The remainder of the morning could only be described as a series of unfortunate events. Everywhere he turned, it seemed like there was someone ready to pounce. Jaeson did his best to sneak through the halls between classes and avoid the constant tripping and shoving, but it was as if the entire school was after him. He couldn't even escape the bullying during class in the presence of a teacher. During sociology, Mrs. Tanner had Jaeson stand up and read a passage from their textbook. She scolded him the entire time, telling him to speak up and stand straight. Meanwhile, she ignored his classmates as they threw balled-up pieces of paper, erasers, and rubber bands at him.
Jaeson was used to being bullied, but not usually this openly. And all the while, his insides felt like a wet towel rolled up and wrung out. He wanted to escape, but he couldn't leave. He was already on probation for his poor attendance, mainly because his bullies made it challenging to get to class on time. Vice Principal had already threatened to expel him if he skipped entirely. He'd brought his grievances to authorities several times but was always dismissed and accused of faking, embellishing, or outright lying about his circumstances. He'd even been banned from the nurse's office.
He was in desperate need of a distraction. So, while he had some free time during chemistry class, he pulled out his new tablet and sought safer stimulation online. But the bullying had already spread into cyberspace. The videos of him getting assaulted with water balloons filled with shaving foam had spread through the school's network and beyond. There were already hundreds of hurtful comments from people he'd never met. He was practically going viral, and the day wasn't half over.
Sometime later, at lunch, Jaeson debated even trying to eat. There was no possibility he could get through the lunch counter without food in his hair or down his shirt. But he hadn't eaten since the day before, and though nothing seemed appetizing, he had to eat something. Jaeson knew their school's cafeteria was alright, but lately, food started tasting more and more like ash. Nobody else seemed to notice, so he assumed it was just him. He grabbed a bag of chips and a bottle of water and made his way to the register.
In front of him was a mousy, redheaded girl that he recognized from his senior art class. Her name was Jenny. She transferred to Stafford Regional a year before. He hadn't interacted with her much, which suited him fine since interactions with others were always dicey. But Jenny might have been one of a handful of people at Stafford Regional who hadn't openly expressed disdain for him. By that metric, they were practically best friends.
Her hair always stood out - near waist-length, with streaks of gold, tucked into an elaborate braid. She wore thick, black-framed glasses over her deep blue eyes, a baggy yellow sweater, and unflattering jeans. Despite knowing next to nothing about her, he always enjoyed seeing her. For whatever reason, the colors of her hair and clothing just popped better, as if he was seeing her through some kind of image filter with the saturation turned up.
She was frantically swiping through her banking app on a chunky, outdated, and well-used tablet device, looking for funds to add to her wallet. With the line backing up and her desperation mounting, Jaeson held his phone to the scanner to pay for her lunch without a word.
"Oh," she said, surprised. Jenny looked at him curiously and struggled to find the right words.
The cashier quickly rang him up, and Jaeson left swiftly afterward. Some other more adventurous person might have used an opportunity like this to segue into a quippy meet-cute like in a romantic comedy, but he was happy to make himself scarce before Jenny realized who he was.
He avoided the cafeteria and found a secluded bench in the adjacent commons, an open nexus of intersecting hallways leading to various wings. It was full of carefully curated vegetation and decorated in the school's signature purple and black. Even though he was hungry, he couldn't get through a few chips before washing his mouth with water to eliminate the chalky consistency. Even then, the water tasted metallic, almost rusty. His pain was still ramping, and he wondered if his silent phantom friend would ever come to comfort him. But the commons were mostly empty.
He was getting more desperate for relief by the hour, so to conjure her, he turned to his tablet and began scribbling a hasty sketch of the enigmatic girl. And for a moment, he forgot how hungry and tired and tortured he was. He focused on his art, on her, his imaginary friend. He felt stupid when he thought about her that way. But if his choice was between feeling silly or broken, he'd be content with silly.
However, that reprieve was short-lived. He'd just finished the girl's eyes when a young woman hopped onto the bench and collided with him. "Sup, nerd!" she shouted.
Already on edge, Jaeson jumped and yelped, "Gah!"
The young woman giggled mischievously. Her name was Leena Summers, and she epitomized the blonde bombshell look, with big fake boobs and lips, thick thighs, and the owner of what was widely considered the best ass in three counties. She was dressed for gym class, with black and gray yoga pants and a red hoodie with the midriff exposed and the neckline cut as far down as the school's dress code would let her get away with.
