Yoshimitsu
Former Moderator
Wooo, another fic. Let's see how long I stick with this one.
Okay, few things to clear up. One, this is set in the later years of high school. It doesn't have a set location, and it combines aspects of both UK and American high schools. It's a HSM-Inspired fic, but it's not a HSM Fanfic.
Each chapter focuses on a certain character, and I'll be revolving through each character accordingly.
Chapter 1 - Cody
Cody was, he figured, the weirdo of his year. He had a few reasons to believe it, too. For one, despite being male, he spent most of his time in the theatre at school, or in the dance studios. Another reason, he wasn't the most popular person ever - most of his friends were in the musical groups, or else other drama geeks. There was a mild dislike of him among the dancers in his year, since he was easily the best dancer and he outdid them all. There was also the fact that his fashion sense wasn't the typical t-shirt and jeans combo that most other boys wore. He liked wearing tighter fitting clothes, or sometimes fancier clothes, just because they looked good on him. And he knew how to accessorise. He was the subject of a few mild crushes.
His looks certainly didn't hurt that case. While not mind-blowingly gorgeous, he had a certain appeal to him. The way his light brown hair fell messily to his blue eyes. His slightly longer face with a pointed, yet subtle chin. His lithe body, slightly toned from years of dancing.
Currently, he was sat on a swing at the local park. It was only a short distance from his house, maybe a ten minute walk if he was walking slowly. He was making no attempt to actually swing, just sit there, moving very slightly. Resting his head on the chain, he glanced at his watch, checking the time. Still early. Sometimes he hated coming to the park on his own. It got him thinking. He didn't like thinking that much. There would always be some worry in his head, maybe about a dance exam, or about his social standing, sometimes one of his few friends would be having some kind of emotional turmoil that he had to figure out how to help with.
Today, though, he was avoiding. It was the first day back at school after summer. He had already gone in to get his mark for the morning, but after glancing at his timetable, he was skiving off his first lesson. Maths. He didn't understand the subject at all, but the school refused to let him drop it. So instead, he just didn't turn up to lessons, and when his exam came he figured trying his best might work. Sighing, he patted his pockets, checking to make sure he had everything. Mobile phone, iPod, car keys, wallet.
Cody was about to stand up when his phone started buzzing at him. Waiting briefly to count how many buzzes, he pulled it out of his pocket. Phone call. The display read Rachael. Bracing himself for the worst, he answered the call.
"Hello?" He said tentatively, expecting a tirade. Maybe an angry rant. Or some screaming.
"Code? Where are you?" Rachael's voice came. It had a bite of impatience to it.
"At the park. Why?" Cody replied, rubbing his temples with his free hand.
"Because, if you have a free period you're supposed to be in the library or the common room," Rachael said slowly. Cody smiled a little, in spite of himself.
"Yeah, but I don't have a free," he replied.
"Skiving?"
"Yeah."
"Maths?"
"Yeah."
"You're gonna get caught for that at some point."
"I told you already," Cody sighed. "They're not gonna do anything about it because I'm shite at it."
"If you say so." Cody could imagine Rachael rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I have a free, so can we go get some food or something?"
"Where?"
"I dunno. What about- oh, hold on." Cody heard rustling from the other end of the line, and Rachael's muffled voice. A teacher must have walked in. Cody grinned to himself. The school still had a no-mobile-phone policy. Some more rustling, then Rachel's voice again. "Never mind, Mr Darby's just been in to tell us to check the bulletin boards at break, and that we-" Cody noticed Rachael included him. "-need to start thinking up what to do for the play this year."
"I dunno, as long as it involves dancing, I don't mind," Cody said. Rachael was better at thinking of what plays to do.
"Y'know, maybe you should get involved in the decision making for once, Code," Rachael's insisted. Cody didn't miss the impatience in her voice. "You're the one that wants to be a dancer when you leave school, not me."
"I know, Rach, you wanna be a singer so you need a singing role and all that jazz."
"Damn straight. Unlike you."
"Hey, watch it," Cody scolded jokingly. "Anyone interesting in your free?"
"Not really. That Danny guy, y'know, the science one."
"Yeah."
"Some of the jock gang are around. Pete, Jake and... oh, Damien."
"Damien?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Who else?"
"Er..." There was a pause. Cody could imagine Rachael looking around the room. "Some of the music group are here. I don't know, why don't you come look? And don't think I missed that."
"Missed what?"
"You mentioning Damien," Rachael said. Cody could almost hear her all-knowing voice, even though she clearly didn't know.
"I did not. That was you," Cody protested.
"You showed interest."
"No, I showed surprise. I thought he'd be off trying to perfect some stupid sport move or something."
"Admit it, you like him."
"Do not. I don't do sporty guys. Too many muscles."
"Too much information, Code."
"Not like that," Cody sighed, rubbing his temples again. "And fine, I'll head into school to talk about the play. Be there in five."
"What about food?"
"Wait 'til dinner. It wont kill you. See you soon," Cody said, hanging up. It was still only twenty minutes into the lesson, and school was only a two minute drive away. Instead of heading straight back to school, he went in the other direction to the nearest coffee house. If he didn't get Rachael something, he would have to put up with her complaining until dinner time. It wasn't that he couldn't stand her complaining, it was just that when she started, she tended to never stop. And because he was such a good best friend, he always looked out for her. No one else should be subjected to twenty full minutes about why History lessons are such a waste of time.
Cody liked Rachael. Not in a romantic way, their relationship was purely platonic. But Rachael was the only person who really listened to him. She was one of the only people to know he was gay. A lot of people suspected, of course, but she was the only person who actually knew. That had its downsides, though. Every time he mentioned a boy more than once, she automatically assumed that he fancied them. More often than not, that was not the case, and he was probably talking about the stupid t-shirt someone was wearing. At the moment, she thought he had a crush on Damien, which simply was not the case. Sure, he had aesthetical appreciation of Damien, but that was about it. He barely knew Damien, and had no intention of going out of his way to change that. Sporty people, as he said, were not his thing.
