You can call me Miki.

A Chapter by Relic307

It was a cold September morning when I woke up. It was barely light but some of it was spilling through the blinds onto my floor. I didn't feel like getting up and going through all the trouble of fixing myself for school but it was school so I had an obligation to. My heater was humming in the corner of the room where the walls faded off to darkness. I could feel the September weather from my window while I kept my eyes closed for a few minutes to just savor that sweet sweet sleep. It was really quiet inside and I could hear the soft patter of rain hitting my window. I don't think my parents are awake yet so I got up and opened my door slowly so the creaking wouldn't echo throughout the house. S**t. I forgot my glasses. I went back to my nightstand and got my glasses and put them on. It was much better and I wasn't getting dizzy anymore. I went to the kitchen to fix my breakfast and then take a shower. So while I was doing that, the garbage man was outside taking everyone's trash. It's been like this for the past 7 years and it seems like it won't change much but I don't mind. It was simple and I liked it. It would be nice if something different happened. Something cool like I wasn't just some guy waking up for school in the morning but a Japanese high schooler going to school and meeting cute Japanese girls and having adventures with tits and stuff. But I'm already a senior in my high school so the idea of ever having the satisfaction of living my life out as a Japanese highschooler is something I'm not seeing down the road. One. I'd stick out like a piece of snow since I'm pale. Two. I can't speak Japanese. Three. I don't know actually. I'll think of one later. Anyway I prepared my breakfast. It wasn't too grand and it wasn't too simple. Some soup and some bread. I'm not the type to eat a lot for breakfast not because I want to be skinny and sexy (well I do) but I just don't feel like eating a lot. It's been happening a lot lately. Having apathy towards food? Holy s**t. Has anyone ever heard of such an aspect? So I sat down and started eating. It didn't take me long to finish the food so before I knew it and seriously before I actually knew it, I was already turning the knob to heat on my shower. I went to my room to look out the window while the water was heating and I saw that the sky was gray. Well it was raining so it should be. It wasn't just the sky though. Everything seemed to have a small tinged of gray to them. Trees, gray. Bushes, gray. Truck, gray. Road, gray. It wasn't till I saw my bus did I realize. F**K. I completely forgot about my shower. So I walked back to my shower and stepped in.

It felt nice. I sat down on the shower floor and closed my eyes for a bit and let the millions of drops fall on my head. I have no idea how long I sat there but it wasn't long. I wanted to stay there as long as I needed to and it was just then I heard knocking on the door.

"Hey I just saw the bus drive by. Does that mean you're walking to school?"

"Yea I need the exercise anyway."

"Alright well I'm dropping your sisters off to school alright? Don't be late? Oh and don't forget to leave the key under the mat outside the door for your mother."

"Yea."

"Okay then have fun at school."

"Yea."

Who was that?

It took me a while to realize. Oh yeah.

It was my Dad. I heard the door to the garage close and I was left all by myself in the house again. I couldn't hear anything else after that except for the consistent patter of the shower on my head. I sat there for God knows how long until I finally got up and dried myself off. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought to myself. Jesus, I need make up. I went back to my room and opened my wardrobe. Was there anything here that I haven't worn yet? I shuffled through my clothes and finally took out a t-shirt. It wasn't much. It was green and had blue sleeves. But before that I did the usual teenage grooming stuff. Put on deodorant, mousse my hair, put on cologne, repeat. I put on some jeans and in a few minutes, I was already out the door.

By the time I got out the door, it wasn't raining anymore but the sidewalks were still wet. I got down the stairs and was already out on the sidewalk. The morning weather was cold and the wind was blowing a bit. I looked around and saw that the trees were preparing for Fall. Some lawns even had the leaves on them. Then I realized what I forgot, my f*****g ID. I closed my eyes and thought, am I stupid? No seriously. I'm in an International Program for "advanced" students and everyday I keep forgetting my f*****g ID. Whatever. I looked at my watch and saw that I had time to spare. I ran back to my house and lifted up my mat and took out the key. I opened the door and ran to my room to grab the ID and put it on. Once I was out the door, jesus, it's like a repeat, I breathed in the morning air and saw that it wasn't raining anymore but the sidewalk was still wet. I got down the stairs and was already out on the sidewalk. The morning weather was cold and the wind was blowing a bit. I looked around saw that the trees were preparing for Fall. Some lawns even had the leaves on them. I walked down to the end of the road and turned the corner and soon enough, my house was out of sight. A school bus went by past me and people were walking to wherever they were going. Surprisingly, for a town in the middle of South Carolina, we were pretty diverse. I walked past Indians, koreans, black people, white people, and brown people. I wasn't paying attention much to my surroundings except for those who were walking around me. I walked past stores, the Washington park, some bridge named after some historical figure, and finally I was nearing my school. Then someone tapped my leg.