"Can I help you?" he asked sarcastically after regaining his composure.
"Ugh, you need to lighten up, Jaeson. You are turbo lame, I swear."
"So you've said," he replied. He was never in the mood to deal with Leena. "What do you want?"
Undaunted, she continued. "Well, I couldn't help but notice that you're using a Van Gogh DX Workstation Pro. That's a pretty impressive piece of tech." Then she nudged him and said, "And I see you're using one of the most advanced portable devices on the market to draw a girl. Typical."
Jaeson was caught off guard, both by her knowledge of niche mobile devices and how deep her cleavage was when she leaned forward. He quickly locked the screen and shoved the device in his bag.
"Aww! Did I interrupt happy time? I'm so sowwy," she pouted.
Jaeson looked away and said nothing. He knew better than to indulge her.
"Anyway, I'm actually here on business. You know Fiona, right?"
Jaeson's ears perked upon hearing the name of his first crush.
Leena giggled, "What am I saying? Of course you do. Well, her birthday is coming up soon." She leaned closer and pressed her breasts into his arm. When she caught him looking, she chewed her lip suggestively and said, "Happy birthday, by the way."
Jaeson scooted further away from her, but she pretended not to notice. "I've heard that you're quite the artist. And since we both know how much of a fan of hers you are, I thought you might like to be a part of my surprise for her."
"No," he said immediately.
She laughed. "You haven't even heard my plan yet."
"I've had enough of your plans, Leena."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh gosh. Are you still sore about getting stranded on the roof? That was, like, two years ago, dude, get over it."
"It was less than four months ago, and I had to retake Spanish 201 over the summer because you made me miss the exam." He didn't bother bringing up the heat exhaustion or the blistering sunburn that not even his genetics could protect him from.
She laughed. "Why didn't you just reschedule the test, stupid."
"I tried," he sighed. "But Mrs. Esposito hates me."
"What, did you draw nudes of her, too?"
Jaeson grabbed his bag and was about to get up when Leena held his arm. "Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry, okay? Just hear me out. Gosh!"
Jaeson ignored her and kept trying to get up.
"I can fix your relationship with Fiona," she said enticingly.
That gave him pause. One of his biggest laments was being unable to get closer to Fiona. There were many reasons for this, the biggest one being her boyfriend, star middle linebacker and captain of the football team, Tony Reckman.
"Ahah! I knew you'd be interested." She continued as if he'd already agreed. "I've been trying to get that girl out of her shell for years. She's smart, she's sweet, she's popular, she kicks ass on the soccer field. And most importantly, for our purposes, she's hot as fuck. The girl has it all."
"Uh-huh," he said skeptically.
"Sorry, I forgot I was talking to her biggest fan," she said as she nudged him. "The thing that most people don't know about her is that she's super shy. I mean, sure, she has nice expensive clothes, and some of them show off a belly here and there, but you can't get her in a bikini to save her life. So I thought, maybe, perhaps, I could make her feel more comfortable with her body if she saw what she looked like in a sexy photoshoot or something. But she won't even pose for me, and I'm her best friend! Can you imagine?"
"Yeah, imagine," he muttered.
"So then I had this brilliant idea. Maybe she'd reconsider if I could make a piece of art with her posed all sweet and sexy. Problem is, while I am a highly evolved woman with many skills and talents, drawing isn't one of them."
"So, you want me to, what? Make a pinup of her?"
"Yes! You got it!"
Jaeson rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that'll go over well. Hey Fiona, I know we haven't said a word to each other since I wrote you a stupid love letter in seventh grade, but here's a picture I drew with your boobs out."
"Don't be so crude," she scolded. "And don't you think I already thought of that? I'll explain why we did it, that I commissioned it from you, and we just wanted to show her what a babe she is. As long as you make it your best work, I'm sure she'll love it, and then she'll have you to thank for it."
There had to be a catch. There was always a catch with Leena. "Why me? And how do I know you won't just take this to Mr. Rodriguez and accuse me of stalking her or something?"
"Oh, come on! How petty do you think I am?" She thought for a moment and then said, "Don't answer that. Look, you're the only person I know who can draw people well. And really, who better than her unrequited love? I mean, think of the redemption arc." She framed an imaginary banner in the air. "From the outhouse to the friend zone, the Jaeson Everhart story."
"Inspiring," he said dryly. "Thanks, but no thanks. Get an AI to do it for you." He turned to leave and took satisfaction in knowing he'd avoided another one of her traps.
"Please," she said quietly.