On The Edge

1... Day 1

The beeps of the alarm clock were enough to startle Jake out of his deep sleep. He sat up in his bed groggily with a dazed look on his face and his hair a mess. The room was illuminated by the beam of sunlight that came through the window. His room was a mess, with his clothes lying everywhere and posters of his favorite football team plastered the walls.

Jake had moved into Iowa a week ago and today was his first day at Kennedy Senior High. Jake was clearly unimpressed at the idea of going to school after a month of shifting.

He got out of bed and dragged himself into the shower. The hot water tingled on his cold skin. He then had to unwillingly get out of the shower and had to change. He dug through the pile of clothes lying the floor and pulled out a pair of jeans along with a jersey and a jacket.

Before leaving, he had some breakfast and took his packed lunch.

He walked to school. It was late September. Leaves were falling of the trees. The town was rather quiet, except for the occasional barking of the dogs in people's front yards. The houses were in rows and has old fashioned porches with ivy growing on the walls. The streets were almost empty.

His face and hands were exposed to the cold wind that was blowing. He pulled on the hood of jacket and quietly walked to school, deep in thought.

Lost in his world of thought, he stumbled over a part of the broken sidewalk and hit a mailbox headfirst. His head hurt and painfully, he pulled his head out of the dent he had created in the side of the mailbox. His forehead has a bruise identical in shape to the dent in the side of the mailbox.

As he walked into school, just next to the entrance of a school building, he saw a tall guy towering over a significantly smaller boy, who was whimpering in fear.

"Give me your lunch money, or I'll punch you so hard, your jaw will shatter into two" The tall guy spoke in a monotonous tone.

The smaller boy was frozen to his spot and couldn't speak. This clearly pissed the guy off and he threw a punch at the kid. The kid closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. About 10 seconds later, until nothing hit him he opened his eyes only to see a guy with blonde hair and green eyes standing in front of him.

"He's gone and he won't come back anytime soon" Jake said, with a glint of confidence in his eyes. "The name's Jake. And you?"

"Max. "replied the boy.

"See you soon, added Jake.

"Thanks again." Max replied.

Jake walked away, and soon was lost in the crowd hurrying into school before the morning bell.