The first week of school went quickly, probably because they had only three days of school before the weekend came. On Friday they had their first French class and Ronald spent the whole class thinking why on Earth he took French again – he hadn’t learnt anything on the previous years whatsoever. Lucas was natural talent when it came to speaking French. Lucas said it was because he had been in France so many times. Ronald said it was because Lucas was smarter than him.
“Ouvrez vos livres s’il-vous-plait”, their teacher said and started teaching the class. Ronald looked what everyone else were doing and figured out that the teacher had asked them to open their books.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how you have passed these courses”, Lucas muttered to Ronald. “Why didn’t you just drop out French?”
“I forgot”, Ronald whispered.
The class went on slowly and while Lucas scribbled down on his notebook about next week’s weekend plans, Ronald tried to actually study because he needed all the help he could get. He wasn’t a nerd, he wasn’t good at school. He was a geek and there was a huge difference between those two words.
When the class ended Ronald and Lucas walked out carrying their school bags and talking.
“I think we should go on next week’s Friday”, Lucas said.
“Do we have to?” Ronald asked. Lucas was talking about the camping trip they were planning to do next weekend. “Can’t we go like on Saturday and then come back on Sunday?”
“No”, Lucas said stubbornly. “That’s way too short time. It’s no fun at all.”
Ronald, who wasn’t exactly the adventurous, camping-like person, sighed.
“Fine, we go on Friday”, he said, “but we leave on Sunday morning!”
“Deal.”
Now that they settled it, Ronald realised that he had one week time to prepare himself for the trip into the woods. No video games, no bed, no shower. Lucas really expected Ronald to get out of his comfort zone, didn’t he? He knew damn well that Ronald didn’t like camping but still he had decided they should do it. Lucas was the worst best friend ever if you asked Ronald.
They were so deep in conversation that Ronald didn’t notice Farrah Livingstone until he accidentally pumped into her.
“Watch out”, Farrah said, but not in a mean voice. Ronald looked at her, shocked and red faced. He opened his mouth to apologize but not a single word came out. Farrah raised her eyebrows at him, clearly expecting him to say something.
“I–, eh… um… I–“, Ronald stuttered and felt someone pulling his arm. It was Lucas who was laughing in his hand and pulling Ronald away with his free hand.
“Let’s go”, he said to Ronald and they walked past Farrah and her friends, Lucas basically giggling and Ronald staring at his feet with his cheek coloured bright red.
“That was so bloody smooth!” Lucas laughed.
“Oh, shut up”, Ronald muttered. “She surprised me.”
“Lucky you I was there to save your ass”, Lucas said.
“She must think I’m a complete idiot”, Ronald sighed.
“No, no. She has already forgotten all about you.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.”
Lucas shrugged. “You chose to be invisible. It’s not my fault.”
“I know”, Ronald sighed, defeated. “Let’s just go eat lunch.”
Friday’s school day finally ended and Ronald wanted to go home and sunk into his bed. He felt still embarrassed about his encounter with Farrah. He had been so awkward. But Lucas was right, Farrah had probably already forgotten that Ronald existed. It didn’t make Ronald feel better but he was a big boy, he could suck it up and make himself man up and talk to Farrah some day.
He waved goodbye to Lucas as they walked out of the school’s main doors and started walking home.
Ronald kept his gaze on the ground as he went because he didn’t want to get his socks and shoes soaked again. He jumped funnily around as he tried to avoid all the puddles that were in front of him.
That’s why he didn’t notice the man until he literally jumped on his toes. The man stopped and Ronald jumped backwards, looking at the man.
He looked scary. He had an angry look on his face. He had black beard and moustache, black wavy hair that reached his shoulders. He was wearing a red shirt that revealed a bit of his chest and a leather jacket. He was very intimidating as he glared at Ronald.
“Sorry, sir”, Ronald said quickly and looked away from the man’s dark brown eyes that seemed to pierce through Ronald.
For a moment it looked like the man was going to say something but then he apparently decided that Ronald wasn’t worth it and just pushed past him and walked away. He was almost a head taller than Ronald and frankly, Ronald was glad that the rude man didn’t say anything and just walked away. He didn’t get any good vibes out of him.
By the time Ronald reached his home he had already forgotten the man whose toes he had stepped on and the ashamed feeling of making a fool out of himself in front of Farrah came back.
“Why am I like this?” he sighed as he opened the door and walked inside. He was alone because his mother and father were at work. It was fine by him, he didn’t mind.
Ronald walked into the kitchen, took an apple and then started eating it while doing his homework by the kitchen table. He was almost done with everything when the door opened and Mr. Quinn stepped inside.
“Hi, Dad”, Ronald muttered, starting immediately gathering his stuff back into his school bag.
