Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Here in This Sorrow


Neil Devlin
I don’t like to admit it, but I’m not all that excited about the end of the year. I live way out in the country with no one around me, so I don’t have a lot to look forward to. Sure, getting to sleep in every day is really nice, but once I get up, there isn’t much to do. Both my parents work all day, and I can’t get my driver’s license for another two years, so I can’t really go anywhere. Normally, during the summer, all I do is watch a lot of TV. How exciting is that? I don’t hang around with many people, usually just Allyn Mathews. He can’t get rides anywhere during the day, except from his grandmother who doesn’t like to drive. Some nights, I’ll spend the night at his house, or once in a while, he’ll come to my house. He’s allergic to my dogs though, so he spends half the night coughing. When I’m at school, I at least have something to do. I get to see my friends, and have lots of free time to hang out.

Every one tells me that tenth grade is going to be a lot harder, but I heard the same thing about ninth grade last year. I had a little trouble at the beginning of this year, and got four progress reports in the first quarter. My mom was furious, and I got grounded for a month. Once I finally buckled down and did a little bit of work, now I’m going to pass with flying colors. I don’t think next year should be much different. My older brother got through it, and he’s a giant pot-head.

I got up this morning and had a breakfast of Froot-Loops and coffee. My mom doesn’t like me drinking coffee, but I do it anyway. It helps me get going. The bus was five minutes late picking me up, and I had to stand out in the driveway the whole time. Sometimes, during the winter, it would be ten or fifteen minutes late, and I would have to stand out there the whole time in the freezing cold, because if I wasn’t there, the bus driver would go right past my house without stopping.

It was a warm morning today. It’s going to be a really hot summer, I can tell. My parents keep talking about getting a swimming pool. I hear that every year though. I don’t even get excited about it anymore.

I just got the new Creed CD for my birthday last week, so I listened to that on my portable CD player on the bus. I like them a lot, they are good musicians, and have a really good message. If they come and play near here, Allyn and I are going to see them. I had to beg my mother for an hour to get permission. She gets so worried about me doing things like that. She says that everyone at rock concerts are doing drugs and robbing people. I don’t think that kind of thing would go on at a Creed concert!

When I get to school, I go right to the cafeteria to get a bagel, the second part of my breakfast. Usually, Sam Knoll is here too, but not today. Stephen Joyce, who hangs around with my older brother, is at the table in the back corner with that punk kid with black hair and a spiked collar. I think his name is Clark.

Stephen doesn’t talk to me much, even though when my brother is home, Stephen is at my house at least three times a week. Once in a while, he will say ‘hello,’ to me if he sees me in the hall, or he will ask me when Jim is coming home next. He doesn’t today. After I get my bagel and cream cheese, I sit down at a table near them. I keep looking over at Stephen nervously, not sure if he is going to say anything to me. They don’t seem to be paying attention to me though. I think they are talking about music. They are mentioning names like ‘Emperor,’ ‘Morbid Angel,’ and ‘Cradle of Filth.’ The only band I recognize is Slayer, because my brother listens to them all the time.

They get up and leave right before the warning bell rings. Stephen pats me on the shoulder and says, “See ya,” as they walk by. I smile a little too broadly and wave to him as they walk out the door. I finish my bagel and sit there until the warning bell rings. When it does, I throw away my garbage and leave the cafeteria.

As I’m walking out, my friend, “Wheels” Trudgen is walking with his quiet friend, Steve Valentine.


Go to "Wheels" Trudgen

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