I looked down. The man didn't say anything. He held up a sign that read "10 year war vet please money?" He was looking up at me. It was like looking back down to a starved animal. I examined him for a few minutes and realized I only had money for lunch and needed to go to school. I shook my head and he held his head down as if he already knew the answer. F**k. It left a pretty bad impression on my stomach. Was he out there in the rain all night?

He sat there for a while and soon enough he was out of sight.

Now. School's not that special. I'm a senior and since its my last year, there really isn't anything new in the school anymore. It was a typical highschool. People, teachers, and rooms everywhere. It wasn't much. Still, I was going to miss this school. As much as I didn't like it, 4 years can dig a pretty good bit in your heart. I walked through the doors and was instantly in the cafeteria. I made it just in time and walked to my class. There wasn't anything special to it. It was AP Calculus. Well when I say it wasn't much, I mean that, I wasn't really paying that much attention. I don't think I have the frequency to think in Mathematical terminology. I was always a history nut. I mean, I did fine in AP Calculus, but I don't think I'll be carrying it outside of highschool. I was dozing off just as everyone else was until the teacher said she had an annoucement.

"Since you guys are seniors now, I hope you've already thought of ideas for your CAS project. As a reminder, it needs to serve as some sort of benefit to an outside party and make sure it shows signs of organization, leadership, and group effort."

She looked at me at the word "leadership". Nothing else new happened after that. AP Calculus went by and soon enough I was in History class. We were in the 1920s and was rolling into the rise of the KKK. There wasn't anything new that I haven't already read in a book or saw in a documentary. Just a bunch of people yelling "n****r" again and again, wasn't different much to nazis yelling "jews". So that class went without much happening.

I walked down the hallway since lunch was already starting. It's kinda sad really. I'm 18 years old right now but I don't have a job nor a car. I had some left over money from my birthday a few weeks ago so I used that to buy myself some lunch but sooner or later I'm going to run out of money. I'm going to have to get a job soon. Once I grabbed a tray and some food, I looked around if there were any free seats that I could sit in. Soon enough I spotted one and went towards it. The table was filled with people but none of them I knew. Where was Naomi? She usually sits around this general area. I looked around to see if there were any girls with black hair around. I mean, its a primarily African American school so most of the black girls here had black hair. But you know what I mean. Naomi was asian. Or really one of the only asians in my school. She was the only one of the girls in my grade that actually took notice of me. Me. That guy who blended in the background. That guy who puts on a mask around other people. That guy who creates someone else so that people don't see who he really is. Naomi was special. I don't know why she went to me out of everyone else in this school. But I'm glad that she did.

After a while, I gave up. I went back to my food and realized that she was already sitting in front of me with a smile.

"You know. You could've just shouted my name. It's not like they'll write you up for looking for someone."

"Were you really just sitting in front of me the whole time?"

"No. Hah. I just pushed some kid off and took his seat."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"Oh you know. Typical angry stuff. Called me a lesbian."

"That's not cool dude."

She laughed at this and told me to f**k off. She then took a piece of my chicken nugget and started chewing it slowly. Quite frankly, it was kinda cute. She then looked at me and smiled.

"So what's your plan this weekend?" She asked.

"Me?"

"No."

"Nothing much. Does staying home and playing League count?"

"No. Are you serious? Do you have a life outside of the computer screen?"

"Do you have a life outside of being a lesbian?"

"F**k you. I'm not a lesbian."

"I mean I can try to do something this weekend."

"Why not just hang out at my place? I'm not doing much either."

"Really? Don't you have like girlfriends to hangsies with?"

" 'Hangsies'? You're going to be a virgin for a long time. I can tell."

"Me? A virgin? I'm not a virgin. Have you seen this goatee I'm swagging out?"

"It's not even where a goatee should be. Are you talking about your peachfuzz?"

"Alright fine I'm a virgin."

"Whatever. Come by my place and chill with me. I have some weed."

"Weed? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Live a little" Her smile got even larger. "Maybe you'll get lucky."

"You know I don't smoke."

"Almost everyone smokes. Where's your dick?"

"Fine. I'll think about it. It's only Thursday."

"Really? You have to think about it? Most kids would jump at the chance for free weed. I'm not even charging you."

"Alright, alright, Jesus."

"Awesome." She looked at me. I'll be honest. I have no idea why out of all the people she could've hung out with, she hung out with me. It was only the two of us. She was pretty. She had jet black hair that fell to her shoulders but sometimes she tied it in a pony tail. Her face always wore a smile and her eyes shone like brown gems everytime she saw something that took her almost child-like interest. She had a way of walking that betrayed years of royalty. Or would've. If she was actually from royalty. She wasn't. It would've been cool though. She had a sort of grace to her movements that reminded me of those gazelles that would kinda prance around. I mean, She did prance around. But it was pretty when she did it. Maybe even prettier than those gazelles in Africa.

