[Chapter 1]
Immediately after stepping off the bus, he dashed for his homeroom. Jesse spent the entire night before finishing an essay that was due and as a result, got no sleep. At the moment all he wanted to do was rest his head on a desk and nap.
When he arrived to his homeroom there was still about 40 minutes before the first bell. Besides him, there was one other in the room, a girl. Her name was Kendall Douglas and she was currently reading a book at the front of the room.
Finding his desk, Jesse sat down and closed his eyes. Hearing him, Kendall turned her head and greeted Jesse.
"Good morning Jesse," there was a bright smile on her freckled face.
"Morning," he mumbled in reply.
Getting comfortable, Jesse let out a sigh and took his morning nap.
_
The sound of the morning bell woke him up immediately. There was some drool running from the corner of his mouth. Wiping his face, he scanned the room. At this point, most of the desks were now occupied and multiple conversations were ongoing.
"Let's meet at…"
"...yeah my neighbors mad cute."
"What do you mean there was an essay due today?!."
"Did you watch the new episode of The Mysteries of Snow Pine County?."
Noticing that footsteps were coming from the hallway to the classroom, Jesse turned his attention to the doorway. Soon after, a tall man walked in. It was his homeroom teacher Mr.Franklin. Things quieted down when he entered the room and sat down at his desk to organize his paperwork. This signaled the start of homeroom. People either did their homework that due later in the day or they quietly socialized. Since they were in the middle of their second quarter of the school year everyone was used to this routine.
Seeing that it was nice and quiet, Jesse went back to sleep.
_
The ringing of the bell woke him up again. Opening his eyes he found himself face to face with Kendall.
"It's time for class, sleepyhead," she said with a smile that could make someone's day.
"Did you have leftover spaghetti for breakfast this morning?" all he could smell was the meat sauce.
Those still in the room after the bell went silent. Everyone heard him ask the question. The beauty that is Kendall Douglas had most of her actions at school observed. It was hard for her to escape the public eye. So the one question that was meant for just Kendall's ears, was announced to the public. Needless to say, people were shocked.
"Yes," it took some time before she regained her composure and replied. Jesse's remark also caught her off guard.
Ending things with that, Jesse got up and made his way to his first class of the day, English.
_
The day was going by slowly and Jesse was having trouble staying awake during his classes. He would doze and the teacher would yell out his name to wake him up. Not only would he be wide awake, but he would also gain the attention of the entire class. This was something that he wanted to avoid.
It felt like ages but eventually, the time for his favorite class, history, came. It was his favorite for a few reasons. First off it was his strongest subject, second lunch was right after, and third but most importantly the teacher, Ms.Katherine, was hot. So when it came to history, Jesse was extra motivated to stay awake.
Walking into Ms.Katherine's room Jesse saw that Kendall was already there reading a book. Ms.Katherine wasn't in the room at that moment so it was just Kendall and Jesse. Seeing that it was just the two of them, Kendall started talking to Jesse.
"It's rude to tell a girl her breath smells."
"I didn't say it smelled, I just asked if you had spaghetti for breakfast."
"How's that any different?."
"It was an innocent question, what if I wanted to learn the recipe of the sauce you used?."
"The whole class heard your so-called innocent question."
"How's it my fault everyone else was being nosey."
Before she could say anything back, their classmates started to arrive and their teacher came soon after. Their conversation ended and class began. While Jesse did his best to stay awake and pay attention to the lesson Kendall silently pouted.
When she finally calmed down, Kendall started taking notes on the current lesson but she also snuck glances at Jesse. She secretly liked him and enjoyed bantering with him. The reason she was annoyed with him was that he hadn't noticed she did her hair that morning.
Kendall's occasional glance didn't go completely unnoticed. Andrew Gardner, someone almost as popular as Kendall, noticed her looking at Jesse throughout the class. Andrew also liked Kendall, but she never paid much attention to him. So seeing Kendall show interest in Jesse left a bad taste in his mouth. He had also heard about what Jesse said to Kendall earlier that day too. Turning green with envy, he secretly texted his friends in the class. He was going to teach Jesse a lesson.