Ten minutes later, he pulled up in the school car park, parking his car next to Rachael's hot pink... thing. Cody had no issues with the colour pink, but looking at Rachael's car made him seriously reconsider that. It was nice and all... But seriously, hot pink? Cody thought to himself as he pushed open the double doors and wandered to the common room. He knew Rachael would either be there or in the theatre, and since there was no reason for them to be in the theatre at the moment, it was a no-brainer. He pushed open the door and slipped inside silently. Rachael was... actually doing work? No way. Never thought I'd see that.
As quietly as he could, he crept around the outside of the room, making 'shushing' gestures at anyone who looked at him, wondering what he was doing. Rachael, still completely oblivious, didn't look up at all. As he crept closer, ready to jump and shout 'boo'...
"I know you're there, Cody," Rachael stated. Cody frowned.
"How could you tell?" Cody enquired. "I thought I was perfect."
"Cody, hun, you're the only person who knows to get me a mocha and a chocolate muffin," Rachael commented simply. "I could smell them when you first walked in."
"Tch. Fine then," Cody said, defeated. He put the mocha and the muffin down in front of her and dropped into the adjacent seat. "So, whatcha working on?"
"Stuff for the play," Rachael replied. "Just some criteria for what we need to include."
"What have you got so far?"
"Well, dancing, obviously. And singing, so I'm thinking Musical. Plenty of ensemble work, so we can include a bunch of people. I've been looking at different music for musicals and stuff, for something that the band will be able to play," Rachael listed. "A lot of musicals are pretty good as far as music goes. Nothing too difficult, but good enough so that they can show their stuff."
"Okay, so far so good. Just, promise me no Phantom of the Opera or Les Mis."
"I know you hate those, so they didn't even cross my mind."
"And you know what's gonna happen at auditions, right?" Cody asked, just in case Rachael had forgotten.
"Don't remind me. Diamond."
"Yep."
"I don't get it. Why the hell is she still the highest person in the drama club, apart from Miss Griffiths?"
"Because she can act, sing and dance. And she's damn good at them too," Cody stated, ignoring the death glare he received from Rachael.
"Cody, are you really gonna sit there and-"
"No, I'm not gonna sit here and defend her. I hate her. She's a total bitch," Cody said quickly, because Rachael looked like she was still fuming about Diamond. "I know she is. But you can't ignore the fact that she's so full of her self because she has a reason to. She's attractive if you like the whole, fake blond, tits and arse deal, she's confident-"
"More like arrogant."
"-and she's suited for theatre. I'm sorry, Rach, but it's true."
"I know, I know... I just wish Griffiths wouldn't pick her for everything."
"I know, Rach. I can't stand it either," Cody agreed, his eyes flicking to the door as it opened. Sure enough, none other than Diamond herself walked into the room, her stilletos tapping against the floor with every step. After quickly glancing around the room, she walked straight over to Cody and Rachael, a look of annoyance on her face.
"Griffiths says you two are in charge of the play this year-" Diamond started, glancing around her as though she was afraid to be seen with Cody and Rachael. Cody could understand why she wouldn't want to be seen with him, but why not Rachael? She was a hell of a lot more popular than Cody was, and she was consistently nice, even if she was a bit difficult sometimes.
"Yeah, we heard," Rachael said shortly.
"-so I'm telling you now, if you cock this up and turn it into a farce, so help me God I will find a way to make both of your lives a living hell," she finished, as though there had been no interuption.
"Can it, Diamond," Rachael snapped back. "Griffiths put us in charge, so we'll run it how we want to."
"I'm the president of the drama club, and if I want you two kicked out, then all it takes is a quick flash of cash and a few words," Diamond retorted. "Do not mess it up." And with that, she turned, flipping her long, dyed hair behind her and left the room.
"Don't start, Rachael," Cody yawned. This was going to be one hell of a day.
*****
In third period, Cody was sat in his usual seat in his English class. Nearly in the exact middle of the class, sharing a desk with someone he didn't really know. A guy called Chris, who didn't talk much in English. Sighing, Cody prepared himself for a dull lesson. It wasn't a huge class, there were twelve of them, but at least three people had taken the class as a joke subject, just because they needed to fill up space on their timetables. Damien and Diamond had both taken the subject, Rachael hadn't, and some of the other drama geeks had taken it in hopes of improving their understanding of certain set texts.
"And so, here we are at the start of a new term, a new year," the teacher, Mr Morris, said with surprising enthusiasm. Cody almost admired Mr Morris. He somehow always seemed to have endless enthusiasm for his subject, even when they were studying the most depressing texts known to man. "I hope you're all ready for another fun and exciting year!"
"What's exciting about reading a bunch of stories?" Damien replied, a slight edge to his voice, as he swept a few strands of his blond hair from his face.
"Damien, not everyone took this class to piss about," Cody retorted. Damien turned to shoot a glare at Cody, who merely shrugged at him, arms crossed.
"Cody, watch your language. Damien, if you don't have anything constructive to say, please don't say anything at all. As I was saying, your set text with me this year will be the Kite Runner. I have already sent an order form off for a copy each for everyone. Of course, these copies wont be free, and letters will be sent home soon to inform your parents."
Cody shifted himself in his seat so he was sat lower, resting his hands on the desk in front of him. The Kite Runner, he mused. I think I've read that one. Which means the theme of the books'll probably be rape, betreyal or friendship. He let his gaze wander around the class to see who was paying attention. Predictably, some people weren't even trying to keep track, instead doodling idly on their paper. Diamond was examining her perfectly manicured nails again. Damien was slouching a bit, kind of scribbling down some notes. On the other side of the room, the drama inclined were taking notes frantically, catching every single one of Mr Morris' words. Next to him, Chris was jotting down something that Cody wasn't entirely sure was related to what Morris was saying.
