* * *
Guy woke up on this morning as he always did these days: cranky and grumpy. Never a morning person, on this particular Monday morning he was suffering from more than his usual I-hate-going-to-school-in-spring blues � he honestly did not look forward to facing the South Glen South denizens today � especially the group of friends he hung out with.
Standing under the hot water streaming from his shower, Guy attempted to revive himself by thinking instead of his future. Two more months and it would be summertime � the summer before he left for college. He had been accepted to all his top choices and was still debating between attending Northwestern, Brown University or UC-Berkeley. His parents had told him it was his choice (they never pushed him about anything), and he was still unsure which school would be home for the next four years.
Guy was smart � although he tried to hide that fact. Who knows why � it was anybody's guess. His friends all knew he did well academically, but they figured that he just got lucky a lot. They never saw him study, never saw him express pleasure at his grades (which were usually good). And he certainly never took part in class � that just wasn't the "cool" thing to do.
Guy turned off the shower and began toweling himself dry, looking in the bathroom mirror as the steam dissipated and brought his reflection to life. He felt he was average looking � nothing disappointing, but not the 'end all be all' of handsome either. Analyzing himself as he brushed his teeth, he knew his best feature was his eyes � their lightness stood out and got him noticed. Other than that he felt he was fairly typical, if not a bit on the scrawny side. He always wished he could work out more and bulk up � he looked like some emaciated slacker musician instead of an athlete, which he had wanted to be as a kid. 6 As Guy got dressed, his dread at going to school returned. For Guy, school was no real challenge and he tended to just float through � waiting to get to the good stuff in college. And by going away to college he could perhaps finally be free to be himself � not what others projected onto him. At seventeen, Guy was Big Man on Campus at South Glen South. Guy couldn't wait to be Small Fish in Big Pond when high school was over and he moved on to the next chapter of his life.
And besides that, maybe he'd finally be able to find friends that didn't put him on a pedestal. All these years, hanging out with Tommy, Gibby, Kirsten and the rest � it was tiring to be constantly watched. Having to pass approval on everything was annoying, and Guy was sick of it. Sometimes he'd say things to his friends just to get a reaction. He was amused and sad at the same time that they were so easily persuaded.
With a sigh, Guy realized that he had moved past his friends, but hadn't actually accomplished separating himself from them. Partially because he hated dissension, he kept his mouth shut when it came down to it. When Tommy said or did something idiotic and rude, rather than chew out Tommy and put him in his place, Guy tended to fake his way through a laugh and change the subject. Guy hated that about himself and knew that he needed to stand up and say something to his friends about their behavior � but he also knew that by standing up he'd probably alienate the gang, which he didn't want to do with only two months left to go before graduation.
* * *
Guy arrived at South Glen South by way of a short walk. He had always lived only six blocks from the school and never bothered with driving his car the short distance unless he was picking up his friends. He knew of several students that drove because it was thought to be nerdy to walk to school, but frankly Guy enjoyed the few minutes of solitude that the walk gave him before spending the next seven hours sitting in mind-numbing classes surrounded by thick-headed students and teachers who didn't care anymore.
His first class was geography with Ms. Knox. She was funny to listen to � always telling stories about her supposed menopausal symptoms. She obviously loved her class subject. She had traveled extensively in her life and made the class more personal that way. Her only downfall was that she required any late students to wear a sombrero for ten minutes during class � and he still had one more thing to do before going to class.
Guy headed over to the school secretary's office and as he pushed open the door he called out, "Good morning, Mrs. Johnson, how are we this morning?"
Mrs. Johnson, the elderly woman who worked as the school secretary, looked up and beamed at Guy. "Well, I'm just fine, and you?" She opened up her drawer and pulled out a late pass and put it on the edge of her desk.
Guy sat in a chair next to her desk and sighed, "Tired, but here." He grinned at her as he put the late pass in his back pocket. "Did you enjoy the rest of your weekend?"
"Why yes, I did, Guy! I managed to finish planting my flowers yesterday afternoon. You were so sweet to put that mulch down for me on Saturday so that I wouldn't hurt my back. When my Frank was here he did all that for me, too. Never let me lift a finger, my Frank."
Guy smiled as Mrs. Johnson spoke of her late husband. The Johnson's and the Perkins' had been neighbors since Guy was four years old � he had mowed their lawn practically for free until he was fourteen years old. Frank Johnson had always paid him a quarter for the job � even when the going rate was up to ten dollars an hour. Guy never had the heart to tell Mr. Johnson that a raise was overdue and always took the quarter with appreciation.
"Well, that's what I'm for now, Mrs. Johnson. Now where are those boxes of files you need moved?" The day before Mrs. Johnson had called over to Guy's house and asked that he come to school early and help her move some boxes. Theoretically the school had workers that should do it, but Mrs. Johnson almost always called Guy for help. Guy was like a grandson to her. Besides, she liked his company � he was nice to her and made her feel appreciated even though she knew she was well past retirement age.
