Big Time Weirdo.

The next morning I took another look at my helmet. It still sat where I'd left it yesterday. I rubbed it gently and sighed.

"Maybe today will be good luck," I whispered.

I grabbed a Pop Tart from the pantry and headed for school. I'd only been walking for five minutes when I heard a weird noise coming from behind a bush. It sounded like mumbling, but I knew it wasn't Carlos. I looked behind the bush and saw a guy hunched over, studying something on the ground. His back was to me so I couldn't see who he was or what he was looking.

"Hey man, are you okay?" I asked, trying to look over his shoulder.

He jumped at the sound of my voice.

"Dude, you have to help me," he said in a panicked voice.

"What's wrong?"

"The squirrel, it's dying!"

He moved to the side so I could see what he was so worried about. It was an injured squirrel that looked like he picked it out from the side of the road.

"What happened to it?" I asked, giving him a disgusted look.

"It was lying on the side of the street. It's still alive. You have to help me save it."

I could be wrong, but I could've sworn this guy was seriously worried about this messed up squirrel.

"What do you suppose we do?" I asked.

"Do you know mouth-to-mouth?"

"Dude, I am not about to give a squirrel mouth-to-mouth!"

He gave me a sad puppy face.

"No way!" I shouted.

The squirrel suddenly started to make really weird noises. It wiggled a little bit then completely froze.

"GAH," the guy shrieked. "It's dead!"

I stared at him with my mouth wide open. He was seriously freaking out about this squirrel. I could've sworn I saw a tear on the side of his eye.

"I'm sorry, dude," was all I could say.

"Will you help me bury it?"

I sighed.

"Sure," I threw my hands up. "What the hell? I'm already here, but we have to hurry or I'm going to be late for school."

He dug a small hole near a tree and gently placed the squirrel inside. I put the dirt on top and created the small grave. He stood up next to me and stared at the lump of dirt.

"Poor squirrel," he sniffled. "He never had a chance."

He turned to me.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"No."

He wiped his face.

"Okay, let's go."

I stared at him, with such a confused look at his change of mood, as he walked away. What an odd guy.

"You go to East High too?" I asked catching up to walk next him.

"Yeah, I'm a freshman. What about you?"

"Me too, I guess we don't have any classes together, unless I would've seen you yesterday."

"Yeah, what hour do you have lunch?"

"Fifth."

"Really? Me too."

"Yeah? How come I didn't see you yesterday?"

"Oh, I found a mouse in my classroom earlier that day and I got in trouble for trying to catch it, so my teacher sent me to the principal's office."

I gave him that 'you're a weirdo look' again, but he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled.

We got to school and realized we had five minutes to get to first hour.

"Hey, I'll see at lunch. Save me a seat?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm James, by the way," he stretched out his hand.

"I'm Kendall," I shook his hand.

He walked away and I stood there for a while. My helmet came to mind. It's been only twenty minutes since I left my house and my day has already been lucky. I smiled at the fact. I made a friend today.

I sat in the same seat I had yesterday and waited patiently for Carlos' dramatic arrival. Our encounter yesterday at the library didn't exactly end pleasantly and I was hoping to clear it up today. Class began and there was no sign of Carlos. I expected him to show up late anyways. Mr. Smitty made us write down the vocabulary words for the new book we're starting, Inseparable, after we turned in our book reports. It's supposed to be a very cheesy love story.

Half the class went by and still no Carlos. The class ENDED and he never showed up. Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

Lunch came by and I thought of James. I bought myself a cereal bar from the vending machine and sat at the nearest empty table. I saw James walk in and I stood up and waved. He saw me after skimming through the whole cafeteria. A smile came across his face as he walked towards me.

"Hey," he waved.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," he said pulling out a sandwich from a paper bag. "Is that all you're eating?" he glanced at my cereal bar.

"Yeah, I don't really give myself time to pack a lunch and my mom drives my little sister to school, so yeah."

"I could bring you a lunch if you want?"

"Dude, it's cool."

"Oh come on, you helped me save a squirrel this morning. It's the least I can do," he smiled.

"Dude, really. It's fine. I have money to buy lunch."

"Okay then, if you're sure."

"Thanks anyways," I smiled at his kindness.

We sat there in silence for a little bit while he finished his sandwich. I looked around to see if Carlos was here, but everything seemed calm, so he probably wasn't in school at all.

"Hey James?" I cleared my throat. "What do you know about this Carlos Garcia guy?"

"You're new in town aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone knows Carlos Garcia. A couple years ago he beat up the town bully. He was the only one who had the guts to stand up to him, ever since he's been extremely popular. Some people consider him a hero."

"Hm," I took a bite of what was left over from my cereal bar.

"Yeah, I guess he's an okay guy, but he hangs out with one of the meanest guys around. Ironic right?"

"Yeah."

"His friend is a bit of a bad influence. Some people say that he'll take the hero out of Carlos, but who knows what could happen."

He finished his sandwich just in time for our next class. We made plans to meet after school to walk home together.

After school, we walked towards where we saw the squirrel. When we passed the lump of dirt where we buried it, I felt James sort of jump next to me, almost as if he forgot it was there. We stopped in front of my house and I turned to James.

"This is my place."

His face was blank.

"You live here?"

"Yeah," I gave him a confused look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

A smile came across his face.

"I know we're going to be great friends, Kendall."

I smiled.

"Yeah, we are. I'm glad I met you."

He smiled and continued to walk in the direction we were going in. A smile stretched across my face when I saw him walk into the house next door.