"Now, to start the new year, and the topic of the Kite Runner, I want you to work in pairs and come up with a spider diagram of what the book might be about. Obviously, those of you who have read the book will have an advantage, but try not to give much away to those who haven't. You'll be working with the person sitting next to you. Start whenever you're ready."
Cody sighed again.
"Something wrong?" Chris asked him.
"No, but I've read the book and I know exactly what happens," Cody replied, shrugging. "Some kid gets raped and the main character spends the rest of the book in emotional turmoil about it. Gets beaten up too."
"Yeah, I know. I've read it too," Chris agreed, shaking his head slightly to get rid of some of his black hair from his face. "Once he said Kite Runner, I switched off."
"So what've you been doing while he's been talking?" Cody asked, interested.
"Just writing," Chris said dismissively.
"Writing what? Can I have a look?" Cody enquired. Cody did get interested when it seemed like someone had something to hide. Chris hesitated.
"Just some lyrics. It's nothing great," Chris answered.
"Can I see?" Chris hesitated again, then pushed his notepad over to Cody, who looked down.
"And you raise my heart, higher than the moon," he muttered, reading the lyrics. "Please don't bring it back, not now, it's too soon... this is pretty good."
"It's nothing special," Chris said, pulling his notepad back. "Just something I've been thinking up all morning."
"It's good. Do you write songs, then?"
"Sometimes."
"why don't you join any of the music clubs? Do you play any instruments?"
"A few. Piano mostly, sometimes guitar. And me, in a music club?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Because I've heard the musicians in this school. They're really good."
"So?"
"So? I can't compare to them."
"Bet you can."
It was at that moment when Mr Morris reached them. Cody and Chris had been completely oblivious to him patrolling the classroom until he was stood directly in front of them, looking down to see what they had done.
"Where's your work, boys?" He asked.
"Sir," Cody replied. "The Kite Runner's about some selfish kid who spends the entire book moaning about how he's such a jerk for leaving his best friend to suffer. Then he gets beaten up and his best friend's son has to save him."
"And sir," Chris said, continuing from what Cody had said. "The themes of the book are all about friendship, betreyal, redemption and loyalty. It's told in the first person from Amir's perspective, apart from one chapter when it's Rahim Khan."
Mr Morris looked at the boys, apparently torn between disciplining them for being so cheeky, or praising them for knowing what they were talking about.
"Well, write something down so you have something to show for it," he said, settling on a nice mid-point between the two before moving on to the next pair. Cody grinned.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem," Chris replied.
The rest of the lesson went similarly. Some of the replies about the title had been amusing, including Diamond's "Someone who has horrible hands from too much kite flying" and some jock's "Someone who made a kite with legs". Chris, it turned out, was a very likeable person. After much pleading from Cody, he finally agreed to let the dramatist read a few of his other songs, and received a fair bit of praise about them, too. These are really good. If we'd had this guy in the drama club a few years ago, we'd be doing our own musicals, not ones already made, Cody mused as he read through a song Chris had written when he was, he said, hyper on sugar. However, despite his best efforts, Cody still hadn't managed to convince Chris to join any clubs, and definitely not the drama club. When the bell went, Cody was almost disappointed.
"Just remember, the drama club's waiting for you," Cody said, grinning and swinging his bag over his shoulder. Chris just rolled his eyes, and Cody left the room, heading for dinner.
Cody usually left school for dinner, like any student could, so he was actually looking for Rachael instead of heading for the lunch rooms. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he punched in a quick text message ('rach, meet u outside theatre?'). As soon as he got his reply ('sure'), he changed direction, heading to meet Rachael instead. He couldn't wait to tell her about Chris and his amazing song-writing abilities. If he could get Rachael on board, then she would be able to figure something out to convince him into the drama club. He wheeled round the corner, and found Rachael waiting for him.
"Took your time, Cody," Rachael said, smirking.
"The traffic was busy, you wouldn't believe it," Cody replied, taking her comment in his stride. Comments were nothing new to him.
"So, where to for dinner?" Rachael asked, gesturing to the main doors.
"Eh, the usual café?" Cody replied. "But anyway, that's not important."
"Food's not important? Since when?"
"Well, I guess it is, but that's not the point."
"But it's dinner, food's always the point."
"Rachael! Stop contradicting me for a second!" Cody said, maybe a bit louder than he intended. Rachael smirked as she opened the passenger door of Cody's car.
"Alright, alright, what's got you so excited? Did Damien ask you out?"
"No, I told you, I'm not interested in him. He's a jerk with too many muscles," Cody replied, starting up the engine and reversing.
"Then what?"
"This guy, Chris in my English class-"
"Did he ask you out?" Rachael interrupted.
"No. Why are you so interested in my love life? I think Chris is straight, for one," Cody replied, sounding almost exasperated.
"It's good gossip."
"Right. Anyway, stop derailing me."
"Sorry, carry on," Rachael said, grinning.
"Right, so Chris. I was talking to him in English, 'cause we'd been paired up to do some shitty thing on the Kite Runner, and it turns out he writes songs," Cody explained excitedly.
"What, like something with no measure and a rhyme every line?" Rachael asked, skeptically.
"No, like really good songs. He wrote one when he was high on candy, and it was chatting on about kittens and Hitler and the Spanish inquisition and all sorts of random stuff that wasn't connected," Cody continued. "And it worked, because it was just so random. Seriously, Rachael, he's really good."
"Okay, so, why are you telling me all this?" Rachael asked, still not quite seeing why she should care.
"Because, if we can get him to join the drama club, we might be able to write our own musicals instead of doing ones we have to research," Cody explained, driving round a corner and keeping an eye out for the sign for the car park.
"Oh, is that all? So when's he joining?"
"That's the thing, he doesn't think he's good enough," Cody said, turning the corner on to the car park. "He's adamant that he'll get laughed out of any club he joins."
"Oh, so he has self-esteem issues," Rachael concluded, opening her door and sliding out of the car.
