Tommy woke up by the sound of Dil yelling his name.
"Tommy! The bus will be here in fifteen minutes! Get Up!"
Tommy groaned and rolled over. His alarm clock read 7:01am.
"Crap!" He yelled as he jumped up and ran to the shower.
It had been two weeks since Phil and Lil's birthday party. After that day, Tommy had avoided Lil. Maybe it wasn't so much avoidance as it was Lil wouldn't speak to him. But Tommy didn't really want to speak to her too much, either.
Tommy raced downstairs after his five-minute shower and grabbed a pop tart.
"Over sleep, champ?" Stu asked his oldest son.
"Yeah. I guess I didn't realize summer was over."
"Well, you better meet up with Dil at the bus stop. You don't want to miss the bus on top of getting up late." His mother told him.
Tommy kissed his mother and ran out of the house. He was back in less than a minute.
"Sorry." He said. "I forgot my backpack."
Tommy ran back out of the house after making sure he had everything. He met up with Dil, Chuckie, Kimi, and Phil at his bus stop.
"Hey." He greeted them. "Um...Phil? Where's Lil?" Tommy asked, not really caring, but just wondering.
"She didn't want to take the bus today. She decided to walk to school. Dude, she's still actin' weird. But it's not even how she used to act. Ever since our party she had been acting weird. She's more distant than ever. She won't talk to anyone. She'll hardly eat with us at the dinner table. And she's gone most of the day. Hangin' out with those kids she was hangin' out with a couple years ago. Brittany and them." Phil shrugged. "It's probably just a phase. It should pass."
"I sure hope so." Kimi added. "I miss her."
Tommy squinted in the hot morning sun. Where was the bus?
"So, Dill, are you exited about starting high school?" Chuckie asked him.
Dil shrugged.
"I guess I'm a little nervous. I mean, it's a whole new environment. I hope I can make some new friends." Dil looked down sadly.
Tommy pitied his brother. He knew Dil's best friend moved away during the summer and it had been really hard on Dil. Dil had a bit of trouble making friends, just because he was fourteen and still believed in alien invasions, not as much, but people still thought he was a little weird.
"What's up, guys?" Susie asked as she, Angelica, and Harold walked up to them.
"Just waiting for the bus that won't seem to come." Tommy said a bit aggravated. He didn't know why he was so anxious to get to school. Maybe it was to get his mind on something besides Lil.
"Why are you here?" Kimi asked. "Don't y'all have cars?"
Angelica nodded. "Yeah. I for one figure, why waste gas when you have alternate transportation? I mean, why pollute more of the earth and dirty the air with more fumes than needed? Why bother to..."
"You got grounded, didn't you, Angelica?" Tommy asked his cousin.
"Oh yeah. Can't drive my car for a month."
Susie giggled. "My car is actually at the mechanic right now."
Everyone looked at Harold.
"I just didn't feel like driving today!" He said.
"Okay! Okay! No need to get so touchy." Kimi exclaimed. "Besides, the bus is here."
The kids boarded the school bus. They couldn't believe how crowded it was. Tommy and Chuckie sat beside each other while Kimi and Phil sat next to each other. Dil had to sit beside a kid he didn't know, as so did Angelica. Susie and Harold managed to get a seat together.
"So, how have you been feeling lately, Tommy?" Chuckie asked once the bus started up again.
"Fine. Why do you ask?"
"It's just, you seemed...I don't know...Never mind, I guess."
Chuckie looked outside the window.
"Chuckie, I told you, if something was wrong, you would totally be the first to know."
"Really?"
Tommy smiled. "Absolutely."
The bus finally made it to the school, after what seemed like hours to Tommy.
The kids made it into the school and Angelica, Susie, and Harold went in the opposite direction as the others.
"Maybe I should go, too." Dil said a little shaky. "Tommy? Could you come with me to homeroom? It's not like I have any friends to walk with, so would you?"
Tommy nodded. "Absolutely, little bro. Wait for me, guys, I'm just gonna walk with Dil. I'll be right back."
The others nodded.
The two brothers walked, Tommy in the lead, directing Dil.
"Tommy, can I ask you something?" Dil said, breaking the silence.
"Sure, little bro. Ask away."
"Not that it's any of my business, but when are you going to tell Lil you like her?"
Tommy was shocked.
"You're right, Dil. It's none of your business."
Tommy walked faster, as if that would help him to avoid the truth.
He stopped suddenly and turned around.
"What do you mean by that, anyway, Dil?" He asked, quite harshly.
"I don't know. Never mind." Dil answered, slightly embarrassed.
"Of course you know!" Tommy hissed. "Otherwise you wouldn't have asked."
"All I mean is, Chuckie and I were talking and we thought that maybe you had a thing for Lil. That's all."
Tommy resumed walking down the hallway.
"Well, you thought wrong." He told Dil as they made it to Dil's homeroom class. "I don't have any feelings for Lil. She's a liar and a slut and I never want to speak to her again!"
Tommy walked back to the group, leaving Dil open mouthed.
The whole way back, he could not believe what he had just said. If it were anyone else who had said that about Lil, he would have cracked him one, no doubt about it.
But what had possessed him to say that about her? He knew that what had happened was by no means his fault. Why had he spazzed out like that?
Tommy was thinking about what he had just said so hard, he didn't even notice he was walking by his friends.
"Hey, T! Where ya goin'?" He recongnized Chuckie's voice and turned back.
"Sorry guys. I guys I had some other stuff on my mind."
"No prob, T. First day back does that to ya." Phil stated.
Tommy only nodded. He couldn't look Phil in the eyes. Not after what he had just called his sister. He was ashamed.
"So, um...Phil, should we head off to homeroom?" Tommy asked him.
Phil nodded. "Catch ya later, guys."
"I should head off, too." Chuckie said. "C'ya later."
Tommy and Phil headed off to the homeroom they shared while Chuckie and Kimi went their separate ways.