"You didn't show up last Thursday." Dylan swung his bag off his shoulder and took his seat next to Christopher, interrupting his conversation with the guy in front. His Monday morning had already been pisspoor and he was still a bit bitter about the complete diss that he had gotten the previous week.
Christopher turned his head slightly, seeming unbothered by Dylan's statement. "I know, something came up." Dylan frowned.
"And you couldn't have sent me a message?"
"I don't have your number." Chris shrugged, turning to his notebook where he scribbled something, which piqued Dylan's interest.
"You could have come by."
"I told you, something came up. Something more important than stupid fucking biology." Chris snapped, eyes meeting Dylan's. There was something more than anger there, he could see it, but he could not put his finger on what. "I'll make it next time, just let it go."
"Yeah, okay." Dylan got his history book out as the bell rang. Mr. Morgan entered the classroom and set his briefcase down on his desk.
"Sorry I'm late, car trouble." He hurried and got a folder out of the case. "Today we'll be continuing with what we did last class, so I hope all of you have read the pages I assigned." He started going around the room and giving out papers to everyone. "Once again, you'll be working with your desk buddy and discussing these questions. You are allowed to use the book if need be."
Dylan sighed and shot a glance at Chris, who probably hadn't been listening. It didn't seem like he had at least, considering the fact that he was hunched over his desk, the leather jacket he usually wore discarded over his chair.
"Hey." Dylan poked his side lightly.
"Yeah, I heard." He closed his notebook and straightened his shirt just as Mr. Morgan came by and gave them their paper. "I didn't read." He said it so nonchalantly and at that moment, Dylan had a strong urge to punch him in the face. Did he not realize that this was the senior year? That everything that he did now mattered. It sure didn't seem like it.
"Of course you didn't." He muttered and started writing down the questions himself.
There wasn't any more conversation between the two of them during that class, and when the bell rang Dylan didn't waste any time before he left the room. As he walked through the hallway, past the sports board, he remembered Coach's words from the previous Wednesday. He stopped.
On the list that was, just like Coach had said, fastened to the board, there were about twenty names typed. He didn't have to look far to find his name, and he wasn't that surprised either. The warning bell rang soon after and made him move again, towards math with Felicia.
__
The week went quicker that Dylan had thought it would. In what felt like a day, it was Thursday and he was eating lunch with the soccer team.
"So, how many newbies will be joining us tomorrow at practice?" Jake asked as he picked at his not-very-appetizing food. Dylan chuckled.
"I think three," Shawn said with a mouth full of food, "two juniors and one sophomore."
"A sophomore? Damn, that kid's gotta be good." Landon said, clearly impressed, and not wrong to be. Getting to join the team in the sophomore year didn't happen very often, and there was extreme talent required.
"Yeah, I think his name's Jeremy," Shawn continued, now having swallowed the food, "He's friends with my cousin. Played his entire life, and his family is from Spain." Dylan nodded and continued to spoon food into his mouth. He hadn't eaten any breakfast and was starving.
Felicia hadn't shown up to school. She sent him a text the day before saying that she didn't need a ride, so Dylan assumed she'd skipped to stay at Xander's.
"Hey, Dyl?" Dylan looked up from his food. "You joining us to practice after school?"
"I want to, but I've joined the tutoring program and have someone booked." He sighed heavily and the others laughed.
"Of course you would do something like that, fucking nerd," Landon chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, but I need the extra credit, just like you need the scholarship, asshat." He retorted with a light punch to his friend's shoulder. "But we have official practice tomorrow so I'll come then."
Jake huffed. "Yeah, you better."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Anyway, you doing somethin' this weekend?" Cole asked, changing the subject. "I was thinking that I could have a party. My parents are outta town so I'm alone there." Shawn cheered.
"Yeah man, the first senior party of the year! And we're the seniors. Sick," he laughed and downed his juice bottle. "Who can get the beer?"
Jake sighed. "I can do it, as usual, but y'all gotta pay me back at once. Last time, mom almost whooped my ass for having fifty dollars missing from my account and no explanation."
"' Course, dude," Dylan reassured, "sorry 'bout that." Jake made a waving motion and then the discussion about other necessities began.
"This will be so perfect!" Landon exclaimed. "We gotta tell the football team, and the cheer squad. It will be-"
"Lit?" Dylan laughed.
"Yes, Dyl, it will be lit!" The guys laughed.
"This will be the perfect opportunity for you, Dylan." Cole smiled wickedly.
"Perfect opportunity for me to do what?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew what the answer would be. "Aw, come on, will you think about something other than my love life for one second?"
"We ain't talking about your love life, dude, we're talking about your sex life," Shawn explained calmly, "those are very different things."
"Yeah, well, let it go," Dylan laughed and continued eating.
"Never." Cole and Landon responded in unison.