_
When class ended Jesse went straight for the bathroom. He drank a lot of water earlier in the morning and his bladder was close to bursting. While he made his way to the bathroom, he was also being followed by Andrew and three of his friends.
Entering the bathroom, Jesse went to the nearest urinal and started relieving himself. In the middle of emptying his bladder, he heard the bathroom door open and people walking in. someone went into one of the stalls while two others were having a conversation seemingly waiting for their
friend. He had a strange feeling that he was being watched. Finishing up, Jesse made his way to the sink to wash his hands, at that time thought the person in the stall flushed and walked out. Immediately recognizing the boy from the stall as Andrew Gardner, someone from his history class. Jesse looked at the two others in the bathroom and realized they were also from his history class. He started to get a bad feeling. After making that revelation, Jesse continued washing his hands but paid close attention to the other three.
While at the sink, Andrew cupped his hands to hold water and a sinister look appeared on his face. Just as Jesse turned the faucet off, Andrew threw the water onto him, soaking Jesse and creating a puddle on the floor. Soon after Andrew and his two goons surrounded their target on three sides and attempted to jump him.
Jesse, who was already prepared for something to happen, wasn't totally surprised by the current situation. He immediately started putting up a fight. The three others that were trying to beat on him weren't all that skilled in fighting. While defending his sides Jesse managed to bloody andrews lip and caused a nose bleed, forcing Andrew to retreat to save his face. With Andrew in the center gone, Jesse had more room to breathe and started dealing with the other two. They were on either side of him and it was difficult to block both of their attacks. He sent a kick to the one of the left's knee, this forced the left goon to the floor howling in pain. If Jesse was any closer when the kick went out, the leg would've been broken at the joint. With his left now free, Jesse had more room to move and began focusing on the goon to his right.
Andrew, who was watching as his friend writhe in pain on the floor, was stunned. He didn't expect Jesse would be able to fight back properly against three people.
'This can be salvaged'
Andrew had something that could fix the current situation. Gritting his teeth, he took out his pocket knife and rushed Jesse.
While he was fighting with the right goon, Jesse managed to put a foot or two between his back and the sink. In the middle of fighting the right goon, out of the corner of his eye he saw Andrew coming for him and it didn't take long for him to notice the knife in the teens hand. Jesse quickly stepped back, forgetting about the puddle from earlier. Immediately after his food came into contact with the slippery surface he lost his footing and was launched backwards.
" Wha-"
There was no time for him to finish what he was saying before the back of his head connected with the sharp corner of the sinks countertop. There was a dull thud as the back of Jesse's skull was split open and his body dropped to the floor.
_
Andrew just stood there as he watched the crimson pool grow under Jesse's head. While he may have pulled out the pocket knife he had no intention of actually using it. It was just for show. His entire body was shaking uncontrollably, the other two present were as shocked as him.
"How did this happen?," Andrew asked himself
"What should we do?!," Thomas, the one who almost had his leg broken, cried out.
"What can we do?!," William, the other one present, responded.
"We have to leave before anyone notices," Andrew stated.
They both looked at Andrew with wide eyes but neither had anything to say, or rather couldn't think of anything to say. With William supporting Thomas, they all left the bathroom.
"How'd it go?," Charlie, the lookout, was curious.
None of them said a word and went for the nearest exit. Confused, Charlie looked inside the bathroom himself. His face instantly paled and he saw Jesse's body and the pool of blood on the floor. He immediately ran out and caught up with the others without saying a word.
_
Back in the lunchroom, Kendall was patiently waiting for Jesse. She was planning on guilt tripping him into having lunch with her, using what he said that morning. There were numerous invitations that she declined without hesitation.
'What's taking him so long?'
Kendall stood at the lunchroom doorway silently, hoping that at any moment Jesse would appear and greet her.
But Jesse never came.