~II~
After making it out by the boy's dorm, Cody finally ceased his running. He was out of breath, but at least he got away without having to make a trip to see the headmaster. He started to laugh, walking inside and making his way into the lounge room, flopping down on the couch. It felt good to be back inside. That is, if you don't think about the smell and the yelling in the hall being caused by Trent shoving someone into the trash can. Other than that, it was pretty peaceful.
Cody picked his head up at the sound of approaching footsteps, smiling at the boy who entered the room.
"Hey there, Pete!" he greeted, moving his feet so his roommate could sit down. After Gary had been expelled and shipped off to Happy Volts, Pete was assigned Cody as a new roommate.
"Hey, Cody," He sat down, looking at the other teen. He always smelt like smoke and paint. And sometimes, if Pete was lucky, he had a hint of cologne to try and mask the scent of the recently listed smells. "How's your day going?"
"Oh, you know… went into town and got some food, had a prefect bitch at me for not wearing my uniform, bitched him out and ran in here," he explained. Pete could only look at him with an unimpressed look. Everyday, it was the same thing for the teen. Go out, get food, smoke something, get in trouble. Very eventful. "Anyways! How's your day, Petey? Still being the best headboy?"
"I guess?" Pete rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the room. "I heard that an old student is coming back today!"
"Eww. More students," he grumbled, sitting up and looking at his roommate. "It's bad enough we got more of those drama geeks. What's this person's clique?"
"Well, I think they're not in a clique," Cody seemed surprised. "But I think they're in my art class. Guess they used to go here, but they left after that huge fight I told you about."
"Heh. Wow," Pete watched as Cody stood up, stretching and twisting around. "Well, I'm gonna go hang out with some friends. You wanna come with, Pete? Get out of his hellhole?"
"I'm good, man. I think class is gonna start soon, anyways," he replied, watching him roll his eyes. "You should go, too! Do something with your life."
"I am doing something with my life, Pete," he laughed, "and that something is smoking… and the occasional graffiti, but we won't talk about that today."
Cody waved and left the lounge. Pete sat there a bit longer, shaking his head. Sometimes, in all honesty, he missed Gary. Sure, that psychopath always made fun of him, pushed him around and whatnot, but at least he never came back to the room smelling of smoke and sometimes drunk or high! And even… he was involved in a lot of things with Gary around. Sure, Cody offered Pete to come with him and have some fun, but he was always doing something illegal. Smoking, drinking, graffiti, fighting (not totally illegal but pretty stupid to him), and the occasional breaking and entering. Well… Gary did fight, bully and turn people against each other.
Whatever. Pete stood up and walked to his room, grabbing his sketchbook and pencil and eraser. He then walked out of the dorm, going towards the main building. On his way, he looked around at the students who passed him by. Trent, Pedro, Algernon, Sheldon, Nikki, Zach, Blake, and even Myuu. A lot of new students arrived at the beginning of the new school year. Surprisingly, Myuu was in her last year, though Pete didn't have any classes with her.
Ms. Phillips was always nice, welcoming everyone in. As Pete entered the room, he noticed a large sketchbook already on one of the desks. Who would leave their things unguarded in a school like this?
"Ms. Phillips?" Pete started, catching the teacher's attention. "Who does this sketchbook belong to?"
"Oh, that belongs to Ink! You might remember them from after that huge fight on campus," she told him, though kept a smile as though that war wasn't any big of deal. Sure! Two students didn't totally fight on the roof of the school and nearly fall to their death. Okay, Ms. Phillips. Okay.
Pete slowly walked over though, opening the sketchbook and looking inside. A drawing of old houses, looking almost Victorian. They were stripped and colored differently. Blue and pink, green and white, fuchsia and a light orange. The next page was of a cartoon style cafe. And on the next, an apple colored with… pastels? Interesting, though it seemed the colors smeared a bit in some areas. He closed the sketchbook and went to go sit down at one of the desks. He opened his own sketchbook, looking at what he had. Portraits and landscapes. They were more realistic than Ink's, though it didn't include much color. He wondered how his pictures would look with color. Maybe better? But he wasn't that good with colors! Perhaps he could find some tutorials or ask Ms. Phillips for some help or advice.
The bell rang and students poured in. Mandy, Beatrice, Christie, Colt, Nick, and a student Pete hadn't seen in a long time. Ink. He watched them walk in, sporting the female uniform and messing with their colored hair. He gave them a smile, waving a bit. Ink just gave him a smile in return, going to sit down and open their sketchbook.
"Okay, class! Today, we're going to start a new project!" Ms. Phillips started, looking around the room. "What I want you to do is go out to an event around Bullworth and draw what's going on. If you go to the football game on Friday, then draw a few of the players on the field. Please, do your best and put your utmost effort into it!"
Ms. Phillips went on about how this project was supposed to be fun and she wanted to see how much the students had learned. Realism, colors, whatever it was, she wanted to see something amazing. Pete thought about going to the race in Old Bullworth Vale. It'd be interesting to see the race as well and who would win.
As Pete wasted his time in art class, Cody was out in New Coventry, laying on the porch of one of his friend's home. He looked out at the sky, watching some clouds pass by. He could barely feel his hands, honestly. But laying here, the sun on his face and arms, it felt nice. Didn't matter if his hands were numb. He felt good.
"Hey, Cody! You alright?" Duncan walked over, taking a seat by the teen.
"Dude, I can't feel my hands," he replied calmly, lifting his head to see the other man. "They're there, aren't they?"
"Yeah, man! See?" Duncan lifted up Cody's left hand, waving it in front of his face. He just got a smile and a small nod. The student rested his head back down, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. Duncan put his hand down, shaking his head. Cody had always come around New Coventry, buying things from others. Honestly, Duncan was a bit jealous that Cody could go to school, where he had dropped out after excessive bullying. But, he couldn't change the past and he couldn't make Cody change his ways.
"Hey, didn't you say somethin' 'bout a brother?" Cody's head snapped right back up, eyes wide for a moment, before letting them relax once more.
"Yeah. Anthony," he replied, giving him a smile. "He's the best, honestly. Only person who kinda raised me since our mom works two jobs."
"That's cool. He live around here?" Duncan usually took advantage of Cody being higher than a kite, seeing as he was more open to questions in this state. He admitted to feeling a bit neglected, considering big brother Anthony was out with friends, despite wanting to check up on him. Without someone there to set him on the right path, Cody had met some of the townies. And now, here he was, laying on the porch barely able to comprehend where he was. He also learned Cody did have a favorite subject: auto shop. Apparently, working on mechanics was almost as fun as getting high, in his eyes. Also, Cody's favorite color was pink, Duncan assumed, as he kept bringing it up during their conversation. This boy was just a mess at how much he kept jumping around.
They stayed their for a bit before Cody finally sobered up, rubbing his hand and sitting upright. He looked at Duncan, smiling.
"Thanks for chilling with me, man," he spoke, earning a nod.
"Sure! Was fun!" The two stood up, and Cody gave his friend a pat on the shoulder. And with that, Cody said his goodbyes and walked back to school. Maybe he could harass Pete a bit when he got back to their room? Yeah. That was his plan now.