Short Story: When Four Becomes One

Short Story: When Four Becomes One

The fire crackled loudly in the warm night air. The summer breeze caused the light from the flames to dance across the surrounding trees. This was a typical summer weekend at Peaceful Moments campground for the four young teenagers, who sat around it at that very moment. They had been coming here for seven summers, starting back when they were all six or seven years old. To the far right sat Jimmy, he leaned back in his lawn chair, looking up at the sky. He was probably day dreaming or thinking about girls as he had found himself doing more and more of lately – but we'll save that for later. He was also the oldest, by a whole two weeks.

Next to Jimmy was Katie, a small dirty-blonde haired girl. She was cute and definitely the baby of the group – still afraid of the dark and spiders and basically anything that wasn’t pink or fluffy. This caused endless nights of entertainment, as Jimmy and Carson never got tired of scaring her silly. The latter of the two boys sat to the left of Katie – he wasn't as laid back as the other two, constantly getting asked not to play with the fire – each time it fell on deaf ears. The teachers in school were quick to jump on the ever-so-popular A.D.D. And had immediately dosed out drugs instead of just accepting the truth – he was a teenage boy and it was only going to get worse before it got better.

The final of the foursome was Katie's older sister, Hailey – who was the most mature and level-headed of the group, or so she'd like you to believe. The fact was she was just as immature as the rest of them, maybe even worse. She much preferred TV over a good game of hide n' seek. She wasn't the only one that was guilty of that, seemed with every extra candle they blew out, more and more they were becoming dependent on that soulless black box. But then again, that's for another story entirely.

The fire had begun to die down, going from a scorching tower of fire to nothing more then a bed of coals, the kids clung onto to keep from hearing the dreaded “time for bed, kids”. But those exact words rang out only seconds later, as Tammy unzipped her tent and crushed their hopes. They pleaded uselessly and dragged their feet towards the tent – but as they got there they saw a second tent. None of them remembered seeing it there earlier in the day, lost in the excitement of the pool and fire. They stood there, in a row, staring at the second tent like it was some strange alien being.

“What is the other tent for, Tam?” Hailey asked.

“Blue one for the girls, green one for the boys. Now get in and go to bed, morning will be coming soon and we need to get up early and go fishing,” she responded and began to zip her tent up before getting interrupted.

“Since when do we sleep in separate tents?” Jimmy piped up.

“Since you all hit fourteen. Now go to bed.”

And with that the four of them slowly separated, heading for their new foreign sleeping arrangements. Jimmy and Carson were the first to hit their tent, kicking off shoes and plopping inside.

“Weird, huh?” Carson said, slipping into his sleeping bag, his Game Boy clutched tightly in one hand.

“Yeah... what are they worried about, we're all friend, no one is going to end up prego.” Jimmy followed this with a sarcastic laugh. “Plus, it's not like once you hit fourteen you suddenly start humping everything in sight,” Jimmy added, it was just so sudden and bizarre. He followed Carson, getting inside his own black sleeping bag – though he had a book in his hand, rather than a game system. Normally, he wouldn't do this. Afraid of getting ridiculed – the “geek” thing – but he and Carson were real close, so it was no big deal.

In the other tent, things were different.

“What's Tammy's problem? Probably just pissy she isn't getting any lately.” Hailey was riled, they both lay in their sleeping bags, looking up at the top of their tent, their view of the night's sky cut off. Surrounded by darkness, the girls lay there in near silence, the sounds of the suffocating fire and crickets cutting into it.

“I don't know, nothing we can do 'bout it.” Katie, the youngest, had somehow become the calmer and more level-headed out of the two. “It's not the worst thing, the boys usually hog most of the tent and one of them snores really loud. Look, I can stretch out!” Katie dramatically stretched out, complete with groans, the whole nine.

“Still, it's not right. We are not sluts and we are not stupid. She's stupid to not trust us.” Hailey shifted, rolling on her side facing Katie.

“You know what's funny?” Katie asked, barely masking her hidden smile.There was a hesitation, a few seconds of dying fire and crickets, a moment that Katie decided against saying it. Sleeping in the same tent with a pissy girl is a nightmare, did she really want to risk it? “Nothing, never mind,” she decided, finally – but it wasn't that easy, it never was.

“No! Tell me... tell me right now!” Hailey nearly hollered, her voice echoing out through the camp site. They both cringed, unaware that the other girl was doing it.