You couldn't tell from how she talked just a few minutes ago. But she's really smart. You would've thought that from the way she talked, she's sucked a few greasy guys dicks for money. But really, she's only had sex once. It wasn't something she's talked about. It happened before our freshman year, so I didn't want to ask her about it. But other than that, we were pretty tight. We've taken every class since Freshman year. Its scary how we've been inseparable class-wise. Anyway. I wonder if she was joking about the weed.

"If you're not going to eat your lunch, you might as well give it to me." She eyed me with those brown eyes of hers.

"Fine we'll share. I'm kinda hungry." We ate lunch like that most of the time. It was either her bringing food and sharing with me or it was the other way around. It didn't take us long to finish the food. About 5 minutes max, the tray was empty. Probably shorter. She stood up and stretched her body. I looked up at her but quickly looked away when she stopped. I think she noticed because I saw her smile again.

"Alright. I'm heading to the library to finish some assignments for a class." She picked up her bag.

"I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah. Don't forget. This Saturday we're getting fucked up."

"Yeah? But what about your parents? Aren't they going to get paranoid that you brought me home?"

"Ha. They think you're gay."

"What? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Whatever. I'll see you in Bio." With that she picked up the rest of her stuff and left. She turned around though and looked back.

"Jesus Christ you look pitiful. Do you want to come with me?"

"What? Do I really?"

"Yes. You have like no friends."

"Nah. I think I'll just stay here for now."

"Are you sure? We're already done eating. We can study together or something."

"I'll catch up."

"Alright. I'll be in the library." With that she walked away and turned around a corner and was out of sight. I sat there for a while looking around. The cafeteria was starting to dwindle in some parts since a lot of the people here stayed in groups and usually moved around as such. My table still had people in it. Without Naomi, it didn't take long for me to feel out of place. But it's okay, I was kinda used to it. Though, I stood up and picked up my stuff so I can meet Naomi at the library. We still had at least a solid 10 minutes left of lunch so I had time. I took my tray to the trash can and looked over at the table where Naomi and I sat at. I couldn't tell where I sat anymore from where I stood since someone already filled my spot up. It's like we never even sat there.

I started down the steps and continued into the hallway that led to the library. It wasn't a long walk and I didn't have a huge lunch so I didn't feel too sluggish. I would've. But I didn't cause of Naomi, but whatever. I kept walking and there wasn't a lot of people in the hallway actually. 10 minutes was a long time in school. If I was back home, I wouldn't even have noticed that 10 minutes had passed. So, I got to the library and looked through the window on the door to see if I can spot Naomi. The librarian saw me, frowned, and worded something with her mouth. I'm not good at reading lips so I was forced to open the door.

"You're blocking the door."

"Whoops. Sorry."

"Is Naomi around?"

"Who?"

"Naomi."

"Have you checked the cafeteria?"

"I was just there. She said she was heading over here to study or something."

"Well I'm sorry but I haven't seen Naomi."

"Alright. I'll just wait here then."

"No you won't."

"What? Why? I have like nothing to do."

"You're not loitering here. There's enough people trying to get in here to smoke upstairs. You think I don't know? I can smell it from down here."

"Fine I'll pick out a book."

"Good."

There wasn't anything in the library I felt like reading, but if it kept me from getting kicked out, then I guess I can tolerate it. I went towards one of the bookshelves that had magazines and I turned around to look back at the librarian and saw that she was eyeing me. Pretty hard actually. So that plan is out, I guess I really have to read something. I picked something that was close to what me and Naomi were studying. It was just some magazine about some new biological advancement, which was really far away from what we were actually studying in bio. But whatever, as long as it kept me in the library. I took the magazine back to a table and looked around. Naomi still isn't here. There was only a few people in the library. And I knew absolutely none of them. It's kinda weird. I've been in this school for 4 years, but I never actually took the time to know anyone here. It was just me and Naomi. Did it really matter though? I mean it's highschool. I won't see anybody from this school anytime after graduation. I'll meet other people and start my own life. It'll be like the whole 4 years here would've been for nothing. Socially-wise I mean. Then it dawned on me. What about Naomi? Was she even going to college? And if she did. Where? She had the grades to go almost anywhere. I bet she can even get into an Ivy league school. Will we keep in contact? Will she have another life? I thought about it and I realized. I couldn't see myself without Naomi. We've hung out since 9th grade and I've never actually seen her hang out with anyone other than myself. Was it the same for her?

I looked down and realized I've mindlessly turned the pages to the point where I was just doing the motion of turning the pages. Is Naomi still not here? I looked at my watch and saw that I only had 3 minutes left. Naomi probably wasn't going to show up. It didn't really matter. It's not like I was doing anything in the cafeteria. I stood up and gave the librarian the magazine.

"Are you checking this out?"

"Yeah."

"So did Naomi show up?"

"No."

"She stood you up?"

"What? It's not a date."

"Are you sure you want this magazine? All you did was stare at me the whole time."

"I was? I didn't notice."

"Well. At least you actually did something than going upstairs."

"Why not just install a camera up there if you're so worried about people going up there to smoke?"

