The Flier (Patrick Stump)

6 - Unknown

/Chapter 6\

After math that day, all of my classes seemed boring. Math was the only class I had with Pete, and even though I despised the subject, Pete made it bearable. At least for the day. After 7th Period (which for me was English), I hurriedly walked to my locker. The books I held bounced with every step I took, and I maneuvered my way through the daily crowd of freshmen that blocked the entrance to the hallway. Once I spotted my cold gray locker, I almost ran until I reached it. I quickly entered the combination and pulled open the creaky metal door. The locker didn't try to fight me, thank goodness. Pulling my dark green and black backpack out, I kneeled on the ground and carefully slid my main binder in. Next, I placed my French workbook in behind my binder (since there was a page of it I had to finish), and then lastly my main journal.

"Hey," a voice exclaimed next to me, and I slightly jumped. What was with everyone trying to sneak up on me today? Startled, I looked up to my right and saw Pete smiling down at me. A smile crossed my face when I saw him.

"Hi," I replied, looking back into the bottom of my locker to see if I needed anything else. Deciding that I didn't, I stood up and looked into the small, top part of my locker. The book that I was reading for English, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, waited in the back corner. I reached in and grabbed it with my free hand, adjusting the backpack so that I could put the book in it.

"Do you need some help?" Pete asked as he watched my struggling. I stopped and looked up at him.

"Sure," I agreed after a minute, smiling again. He smiled with me as he took my backpack and held it up for me. I dropped the book into it and zipped it up. Once I was done, I took it back from him and slid the strap onto my shoulder. "Thank you."

"It was no problem," he assured me. I quickly grabbed my phone out of the top part and slammed the locker door shut. "So, are you staying after school for something, or just going on the bus?"

"Just going on the bus," I answered as we started walking down the hall to the lobby of the school, where the buses waited outside the front doors. "What about you?"

"Same. What bus do you ride?"

"Bus 7. You?"

"Ah, damn. Bus 23."

"That sucks," I said. There was really nothing else to reply with. I barely knew him, yet he was acting like we're really good friends. I mean, he was new, though. Maybe he just wanted to try to fit in.

"Yeah." We walked out the front doors, and I instantly shivered at the temperature change. Winter was always my least favorite season. It never stopped being cold. Looking towards the front of the line of buses, I immediately spotted my bus at the very front. His bus was the third to last one.

"Well, unfortunately this is where we part ways. I'll see you again tomorrow?" I asked, looking over at him. He waited for a second before replying.

"Yeah. Yeah, definitely," he said as a big smile crossed his face. I smiled back and nodded.

"Okay. See you tomorrow, then."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." And with that, we walked in opposite directions towards our buses. I stepped up the small staircase in the bus doorway and trudged towards my usual lonely seat in the almost-back of the bus. I didn't sit in the very back seat; that seat was reserved for Joe. I didn't know him very well, but I knew that he was in the school pep band. He seemed nice enough, though. He never bothered me, and I liked that. Plus, he usually was there before I was (like today), and when other people would probably watch you go to your seat and sit down, he never did. He just stared out the window, with his afro-like hair desperately trying to cling to the window and his lip ring shining because of the usual sunlight.