The day started out with me smoothy giving a rose to Janie Hampton. She gazed up at me with her sparkling blue eyes and smiled.

“What’s this for?” The blonde questioned, fluttering her lashes.

I gave my best smoulder and shrugged.

“Just a beautiful rose for a beautiful girl,” I replied, my voice ringing out much deeper than normal for some reason.

“Oh Harrison!” She exclaimed and leaned in, lips puckered.

I closed my eyes and leaned in in return.

To my surprise, instead feeling the sensation of a kiss, I clearly felt something lick me.

Flashing my eyes open in surprise, I found that in the place of the gorgeous student body president, I was about to smooch my bulldog Grouch.

“Get off!” I groaned, pushing the canine off of my chest as he continued to lick me.

“So it was all a dream,” I thought to myself in embarrassment as I climbed out of the bed. I should have known from the moment Janie even remembered my name. Such an idea was too far-fetched to be reality in the first place.

Grouch growled, then sneezed before finally waddling out of the room. The bulldog had been apart of our family for nearly eight years now, and didn’t really live up to his name. Apparently when they first got the dog it had done nothing but bark and try to bite my father, who had not so fondly named Grouch. That trait along with the drooping jowls did make the bulldog seem like it was unhappy.

Pulling open the blinds I squinted as light seeped in. The sky seemed unusually blue for October and the autumn leaves barely rustled with wind. It was still too cold for snow, but things had been pretty cold and grey lately.

“Hurry up Harrison! We’re going to be late!” My sister Starr shouted from the kitchen downstairs.

I glanced over at my alarm clock reading 7:45.

“Crap. I must have forgotten to set it.”

Pulling on a random T-shirt and jeans I rushed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

“I’m leaving without you if you’re not down here in 20 seconds!” Starr’s voice rang out again.

“Coming!” I replied, racing down the stairs.

Grabbing my backpack I passed by my awaiting sister and out the front door.

“You look like a fashion nightmare Harrison,” Starr said as I passed, raising an eyebrow and adjusting her grey beanie.

Looking down, I finally noticed the outfit I had picked out. The jeans were apparently a few inches too small, rising far enough above my ankle to be noticable. The grey t-shirt was also on backwards, leaving the print of an octopi (made by several pi signs placed side by side) on the back. The shirt had been a gift from a math competition my best friend Freddy and I had attended in 8th grade. Starr hated when I wore the shirt, ordinarily rolling her eyes and muttering something along the lines of “it’s like you’re begging to get picked on”.

“I don’t have time to change,” I replied, twisting the shirt around so it faced forward, and heading out to the old blue car Starr drove. “Plus, I don’t know that you are one to talk.”

Starr spared a glance at her grey shoes and black leggings, paired with a black twenty one pilots shirt and grey beanie. Her shoulder length dark brown hair hair stuck out at weird angles from underneath the hat. Such was pretty much the same outfit she wore daily. No matter how many times my mother requested Starr lose the beanie, or curl her hair, or maybe try something colorful for once, each time my sister merely gave a distracted nod and ignored her suggestions.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” She questioned, starting the car, which gave its usual dying animal sputter before kicking into life.

“You look like you were hit by a Hot Topic train,” I replied, chuckling.

Starr gave a huff of disapproval at my comment, but didn’t argue. Both of us knew half her clothes were from the infamous emo joint.

As we rounded the street corner I leaned forward.

“Don’t forget to pick up Freddy.”

Starr groaned, “Can’t he just walk or something?” She questioned.

I gave her a look and she sighed. Part of the deal of Mom and Dad helping Starr buy the car had been that she also drive Freddy and I to and from school. Lately she had perhaps started to regret the deal.

“Well aren’t you looking lovely today Starr,” Freddy commented smoothly as he opened the car door. “Do I detect that your eyeliner is even darker than usual?”

Reading my sister’s face she was ready to either punch him or cry in despair. Thanks to the chauffeur deal, every morning at our household was started with Freddy attempting to woo my sister. He had been trying to do so since the second grade, and so far hadn’t had much luck. That didn’t stop him though.

“Just get in Freddy,” she sighed, turning the radio on and cranking it loudly.

“Hey Harrison,” my friend finally said, closing the door behind him.

I rolled my eyes. “You always manage to greet your unrequited lover before your best friend, don’t you.”

“Priorities my man, priorities,” he replied, perfectly serious. Then, he laughed looking at my shirt.

“I thought you had burned that thing or something.”

“I was in a hurry and it was just what I grabbed,” I replied, adjusting my jacket so the shirt was more covered.

“Hey, I’ve always thought the octopi thing was pretty clever,” Freddy snickered.

“Just because you are a nerd doesn’t mean you have to dress like one,” Starr added for good measure.

“You are quite right my shooting Starr,” Freddy commented.

“Give it a rest Freddy.”

*****************

Upon arriving at the school, my sister was about ready to throw Freddy out of the car from the amount of pick up lines he had tried out on her. Before speed walking in the opposite direction to meet up with her friends though, Starr handed me a faded notebook.

