An Unexpected Love

I was jolted from my bed by the sound of my alarm. Dazed and confused I rolled over to my bed, and pressed the snooze button with all my might. I jumped back in fright thinking of what I had just done.  I looked at the remains of my alarm clock in a mixed feeling of pride and disgust.  I stroked my hand, still recovering from being literally shocked by the machine. Being shocked was like being tickled with several cactuses all at once. Them sharpness lasted for only a few seconds, but the pain was still there, and I could even see my hand starting to swell as it was bigger than it was a few seconds prior to the accident.

"God damn it Button, did you break the alarm clock again?"  It was my mother, who was yelling at me from down stairs with her screeching tone.  I froze, my body becoming extremely tight. Do I tell her the truth, which will get the belt?  Do I lie, which also will get me the belt?

"Yes mom, I did it again!"  I yelled from my bed, my tone seething with anger.

"Damn it boy!  When you get back from school, you're going to receive ten licks for that, as well as finding money to replace that clock yourself!"

"But mom-" I stopped myself, afraid if I whined to her I'd get more licks. Collapsing on my Daring Do bed covers, I started to sob into my bed sheets.  Even though only s couple of minutes went by, it felt like an eternity. I was surprised when I heard a hard knock on the door.

"Son get up!"  My dad demanded.  I shook in fear, nearly wetting myself. My dad was a very gruff and scary man.  He often came home drunk even on work nights, and sometimes beat my mom when he gets enraged. Today it sounded like he was hungover, which was bad for the both of us.

"Do I really have to go to school today?"  I whined.

"Yes damn it!  The Mashes value Education like no other human being on this planet!  Now go get your ass out of bed and onto the bus!"  He said.

"Well, if we valued education so damn much, then why is it that none of us have graduated from high school!?"  My dad said nothing in return, but I could feel his silent anger from here. I heard him stomp away, and heard him yelling at my mom downstairs. I got out of my bed, and went over to my closet.

Looking at the assortment of clothes, I ripped some jeans from its hanger, and pulled out a Christmas Symphonies tee-shirt, since the holiday was right around the corner. A lot of people make fun of me for liking the band, they're my favorite, even though some of them have been to concerts featuring said band.

I rushed downstairs after putting them on, grabbed a banana, and waited outside for the bus to arrive. I couldn't take a shower because the water company shut down our water again.  I looked both ways before crossing the street, and did so with ease. I leaned up against the bus stop sign, trying to look as calm and cool as possible.

Over to my right, I saw someone walking towards me. My heart skipped a beat, as I couldn't see who it was walking.  I thought for only a split second that it could have been Rough House, but the figure got closer, and I could fully see now that it wasn't. My eye sight hasn't been the same since a car accident that I was involved in when I was five. My dad was driving drunk, as usual, and we swerved into a huge tree.  We both had our seat belts on, so no real damage was done except for my eyes. Some small shards of glass had gotten wedged into my eyes, and I had to be taken to the emergency room. The doctors were able to get all of the shards out, but said that my eyesight was permanently damaged. My dad has refused to get me glasses, saying that they're for weak minded people.

A shadow caused me to jump back into reality. I looked up, and saw the guy who was pretty much my only friend, Maize Blue. He was a half a foot taller than myself, and in terms of some of my girl classmates, 'down right handsome.'  He had on his track warm ups, and his track pants. His blonde hair was combed, and his blue streak down the middle stood out more than usual.

"Hey man, how's it goin?"  His wide, warm smile always made my, and everyone else's day.

"Eh, things haven't been going all that well."  I replied back in a defeated tone.  We did our usual crazy handshake, which involved many twists and turns with our hands. Maize was an odd one in the high school social network. Born to family of geniuses, his father being a genetic engineer and his mother being a lawyer, he lived a very comfortable life. He was also the track star as a sophomore, which helped him gain some crucial connections, and a girlfriend. With all of that, he still took me under his wing during the start of this year, which was my first.  We developed a brother-like bond as he helped defend me against Rough House and his posse, which we often jokingly called the Panda Posse.

"Aw I'm sorry to hear that man. Do you need to stay at my palace again?"

"I'd like to, seeing as if I return back to my home, either my mom or dad will beat me tonight."  I replied.

"Damn, again?  You need to call child security to get this mess sorted out. In the meantime, I'll call my girl to let her know, as she's picking me up if she feels better."

"Alright, thanks so much again man. And I thought that you had your license now."

"I failed the test bad, but I'm taking it again on the twenty-seventh."  I was about to reply, but got caught short by the clanking sound of the yellow, rusting school bus.  The bus stopped, and Maize and I got on.

