angel's numbers | d.d. [DISCONTINUED]

nine

when finally becoming a teenager, that's when hell really broke loose. strictly speaking, mostly just for my parents or any other adult that was in my life. once becoming a teenager it was as if the song "bad to the bone" would play on repeat in my head nonstop wherever i went. i distanced myself from my parents more, i got into a lot more in trouble with my guy friends, and there was a handful of teachers that literally couldn't stand my presence.

oh, and not to mention i had finally gotten a baby brother when i had turned 13. i knew that he was way too young to be causing any mischief at the time, but who better to teach him all of my tricks when he gets older than myself? the only person that tried to keep me in check was natalie, and thank god i had her. i do love all of my other friends, but they only encouraged this bad behavior of mine or did worse than what i did. they always kept my life exciting.

when i started middle school last year, that was when i had met one of my other good friends, alex neumann. really, our friendship only happened because of his dad and him literally not having any other friends. i was playing with my wii one day the year prior and someone had rang our doorbell. i had been home alone at the time, and when i answered it alex stood there with his dad beside him, hand rested on his shoulder. his dad basically said dead on that "his boy had no one else to hang with, can he hangout with you?" and as the amazing person i was — and still am — i obliged, and ever since then alex and i have been friends. well, that, and because i did notice the six floating above his head. so i definitely knew he was a new friend to stay.

everyday for middle school, i had woken up extremely early in the morning, got ready for school, and made my way over to alex's house — which was right around the block from mine — and we'd walk to school together. the walk was only about 6 minutes away from the school, and we'd always be the first people that got there. literally, we'd have to wait for the janitor to arrive at the school to unlock the front doors for us to get in. we've basically become friends with him now. we liked to get to middle school early in the morning so we could play ping pong in the cafeteria room. that's it. and we usually got a good hour and half out of it from how early we get to school. and we'd always be able to get the chocolate milk before everyone else once the cafeteria officially opens, so that was always great.

one particular day though that year, natalie asked if she could tag along one of the mornings with us, since when she arrived at school the day before she saw the crowd of students in the cafeteria watching me and alex's intense game of ping pong. i always had to bring an extra shirt with me to school from how fucking sweaty i would get after our games. also because i did have a sweating problem, i still do. that's why i'm always wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. pit stains aren't the most flattering thing to see. i learned the hard way.

"it's fucking freezing out here." natalie complained, rubbing her gloved hands together in front of her face. she exhales hot air onto them after to try and warm them up.