I sat down next to the trash cans at lunch, just like I had yesterday. I didn't have any friends to sit with, and I didn't want to accidentally sit in someone else's spot and cause trouble. So, I sat down on the floor next to the stinky garbage as I ate my salad in small bites. I heard footsteps headed toward me, but pretended not to hear them.
"Hey," a voice perked up, "You're Alexander, right?"
I looked up at the man who had walked up to me through my fringe. I could feel my face turn red when I realized that it was the same guy I had bumped into last night. I sighed quietly, trying to calm myself down, and nodded. "A-Alex, actually. I-I prefer Alex."
His eyebrows rose and I bit my lip. Oh, God. Did I say something wrong? His smile grew and I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding, because a smile meant he wasn't mad... right? "Well, Alex, how would you like to sit with my friend, Rian, and I?" He gestured over to a man sitting at one of the tables, who waved. I slowly stood up, careful not to drop my salad due to my shaking hands.
"I w-would love to. Th-thank you." I smiled shyly at the boy and he led me back to the table. I sat down next to him and continued eating my salad. I glanced over at Rian, and then at... wait. I didn't know this kind sir's name. I lightly tapped on his shoulder with one finger and bit my lip when he looked over at me. "Um... I-I didn't get your name."
He smiled warmly at me. "It's Jack. Jack Barakat."
I smiled back at him. Then I glanced at his shirt and my smile grew slightly. "Hey, you like Face To Face?"
Jack looked down at his shirt and then back up at me. "Uh... yeah. What about you?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I like Face To Face."
"What other bands do you listen to?" Rian piped up.
I looked down at my salad. I usually got made fun of for my music taste, because it was different than everybody else's. "Umm... I like Green Day... And Blink 182-"
"Blink 182?!" Jack interrupted, louder than he needed to. A few people turned around and looked at us and I ducked my head down a bit. "Dude, Blink 182 is the best band ever! I love them!"
I looked up from my salad and at the lanky boy again. "R-really?"
He nodded.
"Yeah. You've got good music taste," Rian said, smiling.
My smile grew. So, this is what it felt like to be accepted... I liked it.
The bell rang loudly over the intercom, signaling for us to go to fifth hour. The three of us stood up and dumped our trays and started heading down the hallway. Rian parted ways from us, leaving just me and Jack to walk to Music together.
"So," he said, breaking the awkward silence, "Do you play any instruments?"
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the ground. "Uh... yeah. I play guitar and sing." I bit my lip.
"I play guitar, too!" I could hear the smile in his voice. "I can't sing worth shit, though." He chuckled.
We walked into the classroom, and I was about to sit in the back row, as I did yesterday, when Jack grabbed my forearm and led me over to the desk next to him. He let go and sat down in his seat. I just stood there looking stupid for a second before sitting down next to Jack.
As class started, a few more students scrambled into their seats and acted like they had been there the whole time so they wouldn't be counted tardy. I half-listened as the teacher talked about treble and bass clefs. Since I already knew all of this, I pulled out my songbook and began writing some new lyrics.

I'm looking forward to another day without you
The way I see it you could never do what I do
I welcomed you with open arms
You drove the knife right through my heart
So now I'm crossing out the pain that's been tearing us apart

I continued writing down some lyrics before closing my notebook and resting my cheek in one of my hands.
"Hey," Jack whispered, bumping my arm.
I jolted awake and looked at him with wide eyes. He handed me a stack of papers and I took one and passed it on. I looked at the paper in my hands and started to read over it. It was just a simple worksheet over treble and bass clefs and key signatures. Psh. Middle school stuff. I pulled out a pencil and started answering all of the questions without even having to really think about it. I answered the last question right as the bell rang to go to sixth hour. I stood up and walked up to the teacher's desk and placed my paper down before turning around to head to my next class.
"Mr. Gaskarth," I heard the teacher say behind me.
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to face him. "Y-yeah?"
Mr. Hobbins looked up from my paper to look me in the eye. "Even though you knew everything I taught in today's lesson, I advise you don't fall asleep in my class again. You get points for class participation, and you're missing out on those points if you sleep through class."
I nodded to him. "S-sorry, Sir. It won't happen again."
"It better not," he said, turning to his laptop to, I'm guessing, put in grades for today.
I turned on my heel and continued on to my next class.
As I exited the classroom, I was stopped by the same dickheads that punched me yesterday.
"Hey, British Boy," said the guy in front of the group, "You finish the assignment already? I bet you feel like a fucking smarty-pants, don't you? You probably think you're the shit, because you're oh, so smart." He cracked his knuckled and took a step toward me.
"Hey!" shouted a voice behind me, "Cut it out!"

Notes

Yay for friendship! :)

Comment and let me know what you guys think of this so far. And if you have any ideas, feel free to bring them to my attention! Thanks! :)

-Ryan

P.S.
Thank you guys so much for taking time out of your day to read this. It really means a lot to me. I love you all! :)