14.:e.x:c.h:a.n:g.e:d:.
xx
ONE; Lazy Saturdays
Private school is hell.
It may sound glamorous to some, what with the idea of being away from parents and such, plus living with friends. But the reality of it is, we don't all end up living with our friends. And I'll have you know, living with your school mates is much worse than living with your Mom. Trust me, I know.
The prison- Sorry, 'school' I'm trapped at is Timberfall Heights Academy, which I was shipped off to the day I turned thirteen. So, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit; Some people, most people actually, love it here. But me? I just don't see the point. I'd asked my mother;
"Why can't I just go to a normal high school?"
And she told me that she was moving away with her 'new boyfriend', some rich hotshot from the 'nice' area of town. In my eyes, she was kicking me in the teeth and telling me to get the fuck out of her house. In her eyes, she was doing me a favor. And let me tell you, being sent to Timberfall Heights Academy was the crapiest favor the woman had ever done for me. Needless to say, I haven't talked to her since.
But thats besides the point.
Life at school was simple. Life in the dorm was simple. I never imagined that things would ever, ever get complicated.
Boy, was I wrong.
Lazy saturdays are my favorite. Always have been, always will be. It's as simple as that. It was that one particular lazy saturday, in which Brendan texted me with his typical not-so-interesting lazy saturday morning text.
To: Natalie Hall
Hey Nat, meet me and Johnny at the mall, usual spot, okay?
From: Brendan Rowe
I couldn't help but laugh. That's Brendan, for you. Love the guy, but both him and Johnny never chose any fresh places to hangout. I, for one, dislike hanging around the mall constantly. Unfortunately for me, Brendan and Johnny never tire.
"I only go so I can reel in chicks!"
Johnny claims, even though I'm the only girl he's ever seen hanging around with. But at least we all have fun together, crowded, stinkin' mall or not.
So I went to the mall, Timberfall Place, (original, I know) and met them at our usual spot, which was just outside of entrance 11. Yeah... It's a pretty huge mall. There, we met up and continued our typical lazy saturday routine.
Stop one: Coat check. Along with the winter season, comes the necessary need to wear bulky, heavy jackets.
Stop two: Food court. I'll be honest; We like to eat.
"Taco Bell." Johnny announced, his voice proud.
"New York Fries." I stated, my finger pointing to the direction of the greasy resturant.
"Dairy Queen!" Brendan exclaimed excitedly, a goofy grin worn on his face. Johnny and I exchanged glances that read 'what the fuck?'. Brendan noted this weirded out look we gave him, and pouted. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Johnny and I simply laughed, before parting ways, probably leaving Brendan with a very confused expression.
Stop three: Legacy Skate Shop, for Brendan. He was really into the whole 'skateboarding scene', and even though it was winter, disabling him from practicing, he still dragged us in the store every time.
"Does this hat look good on me?" Brendan asked, trying on some stupid looking black hat with a flat rim. I laughed at how dorky he looked in it.
"Not really." I giggled, snatching it off his head.
"Hey!" He objected, but I was already checking the price tag; Forty-six dollars.
"Why does this stupid thing cost so much?" I inquired, chucking the hat at Brendan. It bounced off his chest and landed on the ground.
"'Cause it's brand name." He informed matter-of-factly, picking it up.
Johnny laughed out loud. "Ooou, brand name!" He teased. "Gotta be hip n' with the latest trends, eh Brendan?"
"Shut up." Brendan laughed, putting the hat back where it came from. "Maybe a different one..."
Stop four: Before Dawn Records, for Johnny, the music junkie. Him and Brendan were in a band they were practically begging me to join, but I always declined. Me, in a band? Nooo thank you.
Johnny held up a CD that showed a blonde girl with bangs, pouting 'cutely' for the camera. He laughed at it and held it beside his face, imitating her expression. "How do I look?"
"Like a SUPERMODEL!" Brendan exclaimed, putting on his fake 'gay accent'. I scoffed through a laugh.
"Like a GOOF." I said, grabbing the CD and holding it beside my face. I then pulled off, possibly the ugliest face one will ever witness me make- I'd say it was a mixture of a grimace and a pout, with my face all scrunched up. Instantly, Brendan and Johnny burst out laughing. They just loved seeing girls make ugly faces, likely because so many girls try their hardest to NOT look ugly.
"Sorry Johnny-boy," Brendan said, "But I think Nat takes the cake for prettiest lady here."
Stop five: Patron Clothing, finally, for me! It was an all girls clothes shop, so they hated going in, but I made them anyways.
"Oh hey," Brendan began, picking up a t shirt from a disorganized pile. He held it up to his body. "I dunno guys, is it me?"
"Totally." I nodded, some hints of sarcasm lacing my voice. The shirt was tiny (xxs), black and said "Team Jacob" on it in big extravagant letters.
"I dunno about that one Brendy," Johnny slurred, imitating a girls voice, "Personally, I think pink is more your color." He held up an equally small, hot pink t-shirt decorated with the very not pretty face of Robert Pattinson, Twilight star and world renowned douche bag. The shirt also featured the infamous quote 'and so the lion fell in love with the lamb'. I laughed out loud instantly.
"Hahaha!"
"Oh em gee!" Brendan shouted unintentionally loud, receiving a dirty look from two twelve year old girls who were also enjoying R-Pattz' face. He ignored them and grabbed the shirt from Johnny harshly. "I love it! I am SO buying this." He then tossed it back into the pile. I giggled, and Johnny shrugged.
"It's super cute."
Stop six: Got Game? Why, it's the arcade! The only place in the mall I actually really loved. Something Johnny, Brendan and I all had in common.
Immediately, we all headed over to the four DDR machines set up. Obviously, we only used three of them. DDR (thats Dance Dance Revolution) was Brendan's specialty. He kicked all of our asses at it pretty much instantly, because it wasn't long in the game before I fucked up or Johnny tripped over his own feet and fell. So for the most part, me and Johnny competed to get the SECOND best score.
But today, things were different.
As Johnny, Brendan and I turned on the game and plugged in the number of players (three), somebody approached us from behind.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked. We all turned to see a person none of us had ever seen before- And hello walking sterotype! Mr. human billboard, the land ad, ect. Yes, the man who dared to approach us was, dare I say it... Totally gorge- GAY. With a tight fitting burgundy Hollister top that only emphasized his Calvien Klein-esque body, crisp dark jeans, and a cunning smile to top it all off. Not to mention his hair, which to me only came off as plain odd; Shortish, light blond and kinda spiky- Basically, it looked... Stupid. I could practically smell the hair gel wafting into my nostrils...
My inner woman was practically screaming YUM, I WANNA HOP ON THAT.
My outer Natalie and true self was simply raising an eyebrow. Naturally, I wasn't used to somebody we didn't know asking to play with us. Especially someone so... Ugh. No