Sophmore
Harmless as it seems, my home has always been center of my unhappiness. I don’t know if it’s the knobs in the bathtub that my dog Zoey broke last year when my older brother gave her a bath or the red juice stains that encompass my putrid rug. It could be my room where there is a flickering light that my dad said he would fix six months ago, but he never got around to it, he probably never will. My bed is always slovenly made, the sheets and blankets rolled up in a ball while the modest maroon colored comforter covers them. It’s things like this that seem to remind me about the hopelessness of my house. Thinking back to last month I am further reminded of my unhappiness.
Someone once told me that all great stories start in the spring. I guess it’s the birds chirping, the bees buzzing and the blooming flowers that are enough to take one’s breath away. But this story takes place in autumn, a time when life is beginning to come to an end. It was a mundane Monday morning as I woke up to get ready for school as I’ve done a thousand times before in my desolate house. I grabbed my Jansport backpack and made all the proper inspections before I walked to school like shirt is ironed, fly is zipped up and I’m wearing the same two shoes. Unfortunately I have to walk to school because my older brother Michael is too lazy to take me and my parents are long gone to work. I don’t really talk to Michael that much. I don’t talk to Bill or Leslie either, by the way that’s my parents, and they aren’t really around that much anyway. After I left my deserted house I headed over to the school.
I guess school isn’t that bad when I think about it, it’s actually pretty fun. I mean school has always been easy for me and there are always people around. I’ve never received anything less than exemplary marks in the past. My report card has only shown one letter for the past ten years of schooling. I’m pretty sure you can guess what that is. After ten minutes of walking I noticed that I was at the corner of Wire and Heere, this being the spot where my ex-girlfriend once lived. It was the corner house with a big blue door, red shutters, and a large oak which partially obstructed the view of onlookers on the left side of the house. It was one of those nice houses, you know with an office and everything. Family was always around, you know one of those homey type feelings. This was in the ritzy part of town, I never like those types of people. I guess I could be around them for awhile but over time it was impossible to sustain a relationship but Ronnie was different.
She was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. Long blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a curvaceous figure were just some of many features that I loved about her. Her name was Veronica Watson or Ronnie as I liked to call her. Her beauty far exceeded simply the physical sense; I was completely infatuated with her gentle nature, humor, and wittiness. But she was the one that got away, and quite frankly I don’t know how or why. I mean, we were together for awhile but as time went by we grew apart. I probably should have spent more time with her or called her more or something like that. She would talk about this all the time but I never would comply. I guess I never really took what she said to heart, even though I loved her. I mean it’s okay now and I’ve always known there will always be other girls. Sorry for digressing, I tend to do this, I hope you can forgive me.
I continued walking to school but as I was making a sharp turn from Heere to Carlton I caught a glimpse of my favorite market where I spent a lot of time as a child. I’m not sure why it was my favorite market maybe it was more of a familiar place as opposed to a favorite place. It never changed, it was also one of those old markets with a lot of people around and everything. There was a bench that I would always sit on while I drank Coke and talked with Mr. Acumen. Mr. Acumen was a really nice and docile old man with a great family and a lot of grandchildren. He would always talk about how important it is for people to realize their mistakes in the past so they prevent making the same ones in the future. He preached the same line every time somewhere in his discourse. It was something along the lines of, “those who don’t learn from they’re mistakes in the past are bound to…something in the future.” I heard the line a thousand times before, I guess I never took what he said to heart and I’m not sure why. Mr. Acumen was such an entertaining old man. Again, I find my self going off on a tangent. I’m sorry.
