Younger Years

My childhood sucked. I was always overlooked by my dad and second best to my older brother, Garret. We were forced to share a room while my baby sister, Layla, screamed her face off in the room that was supposed to be mine. At school I was the loser kid. I never had friends and to all the teachers I was known as, “Garret’s brother”. I was sick of always being a shadow; passed by as though I was no better than dirt. The older boys that rode my bus aways beat me up and ruined my homework.

My dad and mom went on a vacation one time and left Garret in charge. He was helping me with my math when he stopped and asked why I smelled like rotten fruit. I was surprised that he would even have cared.

“The older boys on the bus filled my backpack with rotten fruit and then stomped on it.”

Garret looked at me in shock. “Why do you let them do that to you? Stand up for yourself.” He was trying to encourage me. Little did he know, I had tried it before. I ended up with a massive wedgie and a black eye. No one in the family had even noticed it.

“I’m just a loser, they would never listen to me.”

Garret looked me over quickly and said, “Well, I’ll just have to take care of them then.” He smiled at me. He kept his word though, and for the rest of my childhood, he rode the bus to school with me everyday. At least my problems were solved for the time being.

*~:~*

My freshman year of high school started no different from grade school. The bullies had started leaving me alone, turning their attention to the pretty girls. Mostly just the ones who had blossomed early. I kept my focus on my studies and even had picked up guitar playing. I really enjoyed it, even if my fingers did hurt afterwards. I tried to use a pick, but it just wasn’t the same.

I mostly played songs that I had heard on the radio. I made a few attempts at writing my own songs, but I found it hard to get inspiration from my dull life.

Halfway through the year, a new family moved to town. They had three kids. Connie and Harvey were twins, they were in my grade. Ashley was the youngest and was starting junior high.

Connie was absolutely stunning; I was immediately smitten by her beauty. She was the new top choice for the boys in my class, so I knew a shallow guy like me would never have any chance with her. Harvey was always by her side, anyways; keeping an eye out for potential problems.

Connie seemed to ignore all the advances made by the guys in school. One day, when I was sitting alone at lunch (like usual), she came over with her tray and sat beside me.

“You don’t want to sit here.” I started to tell her why, but she laughed at me. “Really, I’m a loser, no one sits by me. You’ll ruin your reputation just by talking to me.”

“I’m not worried. I used to be the outcast at my old school. Reputation means nothing to me.”

I looked at her in disbelief, there was no way she was being serious. “You don’t have to sit here and make fun of me. Whoever put you up to this has had their laugh. You can go now.”

She looked hurt. “No one told me to come over here. But if you don’t want a friend, then I’ll just leave you be.” She stood up and went off to sit with her brother.

I had messed up.

I decided to follow her home and apologize. I watched her disappear inside, then I approached the front door, and was hit with a wave of anxiety. My hands shook, I had never talked to a girl outside of school before. Strangely, I decided it was best to watch her through the window for a bit. Why that seemed like the better choice, I will never know.

Sure, watching her do her homework through the window seemed borderline stalker. I convinced myself it was ok, though, since I wasn’t watching her undress or anything like that. I just watched as she tapped her pencil eraser on her blank notebook paper.

After a few minutes, I felt a lot better. It took all my courage to knock on the door. I heard a shuffle, and Harvey appeared before me. “Can I help you?”

I looked down at my shoes, why was he so intimidating? I stammered out that I was there to talk to Connie.

He laughed at me, “How about no?” He wastarted to shut the door in my face.

Connie heard what was going on and ran over to Harvey. She told him it was ok, that I was her friend. I smiled, my lips were weak and trembling. He glared at her and let me in. He didn’t leave the room, but he did go sit on the couch.

I looked at her pathetically. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t know you were being serious. No one ever talks to me. They all just laugh because I’m a loser. I just mess up all the time.”

She accepted my apology. After our awkward start, we started to hanging out all the time. It wasn’t long before we were best friends. Sometimes we would sit out on her porch and tell secrets.

Sometimes when I went to her house, I would still get really nervous. The only thing that calmed me down was to watch her through the window.

Don’t forget to read Part Two!!

Or skip to Chapter Two: New Life.