A+day's+change

I woke to the radio alarm, which played the newest song by Akon, although it sounded exactly the same as the last. I’d never liked mainstream music, or mainstream radio channels for that matter. All the songs were too similar and had the same beat structure. Loud bass and fake, computerised instruments which echoed on repeat throughout the song. The window was open and it bought in a cold drift or moist air. My uniform was ironed and my new shoes that mum bought me were already untied, with a pair of socks that lay next to them, ready to put on. I hoped the boys would like them. They were meant to be from the newest range; well that’s what the guy said at the counter.

“Beno”, Mat shouted as I trod onto the bus. The boys saved me a spot on the back seat. “How’s in goin bro?” said Tim. “You go to the beach on the weekend man?” asked Nate. “Nah” I said. “Was too busy doing other shit,” I claimed. Even though I wasn’t. The bus hit the side of the curb and pulled into the schools drop off area. I could see all the girls sitting on the lush grass. I could picture them talking about us because I noticed they all looked at us, as if we were the top dogs. “See that Coops, Misha was totally scoping me out, haha.” “Oh piss off jack; she’s always checking me out.” “How would you know cooper, you’d be to busy fussing about your hair to notice”, said matt, jabbing cooper in the arm. The boys all laughed as we got off the bus.

I pulled my books out of my locker for the first period, science. “Oi cooper what do we have second period?” “I dunno man, me and mat are waggin anyway, come with.” “Yeah alright.” I said sceptically. Once science finished I made my way against the crowd and took the path to the basketball courts. I could only just see them behind the gym, through the thick grey air. “Oh there you are Ben, thought you’d wimped out.” “Haha as if I would you wanker.” I replied to mat. “Here have one of these”, said cooper. “Nah man I don’t smoke.” “Don’t be such a girl” said matt laughing. I took it off cooper and took a drag. It was disgusting. “Mmm, that’s good”, I said handing it back to cooper. “I know aye, stole em off my dad.”

We made back across the oval, towards our lockers. Billy was sitting on the cricket pitch eating his recess. “I saw what you were doing,” he said. “Oh did ya,” said mat. “We don’t care. Haha.” “W, w, well you wi, wil when I tell the teachers.” Said billy looking proud of him self. “You tell the teachers and we will kick the hell out of you.” Matt growls. “No you wouldn’t,” mumbles billy as we walk off, thinking that we couldn’t hear him. Mat turns around. “What did you say fag?” “What. Nothing, I didn’t say anything.” Billy says without confidence. “Yes you did mate, I bloody heard you.” Mat says grasping billy by the collar. Mat holds billy within his tight grip, and strikes him with a left hook, connecting with his eye socket. It sounds like someone drove over a tennis ball. I grab Mat and throw him on the flour. He falls to the ground like a bag of concrete. “Piss of Mat, he didn’t do anything.” I say. “What the hell Beno. You know what, screw you. You gonna protect him huh?” “No, he just didn’t deserve to be beaten.” “Oh doesn’t he? Well I don’t think you deserve to be one of us. One of the boy’s.” Mat and Cooper walk off. I stand on the flat moisture absorbed oval, staring at their now silhouette figures in the musky mist of the sky. Billy lays flat on his stomach; his face sits in the moist sand, as if it’s a mould. I had thoughts pumping through my body, like they were aggravated bees. Billy sat up and looked at me. Nor he or I said a word. We just stared at each other, not willing to strike up a conversation. He was hurt. He had a large gash under his eye, which bled like saliva out of a baby’s mouth. He had a bruise on his cheek, as if someone had smeared a mulberry over his cheek. I felt sorry for him.

We walked back to our classes. I hat woodwork; he told me he had electronics. We started talking. It surprised me that I knew so little about him and his friends, as I had been to self obsessed to take the time to find out about people other than my self, and my group. Although I didn’t know about him or his friends, he new all about me and my mates, but it wasn’t the good things. All he knew was that we were violent. We cared too much about what we looked like. We didn’t care about school. We drank and smoked and cared too much about what others though. We took too much time looking at our self in the mirror. He knew all the things that we didn’t want anyone to no.

“I need to go to the office.” Billy said. “Yeah I think you should, that gash looks pretty bad.” Billy just looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but his mouth was sown together. “Well I might see you around.” I said awkwardly. “Yeah, yeah that would be good.” He said turning his back, grinning.