Mrs. Johnson directed him to a stack of boxes in the corner and Guy followed her directions on where they should be placed in the closet in her office. Once done, Guy closed the closet door and turned to go.
"All right, Mrs. Johnson � I'll see you later. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll come and do it for you. I've got to run to class now, though."
Mrs. Johnson came over and patted Guy's cheek, much like his grandmother always did. "Such a sweet boy, you are, Guy. Always so willing to help me � even though I'm just a stuffy old lady who should be retired."
Guy laughed as he walked out the door, responding, "Mrs. Johnson, the day you retire is the day Chicago no longer has sub-zero winters!"
Mrs. Johnson waved goodbye to him as the door slowly closed, and Guy found himself in an empty hallway. Looking at the clock at the end of the hall he saw he was only a few minutes late.
He went up the nearest staircase to the second floor and strolled down to Room 204. As he opened the door he saw a girl standing at the front of the classroom, wearing the dreaded sombrero. He had never seen her before, but as he came into the room she turned and stopped cold during her speech. As he came near Ms. Knox's desk he heard her whisper something that sounded suspiciously like 'Billy'.
He dropped the late pass on Ms. Knox's desk and proceeded to his desk. He sat calmly in his seat before bringing his eyes back up to the front of the room. The girl was staring at him � gawking really. He smiled a bit at her, mentally wishing she'd get on with it and get the attention of himself.
"Bali!" she finally cried. "Billy Bali, a suburb of Bali proper."
As the girl went on to describe her family to the students, Guy finally took notice of her clothes � a dreadful choice of white jeans and some sort of boa that looked kind of straggly at the end � as though it got caught in a door or something. Her makeup left something to be desired � it made her look all washed out, even though Guy could tell she had a creamy complexion that most girls would covet. He could see that she was trying painfully to be cool, which was admirable, however misguided. Unfortunately, the students at South Glen South prided themselves on being the best and coolest in all Chicago. And Guy knew instantly this girl fell short of their lofty ideals.
But even with the bad clothes and worse makeup, Guy still thought she was kind of cute. Her eyes were bright and sparkly, her blond hair was a knockout, and her body was curved in all the right places. Guy heard Ms. Knox refer to her as "Josie" � a cute name, even if it was the name of a cartoon character.
Josie finally fell into her seat with a dejected sigh and he could see her shoulders slump as Kirsten and Kristen giggled behind him. Guy turned and frowned at Kirsten, willing her to shut up. She was constantly doing that � laughing at other people when there was no need. She caught his look and stopped giggling immediately. Guy turned back around to face the front of class and let out a silent sigh.
Two more months, he thought. I don't think I'll make it.
* * *
Lunchtime arrived, and not too soon. Guy grabbed an apple and a bottle of water from the line and after paying for it moved into the main part of the cafeteria. He saw that the new girl, Josie, was sitting across a table from Gibby, Kirsten and Kristen, a pad and pen in hand. They were looking at Josie with open horror and disgust as she spoke to them. He couldn't hear what she was asking, but could tell that she wouldn't get any good answers from the Trio from Hell.
He put his apple and water down on a table used by the football players and made his way over to Josie and the girls.
"Hi, I'm Guy," he said, smiling softly at Josie in an attempt to show her a friendly face amongst the student body.
Josie gazed up at him, obviously flustered. "Yes you are," she breathed. "A guy. Guy. Quite a guy. Oh my." She paused, then laughed nervously, glancing at the girls. "That rhymes! Yikes." She paused, then blurted out, "Bikes!" before cringing in embarrassed laughter.
Guy looked at her for a moment, not sure how to respond. Was there something wrong with her? He didn't think so � she had seemed normal enough in Ms. Knox's class. But she did say that she was from Bali � maybe they all acted like this over there. Maybe that was it � maybe she was supposed to be in a different class altogether.
"Are you in special ed?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she might have been misplaced in South Glen South's regular classes.
Josie looked at him blankly for a moment, prompting him to add stupidly, "No, seriously, are you?"
Gibby snorted loudly and the other two girls burst out laughing as Josie rose to leave, revealing to Guy a large brown stain of chocolate milk on her white jeans. He heard Kirsten gush, "I can't believe he just said that!" Without a word, Josie turned and walked away with her tray of uneaten food. Guy watched her as one of the Denominators approached her. It was Aldys.
Ignoring the halfwit fashion victims chortling behind him, he watched as Aldys and one of her friends spoke to Josie, offering smiles and friendship to her. But after a moment's pause, Josie continued out of the cafeteria, trying to ignore the titters from various tables as she walked by.
As he mentally scolded himself for humiliating Josie with his thoughtless question, Guy saw Aldys turn and give him a nasty look before sitting down at her own table. As if he didn't feel bad enough, now Aldys thought he was a bad guy, as well.
And if there was one thing he regretted most about high school, it was that Aldys thought he was a bad guy.
* * *