"Can't. School's too poor. Here" She handed me the magazine.

"Thanks."

"You better get to class. Biology is pretty far from the library."

"Yea."

Since Naomi didn't show up, she's probably at bio right now. The hallway was starting to fill up with people but I didn't pay much attention to them. I walked past rooms and teachers. I didn't pay much attention to them either. Pretty sure they waved at me while I walked past, so I'm pretty sure I offended them. By accident, of course. I looked at my watch. Holy s**t. I had a minute left.

"Look at that f*g."

I turned around. Naomi was standing on the other end of the hall.

"Thanks. The library was fun" I said back to her. "We're gonna be late." I waited for her to catch up to me, which she did. But she did that thing where she kinda walked with a small prance. How? Her bag weighed like 40-50 pounds.

"Ha. Francis isn't going to write us up. She likes me."

"Yeah. She doesn't like me though."

"I'll just tell her you were helping me at the library. Or how about this, I was helping YOU at the library."

"Where were you?"

"Sorry. I was in the bathroom."

"For that long?"

"I do what I want. And besides, I gotta look pretty for you in the library."

"Seriously. What were you doing?"

"I don't know actually."

"Did you even go to the library?"

"Nope. I went straight to the bathroom."

"Why'd you tell me to go to the library?"

The bell rang. And we were still in the hallway.

"Well you learned something at least right? I know you. You can't go to a library without f*****g checking out a book."

"I swear to God. I'll just go with you next time. 'Or how about this' Not go with you next time."

"You're cute when you're mad."

"Whatever. We're pretty late."

We got to bio 10 seconds late. Or at least I thought it was. Ms. Shannon wasn't too pissed about it, and we got off with a warning. It didn't last long since first thing we did was pass out last week's bio test. When she got to me, she handed me my test.

"Good job. You and Naomi should study together more often."

I looked down and saw that I made a 98. I looked across the class at Naomi and saw that she had her head down. Was she seriously asleep? I needed a reason to get up so I can see what she made. Luckily though, the pencil sharpener was pretty close to her. I took my pencil and walked towards the pencil sharpener. On the way, I glanced at her paper. She made a 100. Wow. F**k her.

Her head slowly went up.

"You know. Instead of being a creeper and walking around pretending to sharpen your pencil. You could've just asked me what I made."

"Shut up. You made a 100. How?"

"I'm smarter than you? What did you make? I bet you failed."

"I made a 98. You loon."

"I swear to God you say some stupid s**t."

"Do you live to hurt my feelings?"

"Yeah I do."

"Well you're a lesbian."

"I'm not a lesbian. You are."

"I'm going back to my seat."

"You dropped your tampon by the way."

I turned around. She was smiling at me. Ms. Shannon was off at the back of the classroom so I turned back around but I stuck my middle finger behind my back so Naomi can see. She flung her hair back and returned back to her sleep. I honestly have no idea how she makes better grades than me. Bio class went without anything happening much.

Though, while I was taking notes, I looked up to see what Naomi was doing. She was talking to some girl with blonde hair. I think her name was Kennedy or something? I don't know. But Naomi saw me, smiled, and waved. Kennedy did too but I didn't pay too much attention to her. I looked back down. Everyone else was taking notes either from their laptops or their notebooks. I had my laptop out but I wasn't really taking notes. I was on 4chan actually. I still paid attention. I looked up and Kennedy was looking back at me. Naomi had her head in her notes. I don't know much about Kennedy but that only she was one of those preppy girls that you'd usually see in like 80s movies or, I guess, even 50s? She wore your typical white girl stuff. Hell. Pretty sure, most of her instagram and facebook pictures were just chubbies, starbucks, and Jesus. She's a pretty insane Christian too. You can kinda tell what a person is like with their social media crap. And with Kennedy, you can really tell what she's like. God. what is the technological world going to? We should be getting virtual gaming, robot girlfriends, or something along those lines. Virtual Gaming Robot Girlfriends. Whatever.

LIke I said, nothing much happened in Bio.

When class ended, I packed up all my things and began to walk towards the door. I think Naomi was waiting for me outside but I wasn't sure. It wasn't until I actually got outside did I see her standing by the wall.

"So Kennedy's your new biffle?" I asked.

"No. She was asking about you actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was like 'Are you guys dating?' I said no."

"What? We're hanging out this weekend. Does that count?"

"HA. No. I don't consider getting high, romantic. So you've finally thought about it?"

"Eh, maybe. Fine. Is that really what she asked?"

"I'll tell you about it later."

"What? Why not now?"

"I don't feel like it. Just show up this Saturday."

"Maybe. This is my first time getting high, so I'm kinda nervous."

"Come on. I'm going to be bored as hell this weekend."

"We can play league. I'll teach you."

"No. What am I? A nerd?"

"It'll be fun."

"No. I don't want to end up a sexless neckbeard."

"One day. One day. I'll get laid so hard, you'd wish you were a guy."

