Preface

It begins...

The sun was barely piercing the sky as the mustang purred into Cory’s driveway. Cory scrambled for his jacket, but he couldn’t find it. What the heck? he thought, and rushed out the door in his short sleeves. A gust of cold wind hit him. He shivered as he regretted not keeping closer tabs on his outdoor garments. He threw his stuff in the trunk of the car, and rolled into the passenger seat.

He immediately felt better as the warmth from inside the car heated his frozen skin. It was extremely cold for the middle of September. “Ugh, stupid freak weather,” he complained. To his left sat his friend, Jared. “Freak weather?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Freak you. Wear a coat next time.” He winked.

Cory sighed, heavily. Jared was an okay dude, but he always made him jealous. Mostly because he was rich, but partly because of his looks. Jared literally had everything. He got the car. He got the girlfriend. He got the popularity. The spot on the student council. The athleticism. The scholarship. Jared was a star, which made Cory feel super lame. He smoothed down his hair, as the car rumbled down the road. He had to mega-gel it just to keep it from spontaneously erupting into an afro. Jared, of course, didn’t need product in his perfect, chocolate brown mane.

“So,” Jared said. “Are you excited to “meet anyone” at homecoming?” he winked again.

“Any one?” Cory replied, jokingly. “You know there’ll be at least ten hotties swarming me on Friday!”

“Oh ya,” Jared said, grinning. He paused, then continued. “But when are you gonna settle down? You’re a sophomore, dude! It’s way past time to get a serious girlfriend.”

Cory’s heart-rate accelerated. “I’m just reviewing my options,” he said, making an effort to keep eye contact. Jared eyed him, mysteriously. “Well, hurry up.”

They pulled onto the highway. The thermometer on the dashboard read 35 degrees. Really cold, even for Wisconsin. Cory thought about how much cooler he sounded than he really was. He was able to do well in school, mostly because sticking by Jared’s side always gave him an extreme popularity boost, but he didn’t deserve to be popular. He’d done nothing, and yet he acted like he was taking the high road in everything. Honestly, he felt like he was living a lie. “Ellie thinks I should gel my hair back for homecoming. Got any tips for me?” Jared asked, shattering his thought bubble.

“Well,” Cory pursed his lips. “Get an evaporating gel, obviously, and… only use as much as you have to, y’know?”

It was at that moment when they sped into an intersection, and a semi truck, ignoring his red light, plowed through them.

Author's Note

This is just the preface, but do you think it has potential?

Reviews

[Bee]

I'm not completely sure if I'm qualified to review considering how I lack pretty much any qualifications, BUT I do think it has potential, and I like how you have already started to touch on your main character's insecurities.