“No, you'll just get pissed. Not telling.”

“I promise I won't, pinky promise.” Hailey reached out her hand and felt nothing. “Come on.”

Katie felt around blindly, she locked pinkies with her sister.

“Okay, it was just a joke anyways. But, I was gonna say, that, you probably like one of them or something. That’s why you are all pissy and stuff.”

“Bitch!” Hailey said, just above her breath, swatting at her sister as they both giggled.

The boys tent had fallen silent only a little while after they had entered, Carson on his back snoring, the video game still on and glowing, dimmer a little as it lay underneath one of his arms. On the other side, Jimmy still lay there reading, half paying attention, half eaves dropping. He laughed to himself a few times, making sure not to give away what he was doing to the neighboring tent. It wasn't that the book wasn't interesting enough to keep his attention, it was good (but no Stephen King) and he wasn't that interested in the conversation (or so he thought), he was just bored and it was his only source of “entertainment”. It was either that or listen to the Opera of Snore that was being performed by his best friend.

He decided to listen to neither, he had to go to the bathroom anyways. Unzipping the tent as easily as he could, he slipped out of it like a ninja, a camping ninja. He stood up and headed down the small embankment, he wasn't going to piss in the woods, not tonight – the short walk would be nice. He walked passed the parked car, noticing the reflection of the moon that took up most of the back window – it was a gorgeous night, in the seventies and not a cloud in the sky. It must've been the first camping trip in forever not to have at least one rain shower.

The road, which was basically just a path, was steep and windy. He was surprised every summer that they hadn't fixed it yet and just surprised when his aunt's car made it back up once again. He walked lightly, doing his best to avoid the rocks in the road, barely visible in the moonlight. A few feet later and it was the nice, flat lawn. It was a straight shot from there, another fifty or so feet to the offices, the bathroom just to the right of that. This wasn't one of those big campgrounds, or the state parks, there was no giant arcade or lake and there sure as hell wasn't a large in-ground pool. This was tiny compared to those, holding about twenty campers and the pool was a small circular one, surrounded by a small metal deck. It was their favorite – they had been to the big ones before, but nothing quite matched up to the charm of this one.

Jimmy finally made it, his bare feet clapping down against the concrete slab that was right in front of the two bathroom doors. He entered the left one and did his business, listening to the bull frogs and other animals at the pond across the road. As he finished, he flushed the toilet and turned to wash his hands. Sighing as he pushed the button and no soap came out. Great, he thought, he rinsed his hands and headed for the door. As he pulled on the handle, the bright bathroom gave way to the dark campground – as his eyes adjusted, he saw someone coming, a few feet away, startling him.

“Crap, you scared me,” he said, still trying to figure out who it was and doing his best to catch his breath.

“Same here,” Hailey said, lying, Jimmy recognized the voice and began to breath normally again.

“What are you doing?” Jimmy asked, realizing that was a stupid question but it was too late, he was unable to unsay it.

“Uh, I had to go pee and I don't have the luxury of doing it in the woods like some of us,” her tone stinging, playfulness lying just underneath. “What about you? Why didn't you just whip it out and pee up there?” her eyebrow raised.

“Bored. Just wanted to take a walk.” Jimmy replied.

“ I hear ya. My cell-mate is sleeping too.” The sentence feeling only half finished.

“At least yours doesn't snore. It's like a hurricane in my tent.” The two of them shared a laugh.

Hailey stepped towards the bathroom door, grabbing the handle and turning around - “I'll trade for his spot if you want?” The question did not wait to be answered as Hailey gave a half smile before she headed into the bathroom. The door closing behind her.

“See you... later,” Jimmy said to no one in-particular, too late to be towards Hailey, too alone to be aimed at anyone else.

He stood there for a moment, wondering if he should wait for her, walk her back to her tent? Probably not, she'd just think he was some creeper. It'd be best to run back to camp, and make her think he was hiding somewhere in the bushes – tense and afraid for the whole walk back.

He took off, not looking back for a second.

The morning came early, and with it, came the rest of the last day of camping. It was different, everyone felt it, but nobody spoke on it. It was as if those five words the previous night had shifted everything, a little to the left, like everyone was eternally fighting it, like there was some truth to them – like some magic spell.

