Chapter Three: Nothing seems to turn out right; …

"Have a good day, sweetie!" my mother called after me as I walked out the door. I scoffed once the door was shut. My first day of Degrassi: in other words, I was not in for a good day. After spending an entire summer sharing my feelings with my psychiatrist and having supervised scissors time, I was most definitely not in the mood for any bullshit the halls of Degrassi would bring. As far as I knew, that bullshit came in massive amount.

I turned the key in Morty's ignition, petting the dash when he purred to life. "Missed you, Mort," I mumbled, pulling out of the driveway. My mother or another driver took care of all vehicular transportation over the summer, unless I counted the times my mother let me drive with her in the passenger seat. He was low on gas, so I made a pit stop before heading to school.

x

Roaming around the lot, I finally found a good spot: close to the school, near some picnic tables. I could admire my beloved hearse from afar at lunch; this thought made me smirk to myself. Cutting the engine, I opened the door and stepped foot on the pavement. Quite a few students were already here. Quite a few of them were already staring.

"Well, Goldsworthy… what can you expect when you roll in with a hearse?"

x

My first hour was extremely boring. Morning classes always were, but there was something about Chemistry that made it all the worse. The teacher didn't really help either. I spent the vast majority of the time wondering when the next issue of Goon was supposed to hit shelves…

Second hour was less agonizing. English was my forte, as it always had been. Despite the fact we were already assigned a short essay, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy that class.

Lunch was painfully slow. I sat outside at one of the tables, debating going to sit in Morty. I finally give in and got in my car, turning the stereo on unreasonably loud. Once again, I received countless stares. They were beginning to get unnoticeable at this point, though, so they didn't ruin the time I had by myself. After the half-hour we had was over, I trudged my way to Algebra 2.

Algebra flew by; it was quickly replaced by World Studies, which was finally interrupted by the last class of the day: Psychology. I actually found this hour to be quite pleasant, which made me happy I could end my day on a good note. Once the final bell sounded, I quickly walked the path to my locker and then to Morty. He waited patiently in the spot I parked him in this morning. I smiled and patted the roof, chuckling to myself as I backed out and drove off.

x

I pulled into the driveway, aware that my mother's car was missing. Shrugging it off, I walked into the house and set my keys on the hallway table. My feet made soft thuds as I climbed the stairs. Nothing was better than shedding your clothes and slipping into a pair of sweats and a V-neck after a boring day like the one I just had.

Something shiny caught my eye after I pulled the curtain away, revealing my closet. The leather was smooth and cold as I held it in my hands. I smiled to myself and walked back downstairs to the kitchen.

Grabbing a soda from the fridge, I turned around to sit at the table. In front of me, there was a note from my mother.

Baby,

I went out to pick up some stuff for dinner. If I'm not back by the time you get home, 1.) I'll know you came right home after school and 2.) I'll be back soon after. Because I know you already changed into something more comfortable – you've been doing it for more than a decade every day after school, you know – I hope you noticed a change in your closet. (If you didn't, I put your belts back.)

I'm really proud of you for all the progress you've made this summer and for actually going to school today. Keep it up, kid!

Love you so much,

Mom

I smiled to myself, sipping at my drink. As boring as Degrassi was… I had a good feeling about this upcoming year already.

x

My mother walked into the kitchen as I was rinsing out my can. She put the groceries on the counter and pecked my cheek, grinning. I smiled back.

"Did you get my note?" she asked as she shuffled through the items in the fridge.

"Yea… thanks, Mom," I said quietly. She turned to look at me and closed the fridge, stepping in front of me to cup my face. I held her arms and put my chin to my chest as she kissed my forehead. Pulling me into a quick hug, she sighed.

"So, how was your first day?"

I leaned on the counter with my arms crossed, chewing on my bottom lip. After taking a moment to put together an answer, I replied, "Boring."

"Boring? Is that all you can say?" she questioned, glaring at me. I glared back, face stone cold. It only took a few seconds of this staring contest before we burst into laughter. Neither of us was capable of pretending to be irritated with the other for very long. She went back to tending the groceries. "Seriously, though… anything happen? Anything at all?"

"Uh… well, people stared at me a lot," I responded.

She smirked and said, "Hm, I wonder why, Mr. I-drive-a-hearse-and-wear-all-black-constantly-and-walk-around-all-broodingly."

"Hey, hey, hey, I do not brood. I glower. One has a hint of sadness, while the other is all about aggression." My mother smirked at me again, finishing up with the shopping bags.

"Anything else?"

I stood for a moment, trying to think of something to tell her. She wanted me to be happy, and I knew she hoped Degrassi would help bring that for me. I couldn't think of anything, so I simply stated, "Nope. Nothing."

"Fine," she sighed. "I'm just going to have to ask you that every afternoon after school until something happens to you." I raised my brows at her and tucked my chin to my chest, glaring at her again. She smiled in return. "Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Go busy yourself," she dismissed, preparing to cook. I groaned in false agitation before letting a small smile creep on my face, ensuring she caught a glance at it. Mom winked and smirked, simply pretending to be preoccupied.

The magnificent relationship I had with my mom, despite the tough times we had to pull ourselves through, was finally coming back; I was finally getting back to living a flawed yet awesome life. With this thought, I stole to my room, the latest issue of Goon on my mind.

Reader,

My apologies for the prolonged wait for an update. I had a short case of writer's block, and then I got busy with school. Most of you know how that goes, aha.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. This is where it starts picking up, I promise! By the way, how do you think I'm doing writing Eli's point of view? I've never written in a guy's perspective before, so it's a little weird. I have to remind myself not to be super sentimental and whatnot, ahaha. Let me know if I need to work on anything, though.

Sincerely,

youronlyexception.