"Pretty much," Cody agreed, stepping out of his car and locking the door. The pair of them went quiet for a moment, thinking about how to get Chris to join the drama club as they entered the café.
As the dinner break progressed, they discussed different plans that might work. As Cody expected, Rachael had some very good ideas about how to convince Chris. Some of them were a bit farfetched ('I know, what about leaving a bunch of riddles he has to solve until he finds his way into the drama club!' 'How would that help?' 'We could tie him up once he gets there and make him join?') but on the whole, she gave Cody a few ideas to work with. The drive back to the school was quiet, but thoughtful as Cody started to consider new plans regarding Chris. There had to be some way to get him to join.
*****
Cody found himself in his fifth period class. He had a free period four, so he went to the common room and started some work on the play. Rachael was in her History class, despite much moaning about it. Now, in his Psychology class, he was sat near the back of the room. Psychology was one of the more popular subjects, with seventeen people in this class, and four other classes in the year. Unfortunately for Cody, he had the class with the snobby people, a few jocks, Damien and Damien's best friend, Mickey. Just his luck. Thankfully, he had found a desk to himself, just an empty space to his right.
"Now, class," the teacher, Miss Barnes, said with her whip-like voice. "You're entering the most difficult year of education, at least as far as Psychology goes. Be aware that if I feel you are not taking the subject seriously, or you're not capable of keeping up with the work, I will have you removed. I expect nothing but hard work from you students. I expect top grades. I expect you, Damien, not to mess about when I am talking."
Damien looked up sheepishly, dropping the pencil that he had been using in a pencil fight against Mickey. Cody shot Damien a filthy look, but the blonde boy didn't see it.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Miss Barnes said, shooting a death glare at Damien. "This year will not be easy. The first term, we will be studying stress and memory. The stress course has a certain degree of biology in it, so any students also studying biology will be at an advantage. Memory is a shorter course compared to stress, so we will be starting with that - and for God's sake Damien, I told you to stop messing about."
Damien didn't even try to look innocent. He put his ruler back in his pencil case and crossed his arms.
"Damien, clearly sitting next to Mickey will do you no good. Gather your belongings and move to sit next to Cody," Miss Barnes said. Cody was surprised Damien didn't have cuts on him. Miss Barnes was using what Cody had dubbed her 'pissed off' voice. Grumbling, Damien put all of his stationary and folder into his back and stomped to Cody's desk, dumping his bag on the floor and dropping into his seat.
"Serves you right," Cody muttered out of the corner of his mouth, eyes still on Miss Barnes.
"What was that?" Damien growled back.
"I said, it serves you right," Cody replied, keeping his voice quiet. "Why did you even take this subject?"
"Because I like psychology? Duh," Damien muttered.
"Coulda fooled me. You spend all of your time fucking around with Mickey."
"Would you rather I fucked around with you?" Damien muttered, grinning.
"Sorry, I've got standards," Cody shot back. Damien looked shocked for a minute, then laughed.
"Nice one, theatre kid," he replied, no trace of sarcasm or malice in his voice. Cody spared a glance at Damien, who was grinning. Now he was confused. Damien, the jock, the guy who wouldn't be caught dead associating with a dramatist, the guy who spent more time in school messing around, just laughed at something he had said? Cody kept his eyes on Miss Barnes, trying to take in what she was saying. It half worked. One part of his brain was too preoccupied with Damien to focus, though.
"Now, I want you to work in pairs and look at page three of your booklets. Read through, then discuss the questions."
Cody sighed. What was with teachers this term and working in pairs? Silently, he opened his booklet and started reading through the information. Someone who had taken a nasty fall and banged his head. Woke up with no memory. A few details about how the brain worked, at least as far as memory went.
"So, what, we're analyzing someone who was stupid enough to bang his head?" Damien asked. Cody just rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was a joke. Chill."
"He banged his head and it damaged the part of his brain that controls memory. What more is there to it than that?" Cody asked, more to himself than Damien, as he scanned the questions. "What? List ten things I wouldn't do if I had amnesia?"
"I think it means ten things you normally do," Damien supplied.
"Right. Well, I wouldn't know who the hell it was shouting me out of bed," Cody said.
"I wouldn't know how to make toast," Damien commented.
"Or coffee," Cody replied.
"Or why the hell some jocky kid is banging on the door for me."
"Or what a Jock was in the first place."
"Or what the hell I'm supposed to be doing with some weird bouncing ball," Damien said, nodding.
"Speaking of weird, this is weird," Cody commented.
"What is?" Damien asked, frowning.
"This. Why are we talking?" Cody enquired.
"Because we have to?" Damien answered slowly. "Why? D'you not like me or something?"
"Damien, I spend half of my time shouting at you for being a prat in lessons," Cody replied. Damien just shrugged. "Why would you think I liked you?"
"Because I'm me?" Damien suggested. "I'm popular. That's not meant to sound bigheaded, but it's true. People like me. Why should I assume someone doesn't?"
"Because not everyone does like you," Cody answered. "You didn't clock on anywhere that, apart from having a go, I've never said anything to you before?"
"I dunno. I don't stop to think about stuff like that," Damien said, shrugging. "Seriously dude, chill. I think you're taking the warring cliques a bit too far." Cody just snorted. "Theatre kid, I don't mean to act like a jerk."
"Sure. You do a good job of it," Cody replied.
"Can't you ease up, just a bit? I'm sat here permanently, we may as well try to get along," Damien said, sighing. Cody considered it for a moment.
"Fine. But I'd better get some goddamn roses or an award or something for this," Cody said, writing down a couple of notes. They fell into a somewhat awkward silence while they answered the questions.
*****
The front door clicked shut, and Cody kicked off his shoes, stowing them under the stairs. Finally, home sweet home. All things considered, it hadn't been too bad a first day back. It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad either. Sure, Chris had been a surprise, and kind-of making peace with Damien was borderline shocking. Maybe, just maybe, this school year would be just about bearable.