"It's these things you say that makes you such a p***y repellant."

"How many boyfriends have you had?"

"How many boyfriends have YOU had?"

I stayed quiet and looked straight ahead. She looked at me.

"Oh my God."

"No no no no no no no. I just had nothing to say to that."

"You've sucked dick before, haven't you?" She started to giggle.

"Yeah. So much dicks." Did she even notice my sarcasm? Because her smile got larger.

"It's okay. I have a gay uncle. So it's cool."

We were so absorbed in the conversation that we didn't notice that we were in the cafeteria already.

"Whatever. School's over. Wanna get something to eat?" I looked at her.

"Nah. I have to finish some afterschool things."

"Really? Alright. F**k it. I'll just walk home."

"Aw. Don't do that. I'll feel guilty. I mean we're still going to my place this Saturday."

"Fine. I'll see you then?"

"Yeah." We both stopped at the front door of the school. She pushed her hair back and tied it in a pony tail but a few strands seemed to fall down her face. I stood there looking at her fix her hair and I wondered. Was it really the same for her? I wanted to think that, since I couldn't see myself without her.

"Stop staring."

"What?"

"You have that look again. You have it way too much."

"I do?"

"Yes. If you want to see me naked, you can just ask?"

"Really?"

"No."

I opened the door for her but she stood still.

"I told you. I have some things to finish for school."

"I don't know. Can you walk me to the end of the walk way?"

"Who would do things to you? You're like 5 feet tall."

"I'm at least a solid 5'6''."

"Fine. Still a midget."

"You're at least up to my neck Naomi."

"Yeah. But I'm a girl so that argument doesn't count."

"Can you just walk me with me?"

"Fine." She had a small grin though. We walked down the walk way. And by the time we got there, we said our goodbyes and she walked back to the door. I waited for her to be inside before turning around. School gets me way too tired. I never seem to get any homework done properly since I drop down dead when I get to my room. I nap for at least a good 2-3 hours which usually f***s up my sleep schedule, but whatever. As long as I get my work done, I'm cool with it. I started walking down the street and I saw a familiar outline in the distance. I squinted my eyes. Well, I'm asian, so I kinda squinted. It was the same homeless guy this morning. He was just rolling out his bed of newspapers so he can prepare for sleep. I fondled my pockets for my wallet to see if I had any money to give him. I had exactly 25 dollars left. I might as well give him a 10. I walked up to him and he saw me. He gave me a tired smile. Psychic hobo. I handed him the 10.

"I'd give you more but I'm almost out. I'm trying to last the week."

He looked at me and nodded.

"I guess, you're trying to last the month or something."

He turned around to finish rolling out his newspaper mat.

"I'll try to find some spare change when I get home and give it to you tomorrow."

Is this guy mute? This guy has been here ever since I've moved here in Florence. A lot of the people that walk past him ignore him. I don't even know his name, but I try to give him some money when I have some to spare. He knows me though. I hope I make his day tolerable enough to get him through. Anyway. He wears the same things everday. Thick, dark-green jacket, some jeans with some holes at the bottom, and he wore this rice hat. Was I offended? No. I thought it was cool. I actually thought of stealing it when I was younger. Thinking about it, I felt kind of s****y. But I was a kid, so I didn't know better. Anyway, he had a scruffy beard which had some black hair, but it was mostly gray. He wore this black T-shirt that I'm pretty sure used to be another color. But it wasn't the rice hat or the shirt that usually caught my attention, it was the way he looked at me every time I gave him money. He had dark gray eyes that twinkled, and he looked at me like I was some grandchild who finally decided to visit him in his retirement home.

"So. Yeah. I'll come back tomorrow with some money."

He grunted and knelt down and prepared himself for sleep. I stood up and looked down on him. It was kind of pitiful to watch so I turned around and went straight for my house. But before I turned around I heard another grunt. Does this guy speak in grunts or something?

"I'm sorry?"

"You're a good person."

I looked back at him but he was already lying with his back facing me. I didn't want to bother him about it or he'll hobo rage on me. Or at least I think so. I can always just run away. Anyway I turned back around and walked straight to my place. I walked past the same things this morning but in the opposite order. Nothing much happened on the way home and it didn't take me that long to reach my doorstep. The lights were already on inside and I could hear screams on the other side. Everyone was home.

For a small family, it was really really loud in the house. It wasn't just with sounds, but smells can blast straight into your nostrils. I walked in and my Dad turned around. He looked tired.

"Naomi called."

"Really?"

"She was asking if you can come over this Saturday."

"What'd you say?"

"I don't mind. You'll have to ask your Mom. You won't be doing anything you guys might regret right?"

"What do you mean by 'anything'?"

He eyed me with his tired eyes.

"Fine. Fine. Don't worry. We won't. We'll probably just watch a movie or something."

"Make sure you watch the movie then eat. So you won't run out of things to talk about during lunch/dinner."

