I won't be updating either of the stories for the next little while because I'll be out of town visiting relatives. So, this will be the last update for about a week.
Maddiecake: Ah… Ash Creek is a school. . . I thought it was a show or something XD
Part I: Chapter III: Johnny Cade
My name's Johnny. John. Johnathan. Whatever. Something along those lines. My name isn't said much, but it doesn't bother me at all; I like being left alone at school. It's when I do hear my name that I worry. I don't like being put on the spotlight. That's why I hate the teachers at my school. They always know that you don't know what's going on. They know that you don't want to be picked to answer a question, or pass out the tests. But they pick you anyways, just to pin everyone's attention on you.
In a word, school fucking sucks.
Right now, I'm sitting in sixth period, waiting for the dismissal bell to ring and let me out of this hell hole. Although, after I get out of here, I have to face the bus ride home of getting spitballs launched at the back of my head. Then after that. . .well, I might not go home today. Sometimes the fighting's too much, and I hang out wherever I can. My parents, if you have to know, aren't exactly loving and caring. Unless their way of expressing love is through insults and broken beer bottles held tight to your throat.
I'm not a pity monger; far from it. But that's how my situation is. And I deal with it pretty fine, in my opinion. As long as I have my CD player and guitar, I'm okay. Music is about the only thing in life that keeps me from going insane.
Back to current events. . .I'm in sixth period. But I already told you that. My sixth period class is Spanish. I didn't choose to be here, but I was shoved into this class anyways. I sat in the back, which I was thankful for. I always sat with my hood up, head down, and headphones on. I didn't have to worry about someone hearing the music coming from my CD player; the teacher was into class involvement, and everyone talked really loud. I was listening to a CD, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up, shaking my black bangs out of my eyes. It was the kid who sat in the next row a desk up. He was friends with the guy that invited me to sit with him at lunch. I didn't get his name. That, or I didn't remember it.
"What?" I mumbled, hitting the pause key on my CD player.
"Hey. My name's Michael. You're Johnny, right?" he said.
I nodded.
"What are you listening to?" he asked.
"40 Below Summer," I answered.
"Uh," Michael started. I could tell from the blank stare that he didn't know who they were. "Forget I asked. So where'd you go after lunch?"
"Fifth period."
Michael rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. What class?"
"Geometry."
"Oh. You're a sophomore?" I nodded. "I'm a freshman."
"Oh."
"I've seen you on the bus before. You live in the same neighbourhood as me, right?"
"I guess," I replied.
"Do you want a ride home? My friend's got a car. A real nice one, too." He started explaining stuff about the car, but I didn't know shit about cars. But I did like Mustangs. That was basically the only kind of car I knew.
"Um, I think I'll ride the bus home."
"Okay. . .um you want me to come too?" he asked. This kid was stubborn. I guess it was his way of saying 'hey I want to be your friend'. I wasn't buying it.
"Can if you want to, but it's hell," I answered. Michael grinned.
"Alright. I'll see you on the bus then?"
I nodded. The shrill bell rang, and I put my headphones back on, making my way out of the classroom along with the rest of the class. I was happy that I wouldn't have to ride the bus home myself for once, but at the same time, began wondering if he might just be trying to help his friends make fun of me.
I didn't need to go to my locker. I never did after sixth period. I never did anything in class, so it didn't make sense to me to tote a textbook and binder everywhere. I walked straight out to the buses. Bus 318 was one of the first buses you see when you exit the school near the foreign language pods. I took my time walking to the bus, knowing that it was going to be practically empty for the next five minutes. I sat in the third seat on the right side of the bus. I pushed my hood back. After you got on the bus, the faculty didn't really care if you had a CD player on or not. I got my CD player taken away once, and nearly went insane. But I got it back three days later.
I felt someone sit next to me on the bus. I looked out of the corner of my eyes to see who it was. It was Michael. "Hey," he said. I pulled my headphones down, and they sat around my neck, blaring music. Michael kind of cringed. "You actually listen to that stuff that loud?" 'That stuff'. He referred to it like it was the most disgusting thing on Earth.
"Yeah."
He shook his head. "You don't get a headache?"
I shook my head.
Suddenly, there was a banging on the window. I jumped at the sudden sound. "Asshole!" the person screamed at me. It was Joey, one of the dirty blond skaters that sat in the back of the bus and threw shit at me. They hadn't done it in awhile, because they had found a new target. Then that person started riding a different bus, and they were right back on me. He got on the bus and flicked me off, yelling 'asshole' the whole time. His friends were right behind him, with dirty, scratched up skateboards in hand.
"What was that about?" Michael asked.
I shrugged. "They don't like me."
"What'd you do to 'em?"