__
"You came." Dylan didn't mean to sound as surprised as he did when Christopher took a seat across from him in the library. His hair was still wet from showering and he'd swung his backpack over one shoulder.
"Yeah, I told you I would." He answered shortly. "I looked at the topics, and the rubric."
Dylan hesitated. "That's good," he then said, "That's good, umm, what did you think?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, it was... biology."
"Yeah, that's true," Dylan agreed, "Okay, so let's start. What do you need most help with?"
Chris gave him a hard look. "I don't fricking know, I just know that coach makes me do this if I wanna keep playing on the team. And I have to do that. Just 'cuz of one fucking D." The last part he mumbled under his breath, but Dylan caught it either way.
"Alright... we can begin by you reading this text," he reached into his bag and grabbed the booklet that he'd printed earlier.
"Why?" Chris questioned.
"Because this is what we'll be working on for the next four weeks or so," Dylan answered, a little harder than he needed it, but he couldn't help himself. Christopher just pushed all of his buttons at once. "So just... read it, and we'll discuss after."
Chris didn't say anything else, simply grabbed the papers with a bitter expression and started reading. At least he did as he was told.
"Why did you transfer?" Dylan couldn't help but ask. It had been about five minutes and he was already bored. Yes, he was the one that gave him the booklet, but it was taking so long. Chris raised his head and shot him a raised-eyebrow look.
"Reasons. That don't concern you."
Dylan huffed. "Okay, then, does why you're so bitter towards me concern me?"
"No."
He couldn't believe this guy. What was his problem? "Fine, are you done reading?" In response, Chris threw the booklet back to him. "Alright, we'll be focusing on ecology in class, but I asked Ms. Baker and she told me that we could pick whatever we wanted for this."
"Do you want me to pick a topic?" Chris furrowed his brow.
"Well, you're the one who's doing this project, right?" Dyl looked at the other boy. Was he really surprised? Did he imagine Dyl doing all of it for him or what?
"I'll pick next time," Christopher said after a few moments of hesitation. Dylan sighed, he'd hoped that they could start with it today so that they could finish it. Very well.
"Fine, then we'll just go over the basics again."
They sat there, mostly quiet with the exception for when Chris had a question, for about another half hour.
"I think we can't do more than this before you pick a topic," Dylan said finally, closing his textbook.
Chris nodded. "Yeah."
"Don't forget to decide a topic till next week." He shot Dylan a dirty look.
"I'm not deaf, I heard all the other times you said it," he snapped. Dylan raised his hands.
"Woah, I just wanted to remind you, just in case," he defended, frowning. "Sorry."
"Whatever." Chris huffed. He got up from his seat, grabbed his jacket and left. Dylan sighed loudly and packed up the rest of his stuff, including the booklet. Did he have to be so rude?
When he finally got out of the library it had just turned 5 and was raining. A lot. He hurried over to his car and unlocked it, sighing heavily when he got roof over his head. Putting on some music, he backed out of the lot. It was only the second week and he was already tired. Both of schoolwork and tutoring, but the extra credit was something that he would need for his college applications later.
He sighed once again, driving through the downpour and leaning his head back. Suddenly, he got an urge to call Felicia, just to see where she'd been. He hadn't heard anything more from her since that morning, and worry had settled in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't that she couldn't take care of herself, lord knew that she could, but she was usually very good at spamming his inbox with either small crises or memes.
Finally, he pulled up to his driveway and hurried into the house, as to not get too wet from the rain.
"Hey!" He yelled and closed the door. He pulled out his phone and looked at his messages. Nothing from Felicia. 'Hey, what's up? Where were you today?' He sent and then put his phone away again.
"Hi Dylan," his mom greeted from the kitchen, "you're out late. If you got wet you can hang your clothes in the bathroom."
"I told you, I tutor on Thursdays, remember? And I didn't get too wet." Dylan hung his jacket in the closet and walked into the kitchen. "And I'm not out that late." He looked at the wall clock and saw that it was 5:30. Not that late.
"Oh, that's right," she smiled. "Sorry. Would you be an angel and set the table? Your dad will be home at about six. And call Riley down to help you." Dylan nodded.
"Ry!" He yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
"Coming!" She responded after a moment. It took about four seconds before she'd gotten down and started helping.
"I don't understand how it took you ten minutes to get down here when I called for you when you were her age, but it takes her barely a second." Their mom sighed, looking at Dylan.
"I was doing stuff back then."
"Yeah, but not anymore because you don't have a life." Riley laughed.
"I have more of a life than you do, I came home now while you were in your room doing nothing." He retorted and gave her a stack of plates.
"And what were you doing until now? Tutoring somebody. In biology!" She snickered. "See? No life."
"Yeah, whatever," Dylan muttered, not bitterly, but he wasn't in the mood to continue the conversation.
"Stop bickering, you two." Their mom sighed, a little late.
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