One: Unsuspecting -unedited-
The hallway was quiet, maybe a little too quiet. Almost too quiet, now Milo wasn’t all that sure that he had actually heard the bell ring, maybe he had imagined it.
Pulling his rucksack up his skinny shoulders, he decided that it didn’t matter if the bell had rung or not, it was three o’clock, he was going home. No matter what.
And, that’s when the stampede happened. It wasn’t an actual stampede, but this was high school - it may as well have been.
At first, he was swallowed up by the tidal wave of students, and then he was deposited in the car park at the front, well, more like spat out.
It was a miracle he hasn’t lost his bag in the sea of students. And, then students parted like the red sea, and Milo (like many other students) just simply stared with his mouth open.
The first to emerge was Allie Summers, who, even after a gruelling eight hours at school, walked out of the place looking like a cover model. The next up was Granger Talbott, who simply walked out with a bored expression on his face, looking down at his phone, it was almost like Granger was oblivious to the looks they got. Following him, was Charlie White, dressed up completely in the school’s football kit. Milo could almost hear the entire female population sigh with content, as the uniform did little to hide the impressive body Charlie had.
And, last but not least was Mia Penske. Who looked like she was a second away from pummeling Charlie, the latter who was now talking animatedly at her side.
Milo sucked in a breath.
The four, that’s what the school body had decided to call them. All completely different in their own ways, but the best of friends. Each almost represented the four social standings within the school. Allie Summers for the rich kids that hung around gardens, who sported platinum blonde hair and a face so made up she could barely move her face. Oddly enough Allie summers was a lovely person, there wasn’t really anyone who had a bad word to say about her.
Granger Talbott who always head stuck in a book and held a tutoring class on a Thursday Lunchtime, that was for the smart kids and nerds.
Charlie White was quite literally the captain of the football team and was admired by all his peers. You’d think a guy like that would have had a huge head and you could hate him with good reason. But, Charlie White was a good guy.
And, then there was Mia. Mia was by far the quietest of the group, but probably the scariest. There wasn’t much that Mia entertained, and stupid people was not one of these. It was any wonder she hadn’t been expelled from school. She didn’t really conform to any type of social group, she just did her own thing.
One second the group had been walking in slow motion through the school doors, and the next they were splitting off to their own private cars. Milo watched as they retreated back, his eyes following Mia’s body.
She was tall, much taller than most at the school. Mia Penske didn’t talk to her peers, she didn’t laugh, nor did she smile. Milo secretly wondered if she was a robot. But, there was absolutely no denying that Mia Penske was part of The Four. Her meer presence in a room commanded attention, and Milo wasn’t sure if she was aware that she did that. Because half of the time Mia Penske seemed to be in her own world.
But there was one thing that Milo was certain about, Mia Penske was a force to be reckoned with. There had been many rumours floating around the school as to who the real Mia Penske was. Teachers audably groaned when they realised she was in their class, people tended to stay away. She just didn’t give off the best vibe.
The car park had mostly cleared, just a few students milling around and Milo was one of them.
The walk from the school to his house was short and sweet. His house stood at the end of the street, empty and still. And, it would stay like that until Milo came home. But, even when Milo was home, it was silent.
“I’m home.” He called out. No reply. Not that he was even expecting a reply, there would never be a reply.
Milo’s father worked late, at the repair shop down the road. The two almost seemed to pass like ships in the night, their schedules conflicted. As one came home, the other left. It had been this way for so long, Milo couldn’t remember a time when it hadn’t been like this.
Mealtimes were almost painful for Milo, eating alone was not the highlight of his day. And, neither was the microwavable meal in front of him. That’s all he ever seemed to eat these days, food of convenience.
Milo wasn’t considerably upset at his home life, he thought as he wolfed down the pasta. He just wished that he didn’t have to stare at the empty table as he ate. Now he just felt alone. The pasta was gone, the plate empty. He dumped the plate in the sink and sighed.
What would life be like, or at the very least mealtimes - if his father was home? Or even, if he was apart of a proper family? He shook the thought from his head. No, his father worked hard to provide for his only son. Milo could at least act grateful.
Milo’s room was much like Milo himself. Plain. And, that’s how he liked it. He was a minimal person, very few personal items cluttered his room. He wondered if that’s how he managed to blend in so well?
Soon, he was undressed and laying comfortably on his bed in his checkered pyjamas. His mind drifted back to The Four, sighing he wondered what they did in their spare time after school. They probably all went home to parents and siblings that eagerly awaited their return.
This was how Milo spent most of his time, daydreaming. Escaping to somewhere he could pretend, somewhere that when he called, ′I’m home.′ someone actually replied.
Turning over, Milo closed his eyes dreaming of a family that was always just outside of his grasp.
*
There was a general sense of a pecking order at ALS High school, and Milo felt that he didn’t really identify with any of them. Especially the nerds. But that was because he was failing Biology.
And, Milio really hated biology. He didn’t have anything against the subject or the teacher. But the subject definitely had something against him. Maybe it was the way the teacher drowned on excessively, or the fact that Milo was distracted every lesson by the girl sat next to him who desperately kept trying to get Charlie White’s attention. Every damn lesson.
This was the only class that Milo shared with Charlie White, but the many he shared with Mia Penske. The latter sat at the back, undoubtedly not paying attention. Much like Milo.
For what seemed like the seventh time in the thirty minutes they had been in class, the girl next to him knocked his pen. The words on the page were now unreadable. Milo bit back his tongue and instead sighed.
“Oops.” The girl giggled, throwing Milo an apologetic look. Her name was definitely Grace.
“It’s fine,” Milio muttered, ripping the page out. It was just a series of scribbles made worse by her excessive pen knocking, “It’s only the seventh time you’ve done that.” He said more to himself, but she caught it.
Her eyebrows rose higher up her face, any higher they would disappear into her hair. “I said I was sorry.” Her tone was anything but apologetic. Now that he thought about it, her name wasn’t Grace. She looked more like a Jess.
He ignored her comment and began writing on a new page.
“...concludes the outlining of creating a hypothesis.” The teacher clapped his hands, beady eyes taking in the drowsy state of his class. “Remember this introduction is important when we look at the homework task.”
Milo straightened up, homework task? He didn’t like the sound of that.
“The homework assignment is about The Scientific Method and the five steps required in said method. I’m going to pair you all up, this is a partner assignment.” He emphasised this, noticing how students began to look at their friends, hope in their eyes. They wished.
“You will all be given a booklet on the depth I want you guys to delve into. I want to see theory applied to these methods, I want to see the various methods used and how they affected the overall outcome of your assignments. We will look at establishing and executing the hypothesis next time I see you all.” He finished.
Milo began to sweat slightly, he hated group work. Any social contact outside of his minimal friendship group made him queasy.
Mr Lee began distributing booklets, “These will outline the task at hand and the required material needed for passing. I suggest you all read it. You all have till next class to read it, then we will dissect the information and then I will partner you all up.”
Jess, or maybe Grace almost threw the booklet at Milo. He didn’t mind, he was already subconsciously screaming. Essentially this was Mr Lee’s version of forewarning, he would let everyone read over the task and answer any questions at the beginning of the next class. Then they would be on their own, well not on their own completely.
Milo stuffed the booklet in his bag and refused to look at it.
See, this is why he really did dislike Biology.
Word Count: 1651