They all went fishing, they all hit the pool for one last dip – they all packed up their gear, loading it into the car. All of them piled into the car, sat by each other, said a few words here and there. They all made it home. Jimmy was the first one out of the car – he headed upstairs to drop off his stuff, the only one calling his aunt's apartment “home”. It had been his home for a few years, since his mom and dad had split and would be his home until they got back together or he turned eighteen, whichever came first. Carson followed him up, dropping his stuff off by the door – it'd be a good hour until his mom came by to scoop him up.

“Dude, that was messed. Was it me or was their a weird vibe in the car? Yikes,” Carson said, plopping himself down on Jimmy's bed and clicking on his Sega Genesis.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said, stopping there, Carson was tuned into the TV already, pushing the worry from his mind. No reason to finish answering, he thought – Carson wasn't going to care, not yet, he was set with sports and racing games for the time being. Jimmy had a weird feeling he wouldn't be.

Jimmy's door swung open, revealing an exhausted Hailey and an equally spunky Katie. They dropped their bags next to Carson's stuff and sat where they could find space in the cluttered room. It wasn't messy, no, that wasn't the word for it – full was. Jimmy had books, cassette tapes, VHS tapes strewn about on semi-organized shelves. His walls were covered in posters and hand drawn pictures, one side of his room had a desk and chair, a chair that Katie had grabbed for herself. Hailey picked a more comfortable choice, a beanbag chair that rested at the end of the bed, against the wall. Jimmy looked around, he guessed that sharing the bed was his only option.

“Ever have that feeling, that like, something is changing and there is nothing we can do to stop it?” Hailey broke the silence that had all but consumed the four of them for the past twelve or so hours. A few seconds passed, followed by...

“Yeah,” Katie fiddled with a pen on Jimmy's desk, scribbling her name on a crumpled piece of paper.

“Mm-hm.” Carson didn't take his eyes off of the TV.

“Pretty much.” Jimmy fell onto his back, closing his eyes.

The silence clamped its jaws back down on them. Tick-tock, tick-tock – the Ghostface, glow-in-the-dark wall clock pierced the silence like raindrops through a hole in the ceiling.

“Girls, your mom is here!” Tammy yelled from the kitchen. The girls didn't rush, didn't even feel like going home.

“Give me a call, maybe we can do a movie night?” Jimmy sat back up, watching the girls as they grabbed their bags.

“Sounds fun, just no scary ones this time,” called Katie.

“Yeah, I will,” said Hailey.

The two girls answered simultaneously. They walked out of the room with goodbyes. Jimmy listened as they said their goodbyes to Tammy and Frank, then opened the door – and with a close, four became two. Jimmy turned his attention to Carson, who was intensely staring at the screen, mashing buttons and moving as if he was right in the action. Jimmy shook his head, shook his head and laughed.

“Man, start over – let me play.”

* * *

Friday had come and gone with no movie night. Jimmy had played a few games of phone tag, one with Hailey and the other with Carson. Neither of which had lead any closer to the four of them sitting in his room, eating popcorn and watching whatever new movie Hollywood had churned out that week. Days were ticking by and the new school year was just around the corner. It started on the 1st of September and as he looked at the calendar, marking an “x” on yesterday's date, it was the 25th. Meaning all that stood between them and a movie-less summer was a lone Friday night. Jimmy was determined to not let this tradition die, traditions were important to him and always would be, no matter what changed in his life.

Jimmy grabbed the phone from the kitchen island, where he sat, and dialled Hailey's number. He figured he'd just get Nancy, her mom, but he couldn't let an opportunity slip by. There would be a movie night this Friday night, goddammit, and there was no ifs ands or butts about it.

Ring... ring... ring... click

“Hello?” Shit, it was Nancy again, no good – he had to ask anyways.

“Hey, it's Jimmy, Hailey come home yet?” Jimmy cringed, waited for it and was denied (in a good way).

“Yeah, hold on, I think she is in the living room.” A good start - “Neen, the phone!” Nancy yelled and Jimmy waited.

A few seconds later, after an exchange, a “Hello,” came through from the other end, this voice was softer and younger, but still similar.

“Holy crap, you answered. It's a miracle.” Jimmy started, followed by a small laugh.

“Hey, I called you back every time, you just weren't home when I did. Nice one.”

Oh, caught off guard - Hailey one, Jimmy zero.

“Yeah, hm, that would probably be the smart thing – stick around to see if you call back, huh?”

“Pretty much, doofus,” Hailey replied. The banter was still there, that was good, no weirdness, back to normal, right?