We were greeted by Mr.Simmons. He was a balding, middle-aged man with a huge attitude, and even a bigger belly.  We both greeted him, and he replied to the tune of 'bah humbug.'  We stepped into the isle of the bus, and nearly every seat was full with two to three kids, some acting up and some just chatting quietly. In the third row, I saw the girl that I had a huge crush on. She was sitting by her two other friends, who were chatting away about something. She had a purple tee with a jean jacket, and tattered jeans. Her purple hair was tied in a ponytail. We walked by her, and I strut as casually as I could.

I paused for a few seconds as we passed their row. She looked up at me and said

"Um, can I help you with something?"  She sounded annoyed.

"oh, high Sweetie Bell. I was wondering if you could go to the Christmas Ball with me?"  I stuttered awkwardly, and talked at a faster than normal pace as I felt my fade turning red.

"Sorry Button, but my boyfriend and I are going together."  She replied, a little more annoyed now. I sunk my head, defeated, and rejoined Maize.

"Hey man, there are lots of fish to catch once we reach Canterlot High."  Maize said.

"I know, but I feel like she's perfect for me. After all, we were friends up until last year."  We sat down at the only available seats, which was the second from the back. The bus started up again, and headed for school.  I had started to fall asleep, when that was interrupted by a flick on the back of my head.

"Hey dumbass, was that you talkin to my girl back there?"  I turned around, and it was Rough House. He looked extremely pissed, and he had that 'I'm going to kill you' look on his face. He was wearing his letter-jacket, and some jeans.

"Hey, I didn't know that was your girl!  Cut me a fucking break for once!"  I replied.

"Not going to buy it. We all know that you've had a crush on her since elementary school."  I said nothing in reply, not wanting to give away the answer, though my face had given it anyway. Rough was ready to pull a punch, flexing his already big muscles, making them look even bigger. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the damage that would be done. I heard hands clasp, and opened my eyes. I saw that Maize had intercepted the punch, and was now grappling with Rough.

"What the hell did you do that for?"  Maize growled.

"He asked my girl out and said that he was ignorant."  Rough replied mockingly.

"So, that's no reason to throw a punch at him!"

"Oh yes it is. Since when has feigning ignorance got anyone anywhere. He's guilty, and in a court of law, ignorance doesn't work!"

"But this isn't about law, it's not even close!  Don't pull that bullshit again unless you want me to cut a bitch!"  Maize raised his voice higher now, catching the attention of some students in the seats adjacent to us.  I slid down the seat, as to avoid being caught up in this confrontation anymore.

"Guys, can we just calm the fuck down before we get thrown off this bus!"  It was Rough's friend, Thundering Herd who spoke up. Sitting to Rough's right, he was one-third of the posse. He was wearing a green sports jacket with an H in the middle, and some track sweats.  His red hair flared up when he spoke.  He was the more levelheaded of the three, often getting them out of trouble.

I heard the two of them grumbling as they sat back down. None of us spoke again, though I still could feel huge tension seething from everyone.  It seemed like an eternity, but we finally reached Canterlot High.  Looking at the crystal-like school in all its glory, I saw students filling in. The school itself wasn't that big, only holding a population that was barely over a thousand. Once we got off the bus, Maize and I parted ways to our respective hallways. The freshmen hallway was the smallest of the four, and most crowded. It took a while to navigate through the jungle of people that lined the freshmen hall.

The day started off pretty normally, surprisingly without any bullying incidents. During lunch period, I was grabbing my Daring Do lunch box, when I saw Sweetie Bell; who was alone. I walked over to her, trying not to disturb her.

"Sweetie Bell, what's wrong?"  I asked kindly.  She took her head out of her hands.

"It's about the ball. Turns out that Rough House dumped me for his ex, Dimond Tiara!"  She started to sob again. I didn't know what to do, so I put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You're too nice for someone like that dick Rough House to do that to you."  I said, softly and sweetly.

"Thanks Button. And, I'm sorry that I ended our friendship last year. It's that once I got popular, I though that to be accepted by them, I needed to drop you.  Would you ever forgive me?"  She started to shake.

"I already have."  I said warmly. She gave me a hug, then did something that I didn't expect her to; she kissed me on the cheek.  I felt my face turning red, and I returned a kiss in return.  "So does this mean that you're going to the Ball with me?"  I asked.

"Yes!"" She yelled excitedly, her huge, bright smile showing. We kissed again, and held hands as we walked to the lunchroom. Maybe things were finally starting to look bright for me.