Okay, few things to clear up. One, this is set in the later years of high school. It doesn't have a set location, and it combines aspects of both UK and American high schools. It's a HSM-Inspired fic, but it's not a HSM Fanfic.
Each chapter focuses on a certain character, and I'll be revolving through each character accordingly.
Chapter 1 - Cody
Cody was, he figured, the weirdo of his year. He had a few reasons to believe it, too. For one, despite being male, he spent most of his time in the theatre at school, or in the dance studios. Another reason, he wasn't the most popular person ever - most of his friends were in the musical groups, or else other drama geeks. There was a mild dislike of him among the dancers in his year, since he was easily the best dancer and he outdid them all. There was also the fact that his fashion sense wasn't the typical t-shirt and jeans combo that most other boys wore. He liked wearing tighter fitting clothes, or sometimes fancier clothes, just because they looked good on him. And he knew how to accessorise. He was the subject of a few mild crushes.
His looks certainly didn't hurt that case. While not mind-blowingly gorgeous, he had a certain appeal to him. The way his light brown hair fell messily to his blue eyes. His slightly longer face with a pointed, yet subtle chin. His lithe body, slightly toned from years of dancing.
Currently, he was sat on a swing at the local park. It was only a short distance from his house, maybe a ten minute walk if he was walking slowly. He was making no attempt to actually swing, just sit there, moving very slightly. Resting his head on the chain, he glanced at his watch, checking the time. Still early. Sometimes he hated coming to the park on his own. It got him thinking. He didn't like thinking that much. There would always be some worry in his head, maybe about a dance exam, or about his social standing, sometimes one of his few friends would be having some kind of emotional turmoil that he had to figure out how to help with.
Today, though, he was avoiding. It was the first day back at school after summer. He had already gone in to get his mark for the morning, but after glancing at his timetable, he was skiving off his first lesson. Maths. He didn't understand the subject at all, but the school refused to let him drop it. So instead, he just didn't turn up to lessons, and when his exam came he figured trying his best might work. Sighing, he patted his pockets, checking to make sure he had everything. Mobile phone, iPod, car keys, wallet.
Cody was about to stand up when his phone started buzzing at him. Waiting briefly to count how many buzzes, he pulled it out of his pocket. Phone call. The display read Rachael. Bracing himself for the worst, he answered the call.
"Hello?" He said tentatively, expecting a tirade. Maybe an angry rant. Or some screaming.
"Code? Where are you?" Rachael's voice came. It had a bite of impatience to it.
"At the park. Why?" Cody replied, rubbing his temples with his free hand.
"Because, if you have a free period you're supposed to be in the library or the common room," Rachael said slowly. Cody smiled a little, in spite of himself.
"Yeah, but I don't have a free," he replied.
"Skiving?"
"Yeah."
"Maths?"
"Yeah."
"You're gonna get caught for that at some point."
"I told you already," Cody sighed. "They're not gonna do anything about it because I'm shite at it."
"If you say so." Cody could imagine Rachael rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I have a free, so can we go get some food or something?"
"Where?"
"I dunno. What about- oh, hold on." Cody heard rustling from the other end of the line, and Rachael's muffled voice. A teacher must have walked in. Cody grinned to himself. The school still had a no-mobile-phone policy. Some more rustling, then Rachel's voice again. "Never mind, Mr Darby's just been in to tell us to check the bulletin boards at break, and that we-" Cody noticed Rachael included him. "-need to start thinking up what to do for the play this year."
"I dunno, as long as it involves dancing, I don't mind," Cody said. Rachael was better at thinking of what plays to do.
"Y'know, maybe you should get involved in the decision making for once, Code," Rachael's insisted. Cody didn't miss the impatience in her voice. "You're the one that wants to be a dancer when you leave school, not me."
"I know, Rach, you wanna be a singer so you need a singing role and all that jazz."
"Damn straight. Unlike you."
"Hey, watch it," Cody scolded jokingly. "Anyone interesting in your free?"
"Not really. That Danny guy, y'know, the science one."
"Yeah."
"Some of the jock gang are around. Pete, Jake and... oh, Damien."
"Damien?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Who else?"
"Er..." There was a pause. Cody could imagine Rachael looking around the room. "Some of the music group are here. I don't know, why don't you come look? And don't think I missed that."
"Missed what?"
"You mentioning Damien," Rachael said. Cody could almost hear her all-knowing voice, even though she clearly didn't know.
"I did not. That was you," Cody protested.
"You showed interest."
"No, I showed surprise. I thought he'd be off trying to perfect some stupid sport move or something."
"Admit it, you like him."
"Do not. I don't do sporty guys. Too many muscles."
"Too much information, Code."
"Not like that," Cody sighed, rubbing his temples again. "And fine, I'll head into school to talk about the play. Be there in five."
"What about food?"
"Wait 'til dinner. It wont kill you. See you soon," Cody said, hanging up. It was still only twenty minutes into the lesson, and school was only a two minute drive away. Instead of heading straight back to school, he went in the other direction to the nearest coffee house. If he didn't get Rachael something, he would have to put up with her complaining until dinner time. It wasn't that he couldn't stand her complaining, it was just that when she started, she tended to never stop. And because he was such a good best friend, he always looked out for her. No one else should be subjected to twenty full minutes about why History lessons are such a waste of time.
Cody liked Rachael. Not in a romantic way, their relationship was purely platonic. But Rachael was the only person who really listened to him. She was one of the only people to know he was gay. A lot of people suspected, of course, but she was the only person who actually knew. That had its downsides, though. Every time he mentioned a boy more than once, she automatically assumed that he fancied them. More often than not, that was not the case, and he was probably talking about the stupid t-shirt someone was wearing. At the moment, she thought he had a crush on Damien, which simply was not the case. Sure, he had aesthetical appreciation of Damien, but that was about it. He barely knew Damien, and had no intention of going out of his way to change that. Sporty people, as he said, were not his thing.
