If Only
It was summer and Eli had decided to take a trip to the beach.
He lay shirtless on a beach towel, sunglasses on, ear buds in, ready to soak up the sun. He figured he could try to impress Clare with a slight tan, considering he was unnaturally pale.
Hearing giggles, he rolled his eyes. He knew girls would be checking him out because, with out his Goth garb he looked like the average, stereotypical guy in swim trunks, out tanning on the beach.
Eli shut his eyes letting the sound of Dead Hand take him away.
It was only by chance that he had opened his eyes at that moment, but when he did they fell upon a girl standing over him. Her blonde curls swayed as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Eli? Eli Goldsworthy? Is that you?" she said puzzled, her high-pitched voice ringing like a bell.
He sat up, taking off his ear buds and rubbed his eyes as he removed his sunglasses so he could get a better look at the girl.
"Melanie…?"
"Oh thank goodness it is you!" she exclaimed loudly, plopping down next to him. "For a second I thought I was going to look like a crazy person!"
"Too late," Eli smirked and she gave him a playful shove.
Eli hadn't seen Melanie in a while. She used to be good friends with him, but mostly because of Julia. When Julia died, her mutual friends pulled away, blaming him for her death. Melanie didn't exactly want to stop being friends with Eli, but her friends made her choose sides. Eli lost.
"How's, um, what's that school you go to now…" she said, snapping her fingers as if doing so would magically answer the question.
"Degrassi," he muttered slightly under his breath, just quiet enough for her hear but not pick up it was him saying it.
"Degrassi! That's it!" she yelled. "So how is it?"
"Um, very…interesting," he said. "Let's just say a school-wide panic caused us to now have to wear uniforms."
"What kind of panic?" she asked.
"A stabbing," he said. "Well, an almost stabbing."
"Oh the poor baby, they must be traumatized after that! Who was it?"
"Um… me…"
Her worry turned to slight amusement, "Figures." she said. "Only you would get 'almost stabbed'. What else goes on at your school? I mean nothing can be as bad as that right?"
Oh if only she knew.