Some Other Way to Continue

My school puts on Easter exams. It’s exactly four weeks till the first one and at this I think I’m late to start studying now. Well by Patrick’s standards I am.
“You haven’t started yet?” he gasps in astonishment as I talk to him during a free math class. I shake my head. “But you only have four weeks!”
“I didn’t even realise there was Easter exams,” I explain smiling at Gerard as he passes my new desk. Assigned seating landed me in the very front but thankfully next to Patrick. Anyone else would make sitting up here difficult, even Gerard, Gabe or Bert. My new seat and revision themed classes reminds me of the triangle fun with Mr. Roberts back in Riverside.
“Of course there is! Constant report cards is the only way to make most of the school work, you see,” he clears some dust or something off the table with the back of his hand, “I never really stopped studying since the Christmas tests really.”
“I’ll just keep it up till summer,” I say with a strange amount of conviction. If my mom keeps up this punishment though it may actually happen. I never wanted to be that person who studies all the time. That’s Patrick. But I guess with my current house arrest it’s that or go stir crazy. I’ve already written loads of songs and can play every song by the misfits I have downloaded. It’s going to be a long eternity.

Friday my mom has a weird turn in her mood. She’s got a fucking date with a guy called Steve who works with her friend Debby. She’s insanely happy. She hasn’t been with anyone since dad so she’s putting in the extra effort. I get home from ballet, after walking all the way home, and she’s in the hall on the house phone in a towel and painting her toenails. I’m about to go upstairs when she raises a hand, indicating I’m to wait for her. I stand awkwardly in the doorway, bag heavy with books and study notes Patrick gleefully photocopied for me. People will never get it but he is a living legend.
My mom paints her last nail and stands up, off the kitchen chair we leave there. “Yea, ten minutes? Okay I can’t dress till you get here! I know… I know it sounds nicer but you’ll have to see it, it doesn’t sit right. See you in ten!” She hangs up the phone and turns to me, gripping her towel. “My date’s today,” she states.
“I know,” I reply, unsure where this is going.
“So Debby is coming over to help me get ready and she’s bringing Ellie-”
“Mom, you’re not trying to set me up with Ellie are you?” I cut her off, horrified.
“No, no, don’t worry. I was just going to allow you some social interaction while I’m on my date,” she says frowning.
“Oh my god you’re leaving Ellie as my babysitter!” I groan.
“No…” she says taken aback with either surprise or guilt. I can’t really decide.
“I don’t need to be watched every second of every day!”
Her defences fly up visibly, “Well by the way you have acted, you do! Ellie is a nice girl and I have a feeling will be a good influence on you!”
I try retaliate but all that comes out of me is a squeak of indignation so instead I run upstairs and sit in my room, sorting through Patrick’s notes.
After about ten minutes a knock is on my door. “Yea?” I call, I’m not moving to answer it.
It opens to reveal Ellie wearing a green day hoodie and a quizzical expression. “Hey.” She says taking a step in.
“Hi,” I shuffle the papers into a general pile and move them from my bed to my desk, “want to sit down?”
She nods and smiles. “My mom said your mom invited me over. Then your mom warned me you might be hostile.”
“She did,” I smile, “I don’t really mind trust me. I just got pissy because it’s like you’re here to babysit me.”
She laughs, “You’re small frank but not like young. I brought these CDs… they’re a small band from my sister’s uni, thought you might like them. There’s an EP and an album.” She puts two CDs on the desk, “They’re heavier than I am into. I’m still just easing myself into heavy rock.”
“Do you listen to the smashing pumpkins?”
“Not really.”
“You do now.” I jump up and search for the album. Three songs in and Ellie is tapping her foot along and murmuring, “Oh god I love this,” and “whoa”.
My mom comes in dressed “smart casual” whatever that is. Her hair is styled and her face is well made up. She comes in arms splayed and twirls around. “Whoooooooo go Linda!” Ellie claps and my mom beams. “You look amazing!”
“Thanks Ellie!” She says smiling giddily.
“You look great mom,” I say somewhat uncomfortably.
“Thank you Frank.” She smiles possibly even more.
“We better get going,” Ellie’s mom says checking her watch, “If he’s on time he’ll be there in twelve minutes!”
My mom nods, smiling, “Thanks for giving me a lift.”
Debby nods and ushers her down the stairs in her awkwardly high heels that make her look of average height. They call their goodbyes and wave. After a few minutes I hear the front door shut. I unpause the music.
I spend the next three hours just hanging out with Ellie. We listen to music, I play the guitar, she plays my guitar, and we somehow end up talking about Othello. Her mom comes at half eleven to pick her up and we hug, saying our farewells and promising that we should actually hang out more. I don’t know about her but for me it wasn’t an empty promise.

