So, there I was, walking down the sidewalk to the store to pick up some cigarettes for my drunken dad when some guy came out of nowhere and bumped into my chest.
I let out a slight 'oof' and turned around to look at him. I saw that it was that new kid from school. What was his name? Alexander. That was it. I gave him a slight smile, but I don't think he saw it, due to the dim lighting. He looked down at the ground and mumbled an apology.
"It's no problem," I told him, chuckling. But before I could say anything else, he was walking away. I shrugged to myself and continued on my quest. When I reached the gas station, I walked in and headed to the back and got myself a Monster, and told the lady which cigarettes I wanted as I bought it. I showed her my I.D. so she knew that I was 18 and she set them down in front of me as she rang me up. I handed her the money and told her to keep the change. I walked out of the gas station and returned home, only to be met by my dad in the driveway.
"What took you so long," he slurred, "And where's my damn cigarettes?"
I pulled the pack of cigarettes out of the shopping bag and handed them to him. He grunted in approval and followed me back in the house. Before he could say anything more to me, I ran downstairs to my room, which was also the basement. I plopped down on my couch and lolled my head back to look at the ceiling. Today was a decent day, no different than any other first day of school. It still hadn't completely sunk in that I was graduating this year, though. It was crazy to think about. In a few months, I was out of this hell hole and onto bigger and better things. Going to college, getting a degree in who the hell knows what, and getting a job so I can survive the fucking sucky economy that our country had.
I opened my Monster and took a drink, continuing to think about my day. It was when I thought of the boy, Alexander, getting ganged up on in the hallway that a feeling of regret, or pity, dropped into my stomach. Should I have helped him out? I shook my head. No, no. Circle of life, Jack. He just needs to learn to survive on his own.
Then I thought about lunch. I had seen Alex sitting my himself on the floor next to the trash cans. That was nowhere to eat lunch. My eyebrows pulled together as I thought, maybe I could invite him to sit with me and Rian. I half-smiled and nodded to myself. Yeah. If he wasn't sitting with anybody tomorrow, I would invite him to sit with us.
Sighing with relief, I took another drink of my Monster before setting it down on the end table, next to my alarm clock, which I set to go off in the morning. I laid down on my couch and quickly dozed off into unconsciousness.

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I woke up to empty darkness and glanced over at my clock. 3:27. Great. Just... fucking perfect. And what made it suck more was the fact that I wasn't even tired anymore. I sighed and sat up and rubbed the sand out of my eyes. I stood up and turned on the light before heading over to my dresser and grabbed a Face To Face t-shirt. I tossed it on my bed and opened my jean drawer and pulled out a pair of grey skinny jeans to match the graffic on my shirt. I tossed it over to hang out with my shirt while I changed my boxers and pulled on some socks. I took my time getting dressed, trying to waste as much time as possible. I sat down on my bed and pulled on my torn-up black Converse. I walked into my bathroom and turned on my straightener. I yanked through yesterday's hairspray and just stared at myself in the mirror while my straightener finished warming up. I ran it through my hair, fixing the parts that were starting to flip and combed through my hair once again before hair-spraying it.
I nodded at my reflection and smiled. Yup. I was hot.
I chuckled to myself and returned to my room and plopped down on my bed and picked up my iPod and put my headphones in my ears and listened to All The Small Things by Blink 182, who, may I say, is the BEST band ever. I rocked out to a few more songs before my stomach growled loudly. I turned my music off and shoved my iPod and headphones into my jean pocket and quietly walked up the stairs, knowing my dad was probably passed out drunk on the couch.
I turned the corner and saw that I was right. He was, indeed passed out on the couch, a bottle in his hand. I shook my head in disapproval. His drinking got a lot worse after my mom left him to follow her dream of becoming an actress. Now, don't get me wrong. I proud of her for following her dreams, but she could have at least took me with her instead of leaving me with a poor excuse for a father.
I sighed and opened the refigerator and pulled out the milk and shut the door. I fixed myself some fruity pebbles and leaned against the counter as I ate them. Once I was finished, I put my bowl and spoon in the sink and returned the milk to it's place in the fridge. I looked at the clock. I had successfully managed to waste two hours. It was now 5:30 on the dot.
Unfortunately, I still had another hour before I had to leave for school, and I was completely ready. I returned to my room and sat back down on my couch and turned on the T.V. I flipped through the channels until I settled on something on the Discovery channel. I sighed and watched as I drank the rest of my monster. This has to be the longest three hours of my life.

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6:30 finally arrived and I was now headed down the road in my car. Sure, I was only a couple blocks down from the school, but, to be honest, I was way too lazy to walk it. I pulled into the student parking lot and parked in my usual spot. I waltzed into the school like I was the shit and headed straight to my locker to relieve myself of some text books that I wouldn't need until after lunch.
Lunch. That was when I remembered that I needed to find Alexander to let him know that he was welcome to sit with Rian and me. Then I remembered that I hadn't even talked to Rian about it yet.
As if on cue, Rian walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you alright, Man?"
I looked at him and nodded as I shrugged his hand off. "Yeah. Um... hey, is it okay if I invite someone to sit with us at lunch today?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah. Of course, Man." He smiled and continued down the hall to his own locker. Once he had his books all sorted out as well, we talked for a few more minutes before the bell rang to go to first hour. We did our secret handshake and told each other we would see each other at lunch. Before he walked away, he told me he was looking forward to meeting my new friend. I half-smiled and nodded and waved to him as I continued to my own class.

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Well, it was finally lunch time, and I was sitting with Rian, eating my usual, as I looked around for Alexander. I smiled as my eyes finally found him, sitting next to the trash cans just like he did yesterday. I stood up and walked over to him. "Hey," I said, "You're Alexander, right?"
The boy looked up at me and his face turned a light shade of pink. He nodded. "A-Alex, actually. I-I prefer Alex."
My eyebrows rose when I heard the thick British accent leave the boy's lips. My smile grew as I nodded. "Well, Alex, how would you like to sit with my friend, Rian, and I?" I gestured over to Rian, who waved. I looked back down at Alex, who was now standing.
"I w-would love to. Th-thank you." He smiled shyly and we both walked back to the table. See? All he needed was a friend.

Notes

Soooo... they've met! Whoop whoop! Alex has a friend! :D
See? Jack isn't as big of an ass as you thought he was, is he?
No he's not! :P
Sorry if this chapter sucked. It's kind of early in the morning.
-Ryan