Teddy stayed behind as the other boys shuffled in. He waved Gordie off when he asked if he was coming. He knew no one ever did anything on the first day, and he wasn't in any hurry to get to class. Besides, he knew someone else would be arriving late, as she did almost every day in her school career, and he wanted to catch her.
He had been pining over a girl named Madeline Socia since he first saw her two years ago. She was cool. She smoked and drank and listened to rock n roll. Teddy had never actually spoken to her, however. He knew that today was the day he would make his move. He would be eighteen in three months; he was practically a grown man. He lit a new cigarette and waited for her.
Chris bit the inside of his cheeks, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying in his first class. Gordie had told him a joke right before the last bell had rung and he couldn't get it off of his mind. He couldn't even look at his friend. He knew that was all it would take to cause his laughter to take control of him. He let a little whine as he desperately tried to contain himself. Now that he was actually here, most of the nervousness he had felt this morning was gone. He saw Gordie lay his head down on his desk out of the corner of his eye. It seemed he wasn't the only one having trouble controlling himself. He was going to miss Gordie when they both left for separate colleges in the fall, that he was positive of. He couldn't remember the last time they had gotten the giggles like this. He felt like he was ten years old.
Vern looked at the empty seat next to him, wondering if Teddy was ever going to decide to come in. He was probably out there waiting for that stupid girl. He picked at his finger nails, irritated. He couldn't wait to get out of school. He was already engaged to his girlfriend, Flora, and he still hadn't decided whether or not he would bother graduating. So far, Teddy had talked him into staying, but he sure wouldn't bother if Teddy was going to be spending all of his time chasing girls outside.
Madeline didn't know what time it was, only that she was late. She didn't care, really, but she had promised herself to try a little harder her last year. It was 1966 and the generation that she was a part of was just beginning to develop some revolutionary thoughts. She had not yet decided which of these ideas she believed, but she did know that she did not want to be like her parents. She walked slowly towards the school building, fidgeting with her hair. "Hey." She heard a voice she didn't recognize call out to her. She looked around a saw a boy with thick Buddy Holly glasses sitting on the ledge. He drew on a cigarette and let one leg dangle freely as he sat. "Hey.." She returned, confused. She didn't recall ever seeing this boy before.
"Want to walk in together?" He asked her. She shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what to think about this odd boy. "I'm Teddy Duchamp," he said. "Madeline," she answered, mostly just to be polite. He talked to her as they walked through the hallways, not about anything in particular. At some point she realized that she was enjoying herself and that she had no idea where they were walking to. They had passed her first class quite some time ago and she had made no move to depart from her company. He smiled at her and asked, "You wanna get out of here?" She said that she did and they skipped out of their first day of senior year. So much for trying harder, she thought to herself.
A/N: This is my first story about the younger boys, so any feedback would be appreciated.