“Speak up, boy. I can’t hear you”, Mr. Quinn said, taking off his jacket. “How many times do I have to tell you to articulate clearly?”
“Sorry, Dad”, Ronald said more clearly. “Did you have a nice day?”
He already knew the answer but he asked anyway.
“Busy”, Mr. Quinn said. “Did you learn anything in that school of yours today?”
“Um, yeah, lots of stuff”, Ronald lied quickly. His father wasn’t proud of how he was doing in school. Maybe he expected so much from Ronald because he himself was very smart lawyer who had been always on top of his classes. Ronald, on the other hand, was failing almost every class he had. He was one big disappointment to his father.
“Like?”
“Like…um…stuff?”
“Uh-huh”, Mr. Quinn hummed with his disappointed-but-not-surprised voice. Ronald knew that voice better than his own pockets.
“I’m gonna go to my room”, Ronald muttered, standing up.
“What?”
“I’m gonna go to my room” Ronald repeated loud and clearly and walked away before his father had a chance to say anything else. He hid himself in his room and dropped his school bag on the floor. He sunk down on his bed and groaned in frustration.
He didn’t move from his bed until his mother knocked on the door and after getting the permission to enter, she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Come to eat”, she said warmly.
“I’m not hungry”, Ronald lied and his stomach grumbled loudly.
“Your father had to go back to the office”, she said and winked. “I know he can be a handful, especially now when he has the biggest case of his career on hand. But try to understand him. He means well.”
Apparently his dad had told his mum about the conversation they had had.
“Fine”, Ronald muttered and got up. They walked into the kitchen together and Ronald sat down by the table while his mother put food on his plate. They ate in silence until Mrs. Quinn asked, “How’s school?”
“School is school”, Ronald replied.
“And how is your life?”
“Busy because of school.”
“Come on, Ron. Give me something. I want to know what’s up with your life”, his mum said, staring at him intensively.
“Nothing special, really”, Ronald said. “My life is boring, nothing interesting ever happens.”
“So there’s no any special girl or anything like that?”
Ronald hesitated. “No.”
“You hesitated”, Mrs. Quinn pointed out immediately.
“Please, Mum, let’s not go there”, Ronald pleaded.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s nothing to talk about!”
“Why not?”
“Mum!”, Ronald yelled. “She doesn’t know that I exist, okay?”
Mrs. Quinn was silent for a moment. “Why not?”
“Oh, god damn it, I’m done, thanks for the food”, Ronald groaned and stood up, walking away.
“Language, Ronald” his mother yelled after him, “or I cancel your trip to the woods!”
Please do, Ronald thought.
“Ouvrez vos livres s’il-vous-plait”, their teacher said and started teaching the class. Ronald looked what everyone else were doing and figured out that the teacher had asked them to open their books.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how you have passed these courses”, Lucas muttered to Ronald. “Why didn’t you just drop out French?”
“I forgot”, Ronald whispered.
The class went on slowly and while Lucas scribbled down on his notebook about next week’s weekend plans, Ronald tried to actually study because he needed all the help he could get. He wasn’t a nerd, he wasn’t good at school. He was a geek and there was a huge difference between those two words.
When the class ended Ronald and Lucas walked out carrying their school bags and talking.
“I think we should go on next week’s Friday”, Lucas said.
“Do we have to?” Ronald asked. Lucas was talking about the camping trip they were planning to do next weekend. “Can’t we go like on Saturday and then come back on Sunday?”
“No”, Lucas said stubbornly. “That’s way too short time. It’s no fun at all.”
Ronald, who wasn’t exactly the adventurous, camping-like person, sighed.
“Fine, we go on Friday”, he said, “but we leave on Sunday morning!”
“Deal.”
Now that they settled it, Ronald realised that he had one week time to prepare himself for the trip into the woods. No video games, no bed, no shower. Lucas really expected Ronald to get out of his comfort zone, didn’t he? He knew damn well that Ronald didn’t like camping but still he had decided they should do it. Lucas was the worst best friend ever if you asked Ronald.
They were so deep in conversation that Ronald didn’t notice Farrah Livingstone until he accidentally pumped into her.
“Watch out”, Farrah said, but not in a mean voice. Ronald looked at her, shocked and red faced. He opened his mouth to apologize but not a single word came out. Farrah raised her eyebrows at him, clearly expecting him to say something.
“I–, eh… um… I–“, Ronald stuttered and felt someone pulling his arm. It was Lucas who was laughing in his hand and pulling Ronald away with his free hand.
“Let’s go”, he said to Ronald and they walked past Farrah and her friends, Lucas basically giggling and Ronald staring at his feet with his cheek coloured bright red.
“That was so bloody smooth!” Lucas laughed.
“Oh, shut up”, Ronald muttered. “She surprised me.”