“So... can you make it?” Another cringe, more waiting.

“Yeah, I can. I don't think Katie can though, she's going to some stupid 'end of the summer sleepover' or something retarded.” Hailey said with light venom.

Jimmy laughed inside. She had ripped it, but in fact, that was basically what they were doing. An end of the summer movie night, where like every other time, she would end up spending the night. Though, the only difference, seeing how they were looked upon like adults now, Hailey would be sleeping on the couch this time. He still remembered the awkward talk from Tammy earlier that day.

“You gonna ask Carson to come?”

“Yeah, I'm going to try. He's been avoiding me more than you have lately. Kidding.” Jimmy said, wondering what his best friend had been up to? What could he possibly be busy with?

“Ha-ha, very funny. Okay, well, I gotta go eat dinner. Catch ya later.”

“Bye, dude.” Jimmy shot back, both of them laughing as they hung up the phone.

* * *

The next couple of days had gone by slow, slow being the understatement of the year. Jimmy had been bored, not able to get a hold of Carson. Living in a shit town and having six dollars to his name hadn't helped much. He had tried to get Carson on the phone, with no luck, he hadn't said, 'boo” to the kid in almost two weeks and even then they hadn't talked about much, he hadn't even seemed like his normal self. What had happened to him, had he been killed? Gone into the witness protection program? Best friends weren't supposed to vanish on you, it was against the rules.

Luckily, Hailey was coming, at least the last time he had talked to her she still was. Which was good, he was excited about his three movie selections. He was proud, he wanted to end the summer with a bang, or at least a scream. He had picked out a couple of new ones and one 'oldy-but-goody'. He has searched the local movie joint for almost an hour, picking up and putting back enough movies to give himself blisters before finally settling on three. Number one was his favorite choice, he had missed it in theaters but would be damned to miss it entirely – Scream 2 – the sequel to his favorite movie of all time. That had been the easy pick, the next one wasn't much harder though – he figured he'd take it easy on Hailey and get the new Chris Farley movie. His final pick was the original Friday The 13th.

The movies sat on top of his VCR, waiting, only a few hours away from giving them almost six hours of pure entertainment. He had used the remainder of the six bucks to pick up some snacks, chips and dip and some grape soda - the usual. He felt more excited for this movie night, then any of the previous ones he could remember – probably because he was going stir crazy ever since they all got back from camping, plus he had missed the “gang”. At least one of them cared enough not to break plans. Even if she was probably just coming out of pity, he didn't mind, he was still game.

Jimmy took the last few minutes to set up his room, moving stuff and picking up a little – trying to make his “Batcave” look a little less like, well, a cave. He was finishing up as he heard Hailey come in, heard her being greeter by his aunt. He headed out, she probably needed a buffer anyways – he stepped out in the hall that lead to the kitchen.

“What up?” he asked, leaning up against the island. Trying to play it cool.

“Chillin', chillin'.” She set her bag of necessities down on one of the kitchen chairs, kicking off her shoes. She began to head towards Jimmy's room but was cut off by Tammy.

“Hey Hailey, come here a minute,” she motioned towards the living room.

“Called it,” Jimmy mouthed, basically to himself, as he followed the two women into the living room.

“Here, I set out a couple blankets for you. You'll be crashing here – but – I'm sure you knew that already.” Tammy had at least given her the big couch, that was mighty white of her. “Oh, and if you get cold... which you shouldn't, Jimmy can get you some more blankets,” she added and headed out.

“Closet by the bathroom, top shelf, got it,” Hailey said to herself, a little annoyed.

“So, just because I'm growing up, I suddenly forget where stuff is in your house?” she asked, with a small laugh.

“Well you know what they say about getting older, right?” Jimmy replied with a smile.

“Yeah and you're the old fart, remember?” Another laugh and the two of them were leaving the living room and heading for his bedroom.

They entered the room and jumped on the bed, getting comfortable for the mini movie marathon. Jimmy grabbed the remote, gave a quick glance towards Hailey, she looked ready, and clicked the play button and the FBI warning popped up, a familiar image in their early movie watching lives.

The first movie, Scream 2, went over well. A new all-time favorite for Jimmy, another thing to get obsessed with, get all the collectibles and VHS tape. Hailey looked like she had enjoyed it, she always tried to act anti-horror, but he knew deep down inside she liked being scared. Neither of them said anything as the credits rolled, Hailey still looking at the screen wanting more – Jimmy doing his best to oblige, ejecting the tape and pooping the next one in immediately. They shifted, laying down a little more than before – Jimmy hit play again, and again the FBI warned you not to steal their shit or else.