Ten minutes later, he pulled up in the school car park, parking his car next to Rachael's hot pink... thing. Cody had no issues with the colour pink, but looking at Rachael's car made him seriously reconsider that. It was nice and all... But seriously, hot pink? Cody thought to himself as he pushed open the double doors and wandered to the common room. He knew Rachael would either be there or in the theatre, and since there was no reason for them to be in the theatre at the moment, it was a no-brainer. He pushed open the door and slipped inside silently. Rachael was... actually doing work? No way. Never thought I'd see that.
As quietly as he could, he crept around the outside of the room, making 'shushing' gestures at anyone who looked at him, wondering what he was doing. Rachael, still completely oblivious, didn't look up at all. As he crept closer, ready to jump and shout 'boo'...
"I know you're there, Cody," Rachael stated. Cody frowned.
"How could you tell?" Cody enquired. "I thought I was perfect."
"Cody, hun, you're the only person who knows to get me a mocha and a chocolate muffin," Rachael commented simply. "I could smell them when you first walked in."
"Tch. Fine then," Cody said, defeated. He put the mocha and the muffin down in front of her and dropped into the adjacent seat. "So, whatcha working on?"
"Stuff for the play," Rachael replied. "Just some criteria for what we need to include."
"What have you got so far?"
"Well, dancing, obviously. And singing, so I'm thinking Musical. Plenty of ensemble work, so we can include a bunch of people. I've been looking at different music for musicals and stuff, for something that the band will be able to play," Rachael listed. "A lot of musicals are pretty good as far as music goes. Nothing too difficult, but good enough so that they can show their stuff."
"Okay, so far so good. Just, promise me no Phantom of the Opera or Les Mis."
"I know you hate those, so they didn't even cross my mind."
"And you know what's gonna happen at auditions, right?" Cody asked, just in case Rachael had forgotten.
"Don't remind me. Diamond."
"Yep."
"I don't get it. Why the hell is she still the highest person in the drama club, apart from Miss Griffiths?"
"Because she can act, sing and dance. And she's damn good at them too," Cody stated, ignoring the death glare he received from Rachael.
"Cody, are you really gonna sit there and-"
"No, I'm not gonna sit here and defend her. I hate her. She's a total bitch," Cody said quickly, because Rachael looked like she was still fuming about Diamond. "I know she is. But you can't ignore the fact that she's so full of her self because she has a reason to. She's attractive if you like the whole, fake blond, tits and arse deal, she's confident-"
"More like arrogant."
"-and she's suited for theatre. I'm sorry, Rach, but it's true."
"I know, I know... I just wish Griffiths wouldn't pick her for everything."
"I know, Rach. I can't stand it either," Cody agreed, his eyes flicking to the door as it opened. Sure enough, none other than Diamond herself walked into the room, her stilletos tapping against the floor with every step. After quickly glancing around the room, she walked straight over to Cody and Rachael, a look of annoyance on her face.
"Griffiths says you two are in charge of the play this year-" Diamond started, glancing around her as though she was afraid to be seen with Cody and Rachael. Cody could understand why she wouldn't want to be seen with him, but why not Rachael? She was a hell of a lot more popular than Cody was, and she was consistently nice, even if she was a bit difficult sometimes.
"Yeah, we heard," Rachael said shortly.
"-so I'm telling you now, if you cock this up and turn it into a farce, so help me God I will find a way to make both of your lives a living hell," she finished, as though there had been no interuption.
"Can it, Diamond," Rachael snapped back. "Griffiths put us in charge, so we'll run it how we want to."
"I'm the president of the drama club, and if I want you two kicked out, then all it takes is a quick flash of cash and a few words," Diamond retorted. "Do not mess it up." And with that, she turned, flipping her long, dyed hair behind her and left the room.
"Don't start, Rachael," Cody yawned. This was going to be one hell of a day.
*****
In third period, Cody was sat in his usual seat in his English class. Nearly in the exact middle of the class, sharing a desk with someone he didn't really know. A guy called Chris, who didn't talk much in English. Sighing, Cody prepared himself for a dull lesson. It wasn't a huge class, there were twelve of them, but at least three people had taken the class as a joke subject, just because they needed to fill up space on their timetables. Damien and Diamond had both taken the subject, Rachael hadn't, and some of the other drama geeks had taken it in hopes of improving their understanding of certain set texts.
"And so, here we are at the start of a new term, a new year," the teacher, Mr Morris, said with surprising enthusiasm. Cody almost admired Mr Morris. He somehow always seemed to have endless enthusiasm for his subject, even when they were studying the most depressing texts known to man. "I hope you're all ready for another fun and exciting year!"
"What's exciting about reading a bunch of stories?" Damien replied, a slight edge to his voice, as he swept a few strands of his blond hair from his face.
"Damien, not everyone took this class to piss about," Cody retorted. Damien turned to shoot a glare at Cody, who merely shrugged at him, arms crossed.
"Cody, watch your language. Damien, if you don't have anything constructive to say, please don't say anything at all. As I was saying, your set text with me this year will be the Kite Runner. I have already sent an order form off for a copy each for everyone. Of course, these copies wont be free, and letters will be sent home soon to inform your parents."
Cody shifted himself in his seat so he was sat lower, resting his hands on the desk in front of him. The Kite Runner, he mused. I think I've read that one. Which means the theme of the books'll probably be rape, betreyal or friendship. He let his gaze wander around the class to see who was paying attention. Predictably, some people weren't even trying to keep track, instead doodling idly on their paper. Diamond was examining her perfectly manicured nails again. Damien was slouching a bit, kind of scribbling down some notes. On the other side of the room, the drama inclined were taking notes frantically, catching every single one of Mr Morris' words. Next to him, Chris was jotting down something that Cody wasn't entirely sure was related to what Morris was saying.
