Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

September 4, 2012

Party rock is in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time
And we gon' make you lose your mind
Everybody just have a good time

"That alarm is really obnoxious," Aaliyah said from my bedroom doorway. "You woke me up!"

"But this song gets me pumped," I replied groggily as I sat up in bed and stretched.

She rolled her eyes and walked away.

It was my first day of high school and I definitely needed some motivation. I grabbed my portable speaker and brought it into the bathroom with me. I'd made a playlist the night before, and I started it before stripping naked and stepping into the shower. While I washed my hair I sang along to One Republic's Good Life. I sounded pretty damn good, too. I'd made a few recordings of myself singing covers recently, and I dreamed about being a musician one day. When S&M by Rihanna came on, the sexy song inspired me to engage in one of my other recent favorite activities. I definitely needed to relax a little since I was a bit nervous about going to a new school.

"Don't you look handsome," my mom commented as I entered the kitchen.

I was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a flannel shirt. I'd styled my hair perfectly and had put in my favorite fake diamond stud earrings.

"Did you pick a shirt to match the bands on your braces?" my sister asked.

"No. That would be stupid," I said with a frown.

I'd totally done that, though. Blue bands; blue and black plaid shirt. I hated that I still had my braces, but the orthodontist told me they'd be off by Christmas. I could not fucking wait.

After finishing a big bowl of cereal, I ran upstairs and brushed my teeth. I then made sure that I had everything I needed in my backpack. As I threw it over my shoulder, I got a text from Brian.

Meet us out front of school

Brian Craigen was my best guy friend. We'd become tight over the last few years, along with some other guys. This past summer we'd spent a lot of time long boarding, playing video games, and shooting videos on our phones.

"Are you driving me?" I asked my mum.

"Not today. Lisa's taking you. I'll pick you up. You should go wait out front for them."

We had been carpooling to school with the Burroughs forever, and it was kind of annoying that no one even asked me if I wanted to keep doing this in high school.

"Bye. See you later," I said as I went out the front door.

The familiar blue minivan pulled in front of my house moments later.

"Look at you! All the high school girls are going to swoon," Lisa said when I got in the back seat.

I didn't know how to reply to that, so I poked Ceci on her shoulder. "You nervous?"

She turned around to face me and I noticed she was wearing make-up. She'd gotten contacts over the summer and her braces were long gone, which totally transformed her face. Her wavy hair was straightened, and if my nose wasn't deceiving me, she had on perfume.

I wasn't the only one hoping to make a good first impression.

"I'm mostly worried about getting lost. I studied the school map but it's really confusing!"

"You can always ask an older student for help," Lisa said, clearly not understanding how embarrassing that would be.

It didn't take long to get to school. I thanked Lisa for the ride before climbing out the automatic sliding door. I never really understood why they had a car that held seven people when Ceci was their only child.