During the second movie and eventually the third one, the two of them continued to shift positions, and before they knew it, they were close, almost touching. They were now laying length-wise on his bed, Jimmy in the back, Hailey in the front, towards the TV. Jimmy was now pushed up right against her back, propping his head up with a couple of pillows, making sure he could still see all the R rated goodness.

Midway through the third and final movie, which had turned out to be the least interesting of them, Jimmy pushed himself back onto his knees and did his best to safely leap over her and onto the floor. “Do you want some more soda?”

She peeled her eyes from the TV screen, “Sure. Grape please.” Jimmy could tell she was uncomfortable watching the 80's horror movie by herself.

He stepped out into the kitchen and filled their cups with the incredibly cheap grape soda. He looked at the clock, it was eleven, the rest of the house felt abandoned, his overactive imagination riled from the movie, playing with him as he stood in the dark kitchen. He let out a nervous laugh, almost embarrassed, he grabbed the cups and headed back towards his safe room. Tammy had said to be in bed by 1130, but he wasn't worried, she was probably sawing wood in her room, next to Frank, who was doing the same. Not even a bullet would wake those two.

As he stepped back into his warm room, the view was amusing – a scream on TV – Hailey was pulling the covers up to her face, her eyes slammed shut, her body completely tensed up. He watched her do this for a second, not saying a word, finally “Want me to turn the light on?” he was laughing, extending one of the two glass cups, the look on her face was not one of amusement.

“You're a jerk. This movie isn't even good... just gross.”

“What? It's a classic,” he tried acting cool, a regular movie buff, when in reality he had seen it once and didn't really like it – but had seen all of the thumbs up and grabbed it.

“We can watch TV then,” he added, not wanting her to leave yet, not ready to go to bed.

“I don't care.”

“I'm think Beavis and Butt-Head is on. Let me check.” Jimmy said, clicking the power off on the VCR.

“It's already that late? Tammy wanted me in bed soon.”

“Don't worry about it, she's in a coma, plus when have you ever done anything she said?”

“Okay. Just one,” she said with a little uncertainty and sat up on the bed.

Jimmy jumped down in the spot she had just vacated, still warm, sprawling on his back, his legs hanging off the side of the bed, a pillow pulled under his head. The voice-over warning that began every Beavis and Butt-Head episode came on and the music filtered out into the small room. Hailey still sat back, not moving, a look on her face he didn't understand and wouldn't for a few years.

“What are you doing? It's starting. Get up here,” Jimmy said, overexcited, patting the spot next to him on the bed.

Hailey hesitated for a second and then crawled her way towards the top of the bed and Jimmy. He rolled onto his side, getting himself comfortable, she did the same thing right behind him. Jimmy could feel the warmth of her body on his. It felt nice, it felt new. He nonchalantly inched back a little closer to her, doing his best not to make a fool out of himself.

As the show played, the clock ticked, the two of them got even closer, and then closer, soon Hailey was right up against Jimmy's back. All four eyes staring at the screen, none of them paying any attention to it. Hailey made the first “real” move, placing her hand gently on Jimmy's chest. He sucked in a little, again nice, again new. As they both pretended everything was the same as before, both pretended they were watching Butt-Head choke on his chicken, she began to run her fingers along the middle of his chest. Nervous, small strokes at first, soon she was running them from his collar bone all the way to his belly button.

Jimmy's head was spinning, what was going on? What had changed? Had Tammy actually been right? She didn't seem like the same Hailey who had played Hide n' Go Seek with him this past summer, he didn't feel like the same Jimmy who had enjoyed it. He enjoyed what was happening at that very moment, but in a different way, his breathing had changed – he felt a small tingle up his spine, every time she made the long soft journey up and down his body.

Hailey's head was spinning as well, what was she doing? Did he even like it? What if he never talked to her again after this? But she kept doing it, she couldn't stop, didn't want to. She moved again, resting her head down on his arm, closer to him, the next logical move or so she thought. She felt him adjust his body and then felt his eyes on her. Eyes that had been friendly and innocent just a few hours ago, but now felt piercing hot. She felt a burn of nerves in her stomach, but there was another feeling, deeper even – this one was surely new, like nothing she had ever felt before.