"Nothing." He kind of stared at me for a second.
The bus started up, and it seemed to get more crowded. Luckily for us, it wasn't too crowded. The seat in front of us was still empty, which suprised me. "So. . ." Michael said. "Where do you live?"
"On White Horse Road," I answered. That was about the stupidest name for a street, but I didn't really care. "That's where my house is. I'm not there all of the time."
"Oh. We live there too. Me, and my brother Soda."
"What about Soda?" Came a new voice. We both looked up. Another one of the guys from lunch, Soda, sat down in front of us, followed by his girlfriend, Sandy. I couldn't really remember.
"I was just telling Johnny that we lived on the same street as him," Michael said. "What're you doing here?"
Soda grinned. "You think I was going to not ride the bus with you? Besides, Two-Bit's car is a little crowded."
Suddenly, a paper ball hit me in the back of the head. I ignored it. I knew it was Joey and his friends, and knew all they wanted was a reaction. Well, at least that's what people always say. Soda raised an eyebrow. He was sitting with his back against the side of the bus, and Sandy was sitting with her back to the seat in front of her. "You going to do something about that?" he said.
I shook my head. "No point. They don't listen."
"Hey asshole!" came Cody's voice. Cody was the one that was always yelling out the window at random people. It got old real fast. "Hey asshole! Are those you're fuck buddies? Ya queer!"
Sandy suddenly yelled back, "We're all heterosexual here! How about you?"
"Shut up whore!" Joey yelled.
"Hey!" Soda snapped. "Why don't you get your dicks out of each other's asses and shut the fuck up?"
"Ooooh," someone said.
We were only halfway to the first stop. Joey got off at the first stop. Cody got off at the second. We got off at the fourth stop. I felt something hit the back of my head. Then, I saw a little red candy hit the front of my seat and fall into my lap. It was an M&M. Soda took a Pepsi bottle out of his backpack. "Soda--" Michael started. Soda emptied the last bit of Pepsi out of the bottle through the window. He launched it at the back of the bus, and it hit Joey in the face.
Soda grinned. "Direct hit."
"Hey! Hey we're going to kick your ass!"
"Well, they just lost the element of suprise," Sandy said.
"Aw, you know they're just trying to show off. Do you know them, Johnny?" Soda asked.
I shook my head.
The bus came to a stop. Joey was getting off. "Asshole," he said as he passed by. Joey was the head hancho with that group of idiots. So when he got off of the bus, they stopped throwing stuff at me. Usually. The bus driver barely payed any attention to anything we did on the bus.
"Well, at least one of 'em's gone," Soda said. He and his girlfriend started flirting. Michael rolled his eyes. He sat back in his seat. He looked over at me.
"So what do you do after school?"
"Nothing," I replied.
"Maybe you could come over. I'm sure Darry won't care," Michael said.
"Okay. Who's that? Step-dad?" I asked.
"Phht. Hardly. He's my older brother." The bus stopped again. I heard a car horn blair. A red car sped by, and Soda grinned.
"There goes Two-Bit. That dumbass. He's gonna wreck that good car, I swear to God," Soda said.
"Don't forget, it's Steve's, too," Soda's girlfriend said.
"Isn't it finable to pass a bus when kids are getting out?" Michael said.
"I have no fucking idea."
I leaned my head against the window. The bus stopped again. More people got off. I listened to Soda, Michael and Sandy talk. They didn't talk much to me, but I was okay with that. The bus stopped one more time, and we got up. We got off the bus. The three of them kept talking, but I just walked beside them, and shoved my hands in my hoodie pockets as I walked. I tried to listen, but what they were talking about didn't interest me. A green SUV turned in the neighbourhood. It swerved around a red car that was parked up on the curb. "There's your friend, I think," I said, pointing to the red car.
"Hey, it is," Soda said. "Hey, Two-Bit! What are you doing there?"
The one at the wheel, Two-Bit grinned. He was the one that had introduced me to the rest of his friends. "Waiting for you bums. I was going to give you a ride home. Come on, let's go." Two other people were in the car, a guy and a girl. It was Steve, I think that was his name. And his girlfriend, Evie. I was suprised I remembered that.
"You wanna come, too, Johnny?" Michael offered.
"No thanks," I said. "I need to get home."
That was a lie. "Alright. See you later then?"
"Yeah." I walked towards my house. I didn't know how bad things were going to be at home. I should have taken their offer and went with them.
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Excuse any errors if you will. I might have written 'Ponyboy' instead of 'Michael' a few times. Bleh. And the bus ride? Yeah, that really happened to a friend of a friend. People are so ignorant! Ahem. Alright. I'll try to update soon. Thanks for reading.