Gabe doesn’t study. Like at all. He claims to never have studied before, ever. “Never?” I say astonished. “Never.” He confirms proudly.
“What the fuck how?”
“Gabe remembers all from his homework,” Bert muses, picking at his soggy fries. Lunch is getting of lower and lower quality. Patrick believes they stock the cafeteria every term and the closer we come to Easter the worse it will get. I shuddered at the sight of the food today and from now on will bring food from home.
Gabe nods at Berts statement, “I’m no super freak genius,” he says, “I get good Bs and sometimes Cs.”
“And As in choir,” Gerard laughs.
“Shut up so did you until you quit it. If you didn’t quit it maybe you could sing better,” Gabe waggles his eyebrows and then bites his cheese sandwich.
Gerard looks offended, he puts a hand on his hip and the other pointing to his mouth, “Excuse you, you little fuck, I can sing better than you even dream you could,” he sings in the tune of a soft version of Bullet with Butterfly Wings.
Gabe look retaliates with a very pop, “don’t sing like an emo, you sound like whiny crap, bet you didn’t think I’d sing that.”
Gerard gasps and the table laughs at the fact that Gabe is wearing more black than any of us and sang something hushed pop.
It turns out none of the guys study really. Gerard and Bert do the high stress night before cram, Pete “doesn’t give a fuck he’s going to be a musician” and Mikey studies like the week before and still gets high Bs and As. I work my ass off to get the same scores as Mikey and Gabe. It’s just worrying, next year the guys will all drop down a math class and then try get into colleges without studying.
I try bring it up with them but they laugh it off. Literally every time I see them in school for the following Monday I remind them to study. This eventually ends in Gerard telling me to “shut the fuck up he doesn’t want to”.
I don’t want to tell them but I’m really worried about how few fucks they give about grades and I know if I do tell them I’ll be again told to shut the fuck up.

Baseball game; Riverside vs Pencey. In the hour running up to a full school march to my old school I saw three disturbing sights. One, the baseball coach following Gabe around the school pleading for him to play today. Two, I saw my principal supporting casual clothes in the school colours, white and yellow. Weirder again, I saw Gerard in a letter jacket of the school’s colours.
“What the fuck,” I say gesturing to his yellow and white jock top over his Iron Maiden t-shirt and black skinny jeans.
“It’s Gabe’s,” he grins by way of explanation.
We march to my old school, all the way the gym teacher begs Gabe to play. “We need you, Gabe, we really do!”
“Then give me an A in gym and geography,” Gabe says smoothly. I forgot the coach also teaches geography.
The coach looks so distressed, “I can’t automatically pass you in geography! How about just gym, huh?”
Gabe shakes his head and smiles, “Geography too or I’m sure the pitcher you have can throw many great foul balls.”
The coach looks pained, “Gabe… Fine, yes. But you still have to do the exam and ill lift your grade two okay. So if you get an F you can deal with a D.”
Gabe nods and grins. He joins Gerard and Bert who are walking in front of me and Patrick. I saw him walking on his own and Gerard seemed cool with it.
Riverside’s baseball pitch stands in all its past glory only this time I get to sit in a different stand. I sit with Patrick to my left and all the guys to my right. When Gabe jogs out onto the pitch with the letter jacket now abandoned by Gerard, my friends stand up and shout abusive endearments like “Kick those motherfucker’s asses!” and “Gabe you brilliant bastard!” The teachers gallantly pretend not to notice.
Gabe waves to us and bows before facing Carl at the home base. A coin is tossed and we’re first to bat.
Gabe starts the game off well with a homerun.

At half time we’re leading by three. I catch Ray’s eye in the stand and beckon him down. Bob, Brendon and Ryan follow. I meet them down behind the stand and for ten minutes we just talk about nothing. I wish nothing had stayed the topic because suddenly we started talking about Easter exams and preparation. Ray and Brendon relay some horror stories about people losing all faith in education after their exams and about one girl who failed an Italian Easter exam and then didn’t get into med school.
Thoughts of my permanent record float about my brain as I re-climb the steps to my seat. The file the principal held after I got in trouble for doing that kids homework. I know I won’t fail anything but I can’t say the same for the guys. I’d feel just as bad if Gerard didn’t get into college because of all the Ds recorded in that goddam file.
I take my seat in a completely off mood and sit back as Gabe single handedly wipes the floor with the Riverside baseball team, eleven to two.

Notes

Sorry, it's a short chapter but it took ages too write. Yesterday i got a new book so it didn't leave my hands till about eight pm today ://
Thanks for reading and the final TWO chapters will be here by the end of the weekend at most :))))