She was heating up, she felt dampness on her face – her skin hot to the touch, she imagined it becoming red. She bit the bullet and looked up, looking at his face, into his eyes. She saw a look, one she imagined was mirrored on hers. That was good, right? The part of her brain that was in control of speech roared to life, readying itself for take off, about to send something from her brain to her mouth, but it was too late.

Jimmy leaned in and kissed her, their lips touching for the first time, the cliché of fireworks ringing as true as the sky being blue, air being free. They held there, not moving, lips stuck together – and then Jimmy was pulling away, barely, almost as if he hadn't and he was coming back for more. He brought his hand up, not really sure what to do with it, finally deciding on the shoulder and placed it there. Their kisses were sloppy, the first ones not to be pecks on the cheek, to be expected – continued for a few more moments. Jimmy started to pull back again and then something was happening, something that neither of them could see.

Hailey pulled back, starting to move – Jimmy backing off, giving her some room. Hailey swiftly got off the bed and back to her feet, backing away from the bed, “I've gotta... It's late, Tam would flip if she saw this. I gotta go,” she half mumbled this, trying to get the blood back into her head. Jimmy lay there, watching this happen, watching her collect herself and exit his room, closing the door behind her.

As Jimmy lay there, his head spinning more than it was just a few minutes ago, had he done something wrong? Was that why she ran off? Why didn't she just tell him what he had done wrong? So many questions and as of that very moment, not a single damn answer. He lay there, his breath still labored – he looked down at the crotch of his pants, and shook his head.

“Holy shit.”

* * *

Jimmy's eyes opened, the light blinding – what the hell time was it? The room felt like an oven, heat from outside fighting it's way into Jimmy's bedroom. Jimmy got up and out of bed, looking down, making sure he was decent – he was. He opened his bedroom door and stepped out into the much cooler hallway, what the hell, was the heat on in his room? He passed through the kitchen, poking his head into the living room – only slightly prepared for the awkwardness he knew would be there. But his aunt Tammy sat in there, watching afternoon soaps – shit, it was later than he thought – the place where Hailey had slept was picked up, blankets and pillows back where they belonged, it was as if she hadn't even spent the night last night.

“Where is Hailey?” he had to ask it.

Tammy looked back, pulling the cigarette from her mouth, “Gone. Nancy came and got her about an hour ago. Why?”

“Just wondering.” Jimmy was a little stunned.

“Did you guys get along last night?”

It took everything in Jimmy's body not to crack a joke. “Yeah.”

“Oh. She must've got bored waiting for your lazy butt to wake up,” she said with a laugh, her eyes shifting back to the tube.

Jimmy began to walk out, only to be stopped.

“Did you hear about Carson?”

“No. What?” he felt panic creep into his voice. You never wanted to hear that about your best friend. Usually, when you hadn't heard about it, it was something sudden. He braced himself.

“I guess his dad won custody. He's gotta move to Byron before school starts.”

Those two sentences sucker punching him. Byron? That couldn't be right. Jimmy walked away, not saying anything. He headed back to his sweltering room. He felt like shit, how selfish had he been? Worried that Carson might not make the lame movie night, when he was obviously going through something far more important. Jimmy didn't know what to do, Byron was almost twenty miles away – a light year when you were fourteen. The realization that he'd no longer be going to the same school as his best friend came next. This was too much for his still groggy mind to handle, he crawled back in bed, throwing the covers over his head. The word would have to wait, Jimmy Summer was going back to bed. Fuck it.

* * *

Tammy's silver sedan pulled up in front of the school, one of the tires scuffing the curb. Jimmy stepped out, the large brick building looming over him.

“Have a good day,” came from the driver's side, Tammy meant well, but who could have a good day when you were shipped off to a youth prison at 7.30 in the morning? It was the first day of school, the summer was dead, time to reunite with about 500 kids he did his best to avoid all vacation. And three he hadn't, weren't anywhere in sight. Carson was probably trying to fit in at Byron High, Hailey was surely avoiding him at all costs and Katie... who knows, probably doing her best to get in with the popular clique, if you wanted to survive high school it was a must.

Jimmy stepped into the main building, a sea of over confident and immature people flooding by him. He was nudged and pushed, as he stood there not moving, deciding if this is really where he wanted to be for the next seven hours. What had happened? He had left eighth grade with three of the best friends anyone could ever have and now, on his first day of high school, he was alone.