"Thanks. I'll make sure."

He paused and I can tell he was thinking about asking me a question.

"Have you kissed her yet?"

"Wait what?"

He knew I heard so he didn't repeat it.

"No. I haven't kissed her. We're not dating or anything. I mean she's flirty, but its not like we're actually a thing."

He clicked his tongue as if all the years he's raised me has gone up to nothing.

"What?"

"Just make sure you don't do anything stupid with her."

"Don't worry. I'll just go and say hi to Mom."

"She's in the dining room."

I looked over the couch and saw my sisters watching whatever he was watching. Miranda was 5 and was probably pretending that she understood what she was watching. May was 3 and was just copying Miranda. I went over to the dining room and saw that Mom was deep in her work. She glanced up and smiled.

"So. Naomi. She's a nice girl."

"Are you not going to ask me about school?"

"I don't need to ask. You've been doing fine since you first stepped in kindergarten."

"Well. It went well."

May went up to me and handed me a lolipop. "Have it!" I took it and she went back to the living room. I looked back at Mom but she was already absored in her work.

"What are you doing?"

"Just some accounting. We might get evicted."

"What?" I dropped the lolipop.

"I was kidding. We might go on a trip next year so I want to be financially ready."

"Where to?"

"San Francisco. We're going to see your cousins."

"Really? Sounds fun."

"So. Naomi. She's a nice girl."

"Yeah she wants me to come over Saturday. Is it okay?"

"Are you going to do anything stupid?"

"No."

"Alright. Just be back at a reasonable time."

Awesome. I get to go. I turned around and picked up the lolipop so I can throw it in the trash.

"Miki. I'm serious. Don't do anything stupid. Naomi's a nice girl."

My name isn't Miki. It's just a nickname. My actual name is Michael. Miki's just been around for God knows how long.

"Don't worry."

I went through the kitchen to get my room so I can get some work done. It didn't take me that long. A few exercises for AP Calculus and some spanish practice and before I knew it I was already on the laptop. There wasn't really much on the laptop that I could do that wasn't a game and I didn't really feel like playing League of Legends. 1 game usually took up to at least a solid 40 minutes to an hour. I just wanted to take a break. I opened up a tab to Facebook and saw that I had a message. It was from Kennedy. She changed her profile picture. Was that in her church? I saw that she was on so I'm sure that if I reply, she'd be able to reply soon enough. Her message read:

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"What's up with you and Naomi?"

"What?"

"Like you guys are together all the time and I was wondering if you guys were actually a thing."

"We're not. Why?"

"Do you like her?"

"Yeah. I like her."

"No. I mean do you LIKE LIKE her."

"Yes. I do LIKE LIKE her."

"Really? Does she know?"

"I think so. Probably. Why?"

"I need you to stay away from her."

"What?"

"Please Michael just stay away from her."

She logged off after that. What the hell just happened? I waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to log back on. But she never did. What was she talking about? Was it me or Naomi? Naomi and I have known each other for a while so I didn't think we were hiding anything from each other that could make Kennedy say that. Whatever. It didn't bother me that much. I looked at the clock and saw that it was about to hit 12 so I started preparing myself for sleep. This is how it went. Take off clothes, put on pajamas, brush teeth, wash face, wash feet, and go to bed. After I finished doing the things I needed to do, I went downstairs to get myself a drink. It was quiet in the house and I didn't even notice it in my room. It's like that. My room is separated from everyone else's so I couldn't hear much from my parents and sisters. But I'm used to it. And after that, I went straight to my room and slid myself under the covers. I took my phone and set the alarm to 6:05. 6 hours of sleep. Whatever. As long as I got some sleep, I'm cool with it.

I blinked my eyes open and realized that my phone was vibrating. I opened the phone and saw that Naomi was calling me.

"Dude it's like 3 o'clock" Jesus. My eyes felt really heavy.

"Are you still up for Saturday?"

"No. Is that really why you called me?"

"Nah. Kidding. I talked to your Dad. He said it was cool. Kennedy talked to you yet?"

"You knew?"

"Yeah. She was flirting hardcore during bio. You think she's into me?"

"I'm tired. I don't know. She told me to leave you alone."

"Oooooohhhh. It'd be weird if she was lesbian though. Her parents are crazy bible-thumpers."

"I don't know. I mean if you're into that, sure? Can I sleep? Actually, why aren't you asleep?"

"I didn't feel like sleeping."

"You'll die tomorrow. School's like in four hours."

"I do what I want Miki. Miki? Miki?"

At that point, I've already dug my face into my pillow.

"I swear to God if you fall asleep on me."

"Okay. Okay. Jesus Christ. I'll stay up for a few more minutes. And then I'm going back to sleep.

"She wants to come with us this Saturday," she whispered.

"What? Why? Isn't it just suppose to be the two of us?"

"Yeah. Well she wants to join in."

"What'd you say?"