Since the store was only two blocks from my school I was able to get to class relatively fast. As I passed Roger’s Insurance building which was only a few buildings away from my school, I caught a glimpse of myself. The building had one of those blue reflective glass windows that can serve the purpose of being a substitute mirror if you forgot to check your appearance before you left for school. I would always see all the girls and the superficial guys checking themselves out in this substitute mirror. Not that I’m one of those superficial guys that dresses up for other people and cares about what other people think. But sometimes I like to make sure everything is in tact.. Plus people always compliment me on my sense of style and dress. Kids from school always said I had a cool and unique sense of style. I remember this one girl in my biology class named Jessica Parker that said, “Wow James, your clothes really look different, uh…you know…unique, yeah that’s it, unique.” I was always getting compliments like that. I looked to the mirrored glass once again and noticed my lime green and yellow Nike Air Force Ones that complemented my gray Dockers pants and dark red Puma shirt with a navy blue puma logo across my chest. I mean I do have a great sense of style. It’s truly original, no one else has tried to emulate it yet. I’m not one of those trendy dressers but I do kick off trends. I wore trucker hats before it was the cool thing to do. You know before Ashton Kutcher started wearing them. I guess my style is one that is inimitable. I’m probably the only one who could pull it off. I don’t know why, but for some reason I keep digressing, I am truly sorry.
As I walked through the two sets of double doors that open up Benjamin Franklin High School to everyone, I caught a glimpse of something very distinct. I saw this person toss her gorgeous golden locks perfectly in the air as this beautiful face moved into my eyesight. I couldn’t believe it; I finally found a girl even more beautiful than Ronnie. I had to meet her so we could fall instantly and madly in love, but before I could make a move from my frozen tracks she moved quickly out of sight.
Class was starting soon, so I decided I should live up to my punctual habits. Much to my surprise, the girl I saw in the hall was sitting in the desk adjacent to mine. I hurried over to my glossy tan new desk ensuring myself a spot right next to her. The desks at school ironically were much nicer than the ones I had at home, go figure. I mean schools are infamous for having no money and sub-par facilities, I guess that tells you something about my house. Simultaneously as I sat down, she introduced herself to me. “Hey, my name is Jennifer, I’m new here. What’s your name?” I was almost in shock that a girl as beautiful as her was that outgoing. Most of the time girls that look like that are stuck up. You know the ones that think they’re above everyone else but like I said before there was something special about this girl. I tried to respond in a suave manner but I only managed to mutter out four measly words. “Uh…my name is…uh…James.” I felt so stupid but after that, things seemed to go really well. We became instant friends and talked about everything, like we have been friends for entire lives. “Me and my mom have a good relationship but lately we’ve been fighting” Jennifer openly said like I knew exactly how her family was and everything. Like I knew that her mom could be protective at times but would also show signs of liberalism. You just knew she was from one of those families that cared about her and had a great relationship and all. I didn’t mind, though I was completely in love with her voice plus it made me think that we were meant for each other, I mean it had to be a sign that any two people who connect like this will be together forever. We talked for what seemed to be all of class and after class as well. Later that day we ate lunch together and after school I walked her home.
“And that was the house where my best friend Stephen lived before he moved away, I haven’t talked to him in a while though” I told her as I looked at this perfect house, realizing how much I despise mine. I mean this house had everything that my house didn’t. Working lights, bathrooms with tubs that had handles which weren’t broken, and beds that are actually made. He had a great family and they were always around, a real homey type feeling if you know what I mean. I once again realized my inability to relate with the wealthy folks but Stephen is different. It’s funny though, he was my best friend and I haven’t spoken with him in years. I guess I can always find a new best friend. Anyway that was beside the point and Jennifer was amazing. It was an instant connection between us. Ronnie was no longer in my mind.
We were together for while but we began to grow apart. For some reason I stopped calling her and we spent less and less time together. I don’t talk to Jennifer anymore, kind of like how I don’t talk with Ronnie. But that’s okay, there will always be other girls. Now I find myself sitting at home trying to solve some puzzle that my grandpa gave me, that I have tried to solve a thousand times before but I just couldn’t crack it. I tried to force two pieces that obviously didn’t fit together. I never knew why I did this, or why I ever did this, or why I still do this. But it doesn’t matter, I can always find more puzzles.
