from vomiting counts." She took a deep breath. Her speech therapists never ever really helped her at all. Despite the principal's insistence."T-t-then yea." She was still stuck with the same stutter she had always possessed. And still struggled with the same exact sounds.
Jasey's shorts clung to her thighs tightly as she stomped on the sidewalk. It was obviously too hot for pants today, but she felt as if it would've been a better choice anyway. She could already feel her thighs sticking to her chair all day. Jasey cringed at thought of getting up at every bell only to leave sweat stains behind. Her short, skinny little legs would have to deal with that for the next very long, very tragic seven hours.
"You're gonna do fine." Jack smiled warmly.
"T-thanks." She threw a shy smile of her own back to him.
I'll simply spare you the gory details and just explain the day to you now.
Jasey couldn't bring herself to eat her food because of her nerves and barely spoke a word, but her friends were still proud of her for putting herself out there. That's all anyone could ask of someone like her. She was giving this her all. That's all that mattered.
She did nearly vomit. Twice- with both of the experiences occurring when the other girls told her they'd be changing for gym class as she walked into the locker room. (The 'special kids' never had to do that.) But her day was really, honestly fine.
She had every single period with at least one of her friends; gym being the worst for her since she was placed in a class with all four of them and they all refused to leave her side- except for when she wanted them to stay near her the most, of course.
If she'd just told the boys how uncomfortable she felt before they ran into their own locker room, they would've taken the time to help explain Jasey's situation to the coach or at least help her in every way they possibly could have. But she was too embarrassed. She already felt like the way she came across was fragile and weak. Nobody wants to be seen like that. Especially not Jasey Rae.
So alas, when the coach shoved a gym uniform into her hands, she took a deep breath and stomped off to find an isolated place to change. She felt as though she had been left alone; exposed and uncomfortable anyway. Abandoned, to say the least.
However, she had found the courage to mumble something about it to Rian about it after they started to jog their third warm-up lap around the gym. The other boys were far behind goofing off; Alex dumping his water bottles on the other two boys as they shrieked at the sheer coldness of it. Except these two were too scared to risk the grades to goof off.
And so the boys then treated her like some sort of fragile little thing until it was time to go home. Sometimes Jasey just felt like punching all of her boys in the face, but she just didn't have the energy to tell them to back off today. After all, they were only trying to help, and getting angry at them would've probably only made it worse.
"N-n-now I k-know why you always s-say it's s-shit," was close to her catchphrase at the end of the day.
She'd never had to deal with mean teachers, noisy lunchrooms, changing for gym classes, or anything like that before, but she was still just starting out. She'd get used to it eventually.