“Lucky you I was there to save your ass”, Lucas said.
“She must think I’m a complete idiot”, Ronald sighed.
“No, no. She has already forgotten all about you.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better.”
Lucas shrugged. “You chose to be invisible. It’s not my fault.”
“I know”, Ronald sighed, defeated. “Let’s just go eat lunch.”
Friday’s school day finally ended and Ronald wanted to go home and sunk into his bed. He felt still embarrassed about his encounter with Farrah. He had been so awkward. But Lucas was right, Farrah had probably already forgotten that Ronald existed. It didn’t make Ronald feel better but he was a big boy, he could suck it up and make himself man up and talk to Farrah some day.
He waved goodbye to Lucas as they walked out of the school’s main doors and started walking home.
Ronald kept his gaze on the ground as he went because he didn’t want to get his socks and shoes soaked again. He jumped funnily around as he tried to avoid all the puddles that were in front of him.
That’s why he didn’t notice the man until he literally jumped on his toes. The man stopped and Ronald jumped backwards, looking at the man.
He looked scary. He had an angry look on his face. He had black beard and moustache, black wavy hair that reached his shoulders. He was wearing a red shirt that revealed a bit of his chest and a leather jacket. He was very intimidating as he glared at Ronald.
“Sorry, sir”, Ronald said quickly and looked away from the man’s dark brown eyes that seemed to pierce through Ronald.
For a moment it looked like the man was going to say something but then he apparently decided that Ronald wasn’t worth it and just pushed past him and walked away. He was almost a head taller than Ronald and frankly, Ronald was glad that the rude man didn’t say anything and just walked away. He didn’t get any good vibes out of him.
By the time Ronald reached his home he had already forgotten the man whose toes he had stepped on and the ashamed feeling of making a fool out of himself in front of Farrah came back.
“Why am I like this?” he sighed as he opened the door and walked inside. He was alone because his mother and father were at work. It was fine by him, he didn’t mind.
Ronald walked into the kitchen, took an apple and then started eating it while doing his homework by the kitchen table. He was almost done with everything when the door opened and Mr. Quinn stepped inside.
“Hi, Dad”, Ronald muttered, starting immediately gathering his stuff back into his school bag.
“Speak up, boy. I can’t hear you”, Mr. Quinn said, taking off his jacket. “How many times do I have to tell you to articulate clearly?”
“Sorry, Dad”, Ronald said more clearly. “Did you have a nice day?”
He already knew the answer but he asked anyway.
“Busy”, Mr. Quinn said. “Did you learn anything in that school of yours today?”
“Um, yeah, lots of stuff”, Ronald lied quickly. His father wasn’t proud of how he was doing in school. Maybe he expected so much from Ronald because he himself was very smart lawyer who had been always on top of his classes. Ronald, on the other hand, was failing almost every class he had. He was one big disappointment to his father.
“Like?”
“Like…um…stuff?”
“Uh-huh”, Mr. Quinn hummed with his disappointed-but-not-surprised voice. Ronald knew that voice better than his own pockets.
“I’m gonna go to my room”, Ronald muttered, standing up.
“What?”
“I’m gonna go to my room” Ronald repeated loud and clearly and walked away before his father had a chance to say anything else. He hid himself in his room and dropped his school bag on the floor. He sunk down on his bed and groaned in frustration.
He didn’t move from his bed until his mother knocked on the door and after getting the permission to enter, she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Come to eat”, she said warmly.
“I’m not hungry”, Ronald lied and his stomach grumbled loudly.
“Your father had to go back to the office”, she said and winked. “I know he can be a handful, especially now when he has the biggest case of his career on hand. But try to understand him. He means well.”
Apparently his dad had told his mum about the conversation they had had.
“Fine”, Ronald muttered and got up. They walked into the kitchen together and Ronald sat down by the table while his mother put food on his plate. They ate in silence until Mrs. Quinn asked, “How’s school?”
“School is school”, Ronald replied.
“And how is your life?”
“Busy because of school.”
“Come on, Ron. Give me something. I want to know what’s up with your life”, his mum said, staring at him intensively.
“Nothing special, really”, Ronald said. “My life is boring, nothing interesting ever happens.”
“So there’s no any special girl or anything like that?”
Ronald hesitated. “No.”
“You hesitated”, Mrs. Quinn pointed out immediately.
“Please, Mum, let’s not go there”, Ronald pleaded.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s nothing to talk about!”
“Why not?”
“Mum!”, Ronald yelled. “She doesn’t know that I exist, okay?”
Mrs. Quinn was silent for a moment. “Why not?”
“Oh, god damn it, I’m done, thanks for the food”, Ronald groaned and stood up, walking away.
“Language, Ronald” his mother yelled after him, “or I cancel your trip to the woods!”
Please do, Ronald thought.