Taking Chances

I yawned loudly and rolled out of bed to get ready for school. I rubbed my face sleepily as I dragged my feet over to my closet. I opened the doors to reveal a wardrobe the consisted almost entirely of black, the only exceptions being white, purple, red, and blue. I pulled on a red long-sleeved shirt and then a black Metallica tee over. I stepped into black skinnies and my favorite black converse. I was almost ready to take on the world.
I ran my hands through my longish black hair and swung my backpack onto my shoulder as I made my way down the passage and then the stairs. I stopped just before I reached the bottom, only having to wait a second before hearing the sound familiar sound of Mom humming in the kitchen. I smiled and took the last steps to the hallway floor; today felt like a good day. As I walked to join Mom in the kitchen, I didn’t bother to question why.
I kissed Mom on the cheek as a good-morning gesture and accepted the cup of fresh coffee she offered me. She knows me so well.

“Morning Mom,” I took a gulp of my coffee, almost finishing it, before hugging my Mom thanks. We had always been very close; we had been through so much together. She hugged me back and kissed my forehead softly.

“Want me to drive you today, Franks? I don’t start work for another hour.” She smiled her awesome mom smile, and I was again reminded how grateful I was for our new life.

“No thanks Mom; Mikey is waiting for me at the bus stop, he has something he wants to talk about on the way. He sounded pretty excited.” She smiled and nodded.

“In that case, you had better hurry, or you’ll miss the bus and Mikey.” I grinned at her and kissed her cheek again before turning for the door and stepping out. The air here was hot, but I didn’t mind. I locked the door behind me and started my walk down the block for the bus stop on the corner.
I only walked a couple houses down before I saw Mikey’s bright blond hair. I walked over and punched his arm lightly, laughing as he jumped. He grinned when he saw it was me. He gave me a quick hug; we had been friends ever since I moved here a year ago. He was positively jumping up and down in excitement. I couldn’t help but laugh. To think, I had been so shy when I first came to this place.

“Geez Mikes, calm down. What’s got you all fired up anyway?” I asked with a grin. He just laughed

“Do you have art today?” Mikey’s golden-brown eyes were shining with humor. I gave him a teasingly worried look.

“Yeah, man, you know i do. Why?” Mikey and our other friend Ray were notorious for their pranks against teachers, and other students were sometimes caught up in it by mistake.

“I hear there’s a new teach. Should be fun.” Mikey’s excitement was contagious. I found myself looking forward to art. Even more so to whatever Mikey and Ray had planned. I looked up to see the long, curly haired guy we knew as Ray walking over. He was grinning as broadly as Mikey. They shared a look that said they knew something that none of the rest of us did. Ray was what most would consider tall, and Mikey was a little taller than average, and here I was shorter than the both of them. But I didn’t mind, they never made me feel small. Ray grinned and we fist-bumped and laughed at how geeky we were. When the bus got there we all climbed in and took our usual seats at the back.
I had been friends with Mikey for months, but I didn’t find it strange that I had never been to his house. He had his reasons. And little over a year ago, I never took anyone near my house; no matter how close we were, so I totally understood that it wasn’t personal. The whole drive I tried everything I could to get Mikey and Ray to tell me what was happening at art today; other than the new teacher. But they both stubbornly refused to tell; it was a surprise, they said.
The anticipation was getting to be too much when we got to our homeroom, again taking our usual seats at the back. Mr. Ryann walked in shortly after the bell rang, freezing all conversation like liquid nitrogen. No one liked Mr. Ryann; he was a strict, unfair, aggressive man who enjoyed dishing out detentions among other punishments far too much. He gave us all a glare and started his start-of-term speech.
“You lot are now, god help us, seniors.” His face looked like he had smelled something distasteful. He paced up and down in front of his desk as he continued,
“You need to set an example now, you lot. I do not want to have any of you-” his eyes landed on me and I tried not to laugh aloud; thinking of all the detentions I had suffered through just last year. “-to go ruining our schools reputation. Now! We have a few changes in staff. Your art teacher will introduce himself next lesson; and your new Mathematics teacher will be Ms. Matthews. Show them the respect they deserve.” Mr. Ryann gave us a chilling look and proceeded to hand out new class schedules and extra-curricular options. Mikey, Ray and I all grinned at each other. We were going to make our last year as memorable as possible. When the bell rang for next period, the three of us were the first out the door. We talked and laughed loudly as we made our way to the other side of the school to the art hall.
Some kids here had tried to cause trouble with me at first but had soon gotten over it when they didn’t get the reaction they were looking for, most people just left me alone now.
The door to the art hall was already open so we just went straight in; we were the first ones there, so we took the art table next to the window at the front. When the bell rang the final warning, the classroom suddenly filled up with loud students. They took their time quieting down, seeing as there wasn’t a teacher in the room yet.

A man walked in a couple minutes later, and I couldn’t help but stare. All I could think was “wow”. I was honestly stunned. This man was stunning! His bright, fire-truck red hair was messy in a really sexy way, and by the way he moved, you could easily see that he was very sure of himself. He flashed a crooked smile that could almost be called a smirk and ran his slim-fingered hand through his hair, making it even sexier. His skin was as beautiful as porcelain, pale without being pallid. I knew I was staring, but I also knew I wasn’t the only one. His eyes were a stunning moss green; there was a mischievous light in them. He was wearing an untucked white button down shirt with a loosely hung red tie and a black V-neck jersey over it that reached just to the top of his tight black jeans. I shifted in my seat, my cheeks slightly flushed as he turned his back on the class to write something on the board.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help but check out his ass; my eyes roving over his body while the class whispered to friends or whatever about this thoroughly unexpected teacher. He turned around, that electric smile still gracing his perfect lips.
“Good morning, everyone; I am Mr. Way, your new art instructor. Now, as long as you get your work done, I have no problem with talking quietly, or using your phones; but be careful, once you lose the privilege, you won’t be getting it back.” The class buzzed with excitement as he continued. I honestly stopped listening at that point. I was so blown away by his voice; melodic, hypnotic, breathtaking. I snapped out of it when Mikey nudged me, a knowing grin plastered across his face.
“What dude?” He just nodded to the front of the class, where Mr. Way was standing with his hands on his hips. I grinned, damn he is sassy!
“Mr. Iero?” he said it slowly, as if he had called me several times and was not impressed by my lack of response. I don’t know if it was just me, but hearing him say even just my last name sent shivers running down my spine.
“Yes sir?” My own voice was slightly more gruff than usual, an edge present that definitely shouldn’t be when talking to a teacher.
“Your art project, I hope it’s brilliant. Or you’ll have afternoon detention on your first day back.” I just nodded and mumbled ‘yes, sir’ like I was upset by the prospect of sitting in a classroom alone with this man for an hour. I shivered again. Well, I did want my last year to be memorable.

Notes

Hehehe They meet. But what will Mr Way think of our cute little Frankie? He doesnt seem so impressed... yet ^-^ lol hope you enjoy the starter, cause i cant wait for the main course.

Rock 'n Roll, Pansies
Keep on Running //_^