"Now, to start the new year, and the topic of the Kite Runner, I want you to work in pairs and come up with a spider diagram of what the book might be about. Obviously, those of you who have read the book will have an advantage, but try not to give much away to those who haven't. You'll be working with the person sitting next to you. Start whenever you're ready."
Cody sighed again.
"Something wrong?" Chris asked him.
"No, but I've read the book and I know exactly what happens," Cody replied, shrugging. "Some kid gets raped and the main character spends the rest of the book in emotional turmoil about it. Gets beaten up too."
"Yeah, I know. I've read it too," Chris agreed, shaking his head slightly to get rid of some of his black hair from his face. "Once he said Kite Runner, I switched off."
"So what've you been doing while he's been talking?" Cody asked, interested.
"Just writing," Chris said dismissively.
"Writing what? Can I have a look?" Cody enquired. Cody did get interested when it seemed like someone had something to hide. Chris hesitated.
"Just some lyrics. It's nothing great," Chris answered.
"Can I see?" Chris hesitated again, then pushed his notepad over to Cody, who looked down.
"And you raise my heart, higher than the moon," he muttered, reading the lyrics. "Please don't bring it back, not now, it's too soon... this is pretty good."
"It's nothing special," Chris said, pulling his notepad back. "Just something I've been thinking up all morning."
"It's good. Do you write songs, then?"
"Sometimes."
"why don't you join any of the music clubs? Do you play any instruments?"
"A few. Piano mostly, sometimes guitar. And me, in a music club?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Because I've heard the musicians in this school. They're really good."
"So?"
"So? I can't compare to them."
"Bet you can."
It was at that moment when Mr Morris reached them. Cody and Chris had been completely oblivious to him patrolling the classroom until he was stood directly in front of them, looking down to see what they had done.
"Where's your work, boys?" He asked.
"Sir," Cody replied. "The Kite Runner's about some selfish kid who spends the entire book moaning about how he's such a jerk for leaving his best friend to suffer. Then he gets beaten up and his best friend's son has to save him."
"And sir," Chris said, continuing from what Cody had said. "The themes of the book are all about friendship, betreyal, redemption and loyalty. It's told in the first person from Amir's perspective, apart from one chapter when it's Rahim Khan."
Mr Morris looked at the boys, apparently torn between disciplining them for being so cheeky, or praising them for knowing what they were talking about.
"Well, write something down so you have something to show for it," he said, settling on a nice mid-point between the two before moving on to the next pair. Cody grinned.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem," Chris replied.
The rest of the lesson went similarly. Some of the replies about the title had been amusing, including Diamond's "Someone who has horrible hands from too much kite flying" and some jock's "Someone who made a kite with legs". Chris, it turned out, was a very likeable person. After much pleading from Cody, he finally agreed to let the dramatist read a few of his other songs, and received a fair bit of praise about them, too. These are really good. If we'd had this guy in the drama club a few years ago, we'd be doing our own musicals, not ones already made, Cody mused as he read through a song Chris had written when he was, he said, hyper on sugar. However, despite his best efforts, Cody still hadn't managed to convince Chris to join any clubs, and definitely not the drama club. When the bell went, Cody was almost disappointed.
"Just remember, the drama club's waiting for you," Cody said, grinning and swinging his bag over his shoulder. Chris just rolled his eyes, and Cody left the room, heading for dinner.
Cody usually left school for dinner, like any student could, so he was actually looking for Rachael instead of heading for the lunch rooms. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he punched in a quick text message ('rach, meet u outside theatre?'). As soon as he got his reply ('sure'), he changed direction, heading to meet Rachael instead. He couldn't wait to tell her about Chris and his amazing song-writing abilities. If he could get Rachael on board, then she would be able to figure something out to convince him into the drama club. He wheeled round the corner, and found Rachael waiting for him.
"Took your time, Cody," Rachael said, smirking.
"The traffic was busy, you wouldn't believe it," Cody replied, taking her comment in his stride. Comments were nothing new to him.
"So, where to for dinner?" Rachael asked, gesturing to the main doors.
"Eh, the usual café?" Cody replied. "But anyway, that's not important."
"Food's not important? Since when?"
"Well, I guess it is, but that's not the point."
"But it's dinner, food's always the point."
"Rachael! Stop contradicting me for a second!" Cody said, maybe a bit louder than he intended. Rachael smirked as she opened the passenger door of Cody's car.
"Alright, alright, what's got you so excited? Did Damien ask you out?"
"No, I told you, I'm not interested in him. He's a jerk with too many muscles," Cody replied, starting up the engine and reversing.
"Then what?"
"This guy, Chris in my English class-"
"Did he ask you out?" Rachael interrupted.
"No. Why are you so interested in my love life? I think Chris is straight, for one," Cody replied, sounding almost exasperated.
"It's good gossip."
"Right. Anyway, stop derailing me."
"Sorry, carry on," Rachael said, grinning.
"Right, so Chris. I was talking to him in English, 'cause we'd been paired up to do some shitty thing on the Kite Runner, and it turns out he writes songs," Cody explained excitedly.
"What, like something with no measure and a rhyme every line?" Rachael asked, skeptically.
"No, like really good songs. He wrote one when he was high on candy, and it was chatting on about kittens and Hitler and the Spanish inquisition and all sorts of random stuff that wasn't connected," Cody continued. "And it worked, because it was just so random. Seriously, Rachael, he's really good."
"Okay, so, why are you telling me all this?" Rachael asked, still not quite seeing why she should care.
"Because, if we can get him to join the drama club, we might be able to write our own musicals instead of doing ones we have to research," Cody explained, driving round a corner and keeping an eye out for the sign for the car park.
"Oh, is that all? So when's he joining?"
"That's the thing, he doesn't think he's good enough," Cody said, turning the corner on to the car park. "He's adamant that he'll get laughed out of any club he joins."
"Oh, so he has self-esteem issues," Rachael concluded, opening her door and sliding out of the car.