“Page 18-- you have a modern lit test today remember? Test questions are highlighted in yellow.”

I grinned, rubbing my neck. “Thanks,” I replied, taking the notebook. “Ya know… you aren’t so bad after all sometimes Starr.”

She punched me lightly. “We can’t have you tarnishing the Clark name by failing English, now can we?”

“Right, of course not. After all, you have a reputation to keep up.”

Starr gave a small amused smile and waved before running off to catch up with a friend.

“Did the queen of darkness really just smile? What a beautiful sight to behold!” Freddy sighed, watching her run off.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Freddy by the backpack strap. “C’mon Romeo.”

Upon entering the front doors, Emily fell into step besides us.

“Please tell me you studied for that modern lit test...” she questioned in exasperation, adjusting her glasses. Between Starr, Emily, and my own mom, it was like I had three obnoxious hovering mothers in my life. Emily and I had become friends last year when we spent a day in detention for photoshopping a picture of our principal and Computer Ed teacher on two sumo wrestlers for our technology group project. Apparently said image was “disrespectful, and not school appropriate”.

“Starr gave me her notes,” I replied.

The dark haired girl sighed. “It’s a good thing your sister doesn’t hate you, or you would be completely and utterly screwed.”

“It’s a good thing she doesn’t hate me either-”

“Yes she does Freddy,” Emily interrupted.

“Hate is a strong word, don’t you think?”

“Strongly dislike then,”

“Yeah okay I’ll take it.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “You know, she might actually give you a second glance if you didn’t try to hit on her every other second.”

“No no… she’s just playing hard to get is all.”

I clapped my hand on Freddy’s shoulder. “I really don’t think so dude.”

The first bell sounded, indicating it was time for us to head to first period, which was in our case, Math.

Freddy gave a waved and turned to head to his science class.

“Did you do your presentation Freddy?” Emily called out as he started down the hallway.    

“Nope! Wish me luck on making it up!”

I chuckled and Emily groaned.

“You can’t keep doing this you know!” She exclaimed.

“Thanks mom, but I’ve got it under control,” Freddy replied, rolling his eyes.

Emily whirled around with a huff and began briskly walking down the east hallway.

“Geez, slow down Em,” I said in amusement, quickening my pace to catch up with her.

“How do you two expect to survive college if you keep procrastinating and winging stuff like this!”

“Who says I’m going to colle-” I began, teasingly.

The brunette wacked me on the arm.

“Ow!” I grumbled. It always surprised me at how strong she was. “I was just joking. And I’ll try harder, really.”

Emily pulled open the door to math and took her seat. “You had better. I’m not going to Stanford alone.”

“Yeah yeah,” I replied, taking my own seat a few seats behind her just as the bell rang.

Right on time, Mr. Daniels cleared his throat and pushed up his coke-bottle glasses. I always almost felt bad for the guy; he always looked so tired and depressed. I mean math had never been the most enjoyable thing to begin with, but the guy looked ready to jump of a cliff. I was grateful to him though, as he was the only teacher willing to provide an honors math course. Without him, I would be stuck with mouth breather Jimmy Harold and paste eater Hank Watson.

“Alright class, pull out your homework from yesterday,” Mr. Daniels droned, passing a glance over the room.

Emily’s head snapped back towards me and I lazily held up my completed homework paper. She nodded in contentment and turned back around. That girl needed to breathe once in a while. The day continued to drag on in an ordinary fashion class after class up until lunch. Emily, Freddy, a few others and I met up in our normal lunch spot in the hall outside the band room. Freddy insisted we sit here at the beginning of the year upon meeting the other love of his life, the band student teacher, (who sometimes took her lunch breaks in the band room).

“She plays tuba like an angel,” he had recounted, dreamily describing the college student.

However, today Freddy was not on the lookout for his unreciprocated crush like normal. He was in the middle of explaining something to Emily, as well as James and Trish, some other friends we had made in the programming club. Shockingly, Trish even had one earbud out, which meant what Freddy was saying had to be pretty interesting. I heard James mention the word alien in between bites of his baloney sandwich and saw Trish give him a look of disgust.

“I seriously doubt she’s an alien,” Freddy replied, not distracted by the comment. “But, she is definitely not normal. Normal people don’t get Mr. Gregor to smile.”

“Hold up, Gregor smiled?” I questioned, intrigued as I sat down in the circle.

“Some new girl went and said something to him after class and-” Trish began, before being enthusiastically interrupted.

“And bam! I saw the pearly whites with my own eyes!” Freddy exclaimed, nearly hitting James by flinging his arms out.

“Watch it you spaz,” James grumbled, dodging the blow.

Trish rolled her eyes and put her earbud back in. “She probably just complimented his comb-over or something.”

“She would have to be really weird to compliment that grumpy, old geezer,” I grumbled, remembering all the frightening run-ins I had had with the science teacher.

Freddy took a breath to continue his theories but froze, seeing a thin brunette turn the corner.

“Duty calls,” he winked, before tousling his hair and speed-walking down the hall.