I had been late getting ready this morning. Classes started too damn early in high school.
Bags under my eyes, hair wet, with my thick glasses, long sweatshirt, and tight jeans, I took a window seat in the middle of the bus. The popular kids walked right on by as I blew clouds onto the chilly, clattering window. I didn’t want to talk to anybody this morning. I hadn’t had time to masturbate, and this early break from my routine had already put me on edge.
The seat warmed under my body and yet more jocks huddled in the back, as yet more nerds sat solitarily in front. I liked a few from either crowd, but didn’t fit in with any groups. I was a drifter, no center of attention yet not unwelcome either, and the middle seats were the fringes where I roamed. But while I wasn’t part of any group, I wasn’t totally alone, either.