"I said I'd think about it. I should've been like 'Nah f**k off'"

"Or how about tell her politely that it's only going to be you and me."

"Really? And risk getting stabbed in the name of Jesus?"

"I don't know. Maybe you need a little Jesus in your life."

"Seriously Miki?"

"I just want to go to sleep Naomi. I'm dying here."

"Fine. I'll think about it. Pretty sure she doesn't know what weed is."

"I don't know. She can just google it."

"Whatever. Go back to sleep."

"How about you? Are you seriously going to stay up all night?"

"Yeah? Why not?"

"I don't think that's healthy."

"F**k you, I ain't no b***h."

She hung up after that. I closed my eyes and in a few seconds I fell back to sleep. My eyes hurt too much so I just stayed face down on my pillow. And before I knew it, I could hear my phone playing Adele. When did I even get Adele? Honestly, I could've kept sleeping to her voice, but it's Friday, so I might as well grind through school. I'm going to be blunt with it. I'm really excited for tomorrow. I've never gotten high before and that excitement was enough to get me out of bed. It was then did I could hear soft footsteps coming up the stairs and knocking on my door. Pretty sure it was Miranda, my parents just call me from the bottom of the stairs.

"Can I have milk?" She said from my door. I shook my head awake and dug my face deeper into my pillow. I could hear Miranda tapping on the door and soon enough I felt her trying to pick up my head.

"Milk."

"Alright. Alright. Give me a few seconds."

"No. Milk." She shook my head. I sat up and looked at her.

"Fine. I'll follow you downstairs."

She smiled and ran out. I got up and followed her down. I could hear sounds from the kitchen and when I got there I could smell the rice cooking. Dad was standing in front of the rice cooker and motioned for me to sit on the table. There was already a plate and some food prepared so I didn't have to go through the trouble of fixing the breakfast myself. I looked at him gratefully and he nodded.

"Your school doesn't start in an hour, why are you up so early?" He watched me slowly chew my food.

"I woke up in the middle of the night, so I barely got any sleep."

"Are you going to be okay walking to school? Or are you just going to ride the bus?Honestly I can drive you to school, but where's the achievement in that?"

"I don't know. Both? Maybe? I don't know. I'm tired." Did I even answer his question?

"Well you can come to the sink and splash yourself with cold water. Maybe it'll help you enjoy my food better."

I stood up with a spoon still in my mouth and walked towards the sink. I reached for the handle. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't there.

"Handle's on the left."

"Alright."

Still nothing.

"Your left."

"What?"

"Your LEFT."

I went to the left and still didn't feel anything.

"There's nothing there."

"Sorry. My left."

This probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't set my alarm an hour early before I actually was suppose to wake up. F*****g Naomi. I opened my eyes and saw the handle, turned it, and the cold water blasted through my hands. At least it felt like it, it was probably barely on, but I'm sensitive during the mornings. I didn't know how long I stood there with my eyes closed but my Dad finished cooking and told me he was going to wake up May for school. Miranda sat at the table looking at me, waiting for the milk. I walked over to the fridge to take it out for her.

"Hurry!"

"Can you not? It's really early."

"HURRY."

"You know what? I'll just pour myself a glass."

"Fine."

She got up and climbed on the shelves to get herself the cup. She took one that had her name on it and went over to the milk to pour herself some glass. For a five year old, she knew what to do, which honestly made me happy. Less work for me. I looked over to my food and thought to myself. I should really heat that up. Since Fall was nearing, it was starting to take a while for the sun to become a big part of the mornings, so it was still pretty dark, with the sky being a bit more dark blue, than its usual light blue. It was enough to finally tell me that summer was finally over. Jesus I have a whole year of this s**t left. I shook my head to get me back into the real world and realized that Miranda was finally gone. I can finally eat without any "GLUBGLUBGLUB" in front of me. Just like yesterday morning, it didn't take me long to get prepared for school, and by the time I finished my breakfast, I can already see the bus outside waiting for me. Why does the driver even bother? I haven't ridden the bus since I was 10. At most, the only person she'll be picking up will be Miranda, but my Dad is still dropping them off, so that won't be for a while. I went to turn the knob in my shower and started the usual routine of fixing myself up to look the least bit presentable during school. While the shower was running, I packed up my stuff and got my clothes out. Did I already mention I wasn't a picky dresser? Because I'm not. I took out a shirt that Naomi got me for my birthday a few weeks ago. I don't think she knew how hard my pants blew up when I opened her gift. It was a black T-shirt but it had one of my favorite bands on it. The Shins. Jesus I almost cried at that gift. I introduced her to The Shins and she said that she thought about keeping the shirt, but since not a lot of people came to my party, she felt bad and gave it to me. She said it was small but just enough for me. Yeah, I know. It was out of pity. But come on, its The Shins. Who wouldn't s**t their breeches from that band? I told her after the party before she went home that it was on my bucket list to at least go to one Shins concert before they broke up. Maybe that should be my birthday gift to her, two tickets for The Shins, and we can go. I came back down to Earth when I realized I had the shower running and its already been 7 minutes. I took off my clothes and sat down at the bottom of the shower floor. I didn't even feel sleepy anymore so I could afford to close my eyes to relax. I don't have to tire myself by having to use an extra sense such as looking around my shower. I've been doing so every morning for the past 7 years, so one morning wouldn't hurt. Everything was dark. All I could hear was the patter of the shower. And then there was a knock on the door.

"Don't forget. Leave the key under the mat."

"Yea."

"Alright. Be safe then."

"Yea."

A few minutes after putting on shampoo, soaping myself, and washing it all off, I turned the shower off and got out. I still had time to spare so I did the usual stuff of grooming myself. I need to buy some stronger mousse, my bowl cut was showing by the end of the day yesterday. Anyway, by the time I dressed up, it was already bright outside and I can hear cars driving past my place. I went over to my night stand and took the things I needed for the day: my phone, wallet, my ID (Ha I didn't forget), and the key to the house. And soon enough, I was already outside locking my door. I took the usual route and when I got to the hobo guy, he wasn't there. Strange. He's usually out here. I looked in the alley he usually stayed in if it was raining. Not there also. What I did notice though, was that there were some wrappers for McDonalds on the floor. I hope that was his. I waited a few minutes and finally decided that he probably wasn't there. So I kept walking. I walked past the typical places and soon enough I was already at school. To my surprise, I saw Naomi outside the door. When she saw me, a huge grin lighted her face.

"You f*****g kidding me dude?" She pointed at her shirt and she pointed at mine.

"Wow. What a coincidence." Honestly, I couldn't keep myself from grinning. She had a Shins shirt too.

"S**t. It's iike f*****g twin day or something."

"Yeah." We stood there grinning at each other till we realized we needed to get inside. Since we were early, there wasn't a lot of people in the cafeteria, so we just stood around. We didn't say anything to each other for a while but I could tell she was enjoying herself. Pretty sure Naomi's the only girl in the world that can enjoy just standing around. She looked at my shirt and looked at hers.

"We're doing this s**t when we go to that concert."

"You remember what I told you?"

"Yeah? It was only like a few weeks ago. It's not like I have Alzheimer's or anything."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning too so we just stood there and looked at people. It took a while for the cafeteria to start filling up with people and we had to move constantly because we were in turfs that belonged to other groups. Naomi and I didn't belong in any groups. She hates it and I have no social skills. So it worked really well together. We just drifted around from one place to another so we were kind of that cool hipster lone wolf kids that didn't give a s**t. Well we did. But no one else did, so we just stuck with each other. I remember the first day we met in 9th grade.

It was a huge cafeteria and on the ceilings were flags from all over the world. From Israel to Mongolia to France to like all the African countries to the US, I mean it was a huge collection of flags. Anyway I stood there by myself looking around, watching everyone reunite with their friends from Middle school. I didn't have anyone to reunite with so I just stood there. It all seemed to happen in slow motion too. Every smile, laughter, hug, scream, tears, handshake, and fist bump seemed to be captured in that slow moving movie, and it seemed like no one noticed that I was left out of it all. I was just that kid. It didn't take long for me to start blending in the background, becoming just some face on the wall that had no significance in the world, and this happened for almost a week. A few days later though, I was sitting in the cafeteria with my laptop out when some guy pushes the laptop screen down on my fingers. I was more annoyed than hurt actually. It just seemed unnecessary so I didn't make a big fuss over it. I didn't see the guy but I did see Naomi watching me from across the cafeteria. She was sitting with the party kids. You know? The ones who did all the drugs and went to all the parties and had all the sex? That group. And she had the most bored expression on her face. She was watching the whole thing. I tried to look away but she kinda just invited herself to my little circle.

"Wow. You took that like a b***h."

I looked at her and kinda nodded. Kinda tucked my tail between my legs.

"Are you going to take that?"

"No? I didn't see the guy anyway."

She pointed him out.

"So are you going to take it?"

F**k. The guy was buff. He was 6 feet tall. At least I think he was, I was sitting down, so he might've been a bit shorter. You can tell he hits the gym a lot and that he had the capacity to turn me into an 8 year old girl. Anyway, I wasn't big enough to deal with him and I'm a pacifist. She saw me look at him and gave me another grin.

"You gotta deal with that guy."

"What? No."

"He'll just make you his b***h. Trust me."

"I can just ignore him or something. I don't know. I'll do something."

"Or how about this. You go up to him. Kiss him on the cheek and hand him your dick."

"Can I just eat? I'm kinda hungry."

"No. You gotta deal with this guy or you'll never live it down."

"What do you mean I'll never live it down?"

"Trust me. He'll make you twerk on him."

"I'm sorry? Do I know you?"

Throughout the whole conversation, her face was slightly tensed, but when i asked who she was, her face kinda softened.

"Naomi. You can call me Naomi."