"Pretty much," Cody agreed, stepping out of his car and locking the door. The pair of them went quiet for a moment, thinking about how to get Chris to join the drama club as they entered the café.
As the dinner break progressed, they discussed different plans that might work. As Cody expected, Rachael had some very good ideas about how to convince Chris. Some of them were a bit farfetched ('I know, what about leaving a bunch of riddles he has to solve until he finds his way into the drama club!' 'How would that help?' 'We could tie him up once he gets there and make him join?') but on the whole, she gave Cody a few ideas to work with. The drive back to the school was quiet, but thoughtful as Cody started to consider new plans regarding Chris. There had to be some way to get him to join.
*****
Cody found himself in his fifth period class. He had a free period four, so he went to the common room and started some work on the play. Rachael was in her History class, despite much moaning about it. Now, in his Psychology class, he was sat near the back of the room. Psychology was one of the more popular subjects, with seventeen people in this class, and four other classes in the year. Unfortunately for Cody, he had the class with the snobby people, a few jocks, Damien and Damien's best friend, Mickey. Just his luck. Thankfully, he had found a desk to himself, just an empty space to his right.
"Now, class," the teacher, Miss Barnes, said with her whip-like voice. "You're entering the most difficult year of education, at least as far as Psychology goes. Be aware that if I feel you are not taking the subject seriously, or you're not capable of keeping up with the work, I will have you removed. I expect nothing but hard work from you students. I expect top grades. I expect you, Damien, not to mess about when I am talking."
Damien looked up sheepishly, dropping the pencil that he had been using in a pencil fight against Mickey. Cody shot Damien a filthy look, but the blonde boy didn't see it.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Miss Barnes said, shooting a death glare at Damien. "This year will not be easy. The first term, we will be studying stress and memory. The stress course has a certain degree of biology in it, so any students also studying biology will be at an advantage. Memory is a shorter course compared to stress, so we will be starting with that - and for God's sake Damien, I told you to stop messing about."
Damien didn't even try to look innocent. He put his ruler back in his pencil case and crossed his arms.
"Damien, clearly sitting next to Mickey will do you no good. Gather your belongings and move to sit next to Cody," Miss Barnes said. Cody was surprised Damien didn't have cuts on him. Miss Barnes was using what Cody had dubbed her 'pissed off' voice. Grumbling, Damien put all of his stationary and folder into his back and stomped to Cody's desk, dumping his bag on the floor and dropping into his seat.
"Serves you right," Cody muttered out of the corner of his mouth, eyes still on Miss Barnes.
"What was that?" Damien growled back.
"I said, it serves you right," Cody replied, keeping his voice quiet. "Why did you even take this subject?"
"Because I like psychology? Duh," Damien muttered.
"Coulda fooled me. You spend all of your time fucking around with Mickey."
"Would you rather I fucked around with you?" Damien muttered, grinning.
"Sorry, I've got standards," Cody shot back. Damien looked shocked for a minute, then laughed.
"Nice one, theatre kid," he replied, no trace of sarcasm or malice in his voice. Cody spared a glance at Damien, who was grinning. Now he was confused. Damien, the jock, the guy who wouldn't be caught dead associating with a dramatist, the guy who spent more time in school messing around, just laughed at something he had said? Cody kept his eyes on Miss Barnes, trying to take in what she was saying. It half worked. One part of his brain was too preoccupied with Damien to focus, though.
"Now, I want you to work in pairs and look at page three of your booklets. Read through, then discuss the questions."
Cody sighed. What was with teachers this term and working in pairs? Silently, he opened his booklet and started reading through the information. Someone who had taken a nasty fall and banged his head. Woke up with no memory. A few details about how the brain worked, at least as far as memory went.
"So, what, we're analyzing someone who was stupid enough to bang his head?" Damien asked. Cody just rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was a joke. Chill."
"He banged his head and it damaged the part of his brain that controls memory. What more is there to it than that?" Cody asked, more to himself than Damien, as he scanned the questions. "What? List ten things I wouldn't do if I had amnesia?"
"I think it means ten things you normally do," Damien supplied.
"Right. Well, I wouldn't know who the hell it was shouting me out of bed," Cody said.
"I wouldn't know how to make toast," Damien commented.
"Or coffee," Cody replied.
"Or why the hell some jocky kid is banging on the door for me."
"Or what a Jock was in the first place."
"Or what the hell I'm supposed to be doing with some weird bouncing ball," Damien said, nodding.
"Speaking of weird, this is weird," Cody commented.
"What is?" Damien asked, frowning.
"This. Why are we talking?" Cody enquired.
"Because we have to?" Damien answered slowly. "Why? D'you not like me or something?"
"Damien, I spend half of my time shouting at you for being a prat in lessons," Cody replied. Damien just shrugged. "Why would you think I liked you?"
"Because I'm me?" Damien suggested. "I'm popular. That's not meant to sound bigheaded, but it's true. People like me. Why should I assume someone doesn't?"
"Because not everyone does like you," Cody answered. "You didn't clock on anywhere that, apart from having a go, I've never said anything to you before?"
"I dunno. I don't stop to think about stuff like that," Damien said, shrugging. "Seriously dude, chill. I think you're taking the warring cliques a bit too far." Cody just snorted. "Theatre kid, I don't mean to act like a jerk."
"Sure. You do a good job of it," Cody replied.
"Can't you ease up, just a bit? I'm sat here permanently, we may as well try to get along," Damien said, sighing. Cody considered it for a moment.
"Fine. But I'd better get some goddamn roses or an award or something for this," Cody said, writing down a couple of notes. They fell into a somewhat awkward silence while they answered the questions.
*****
The front door clicked shut, and Cody kicked off his shoes, stowing them under the stairs. Finally, home sweet home. All things considered, it hadn't been too bad a first day back. It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad either. Sure, Chris had been a surprise, and kind-of making peace with Damien was borderline shocking. Maybe, just maybe, this school year would be just about bearable.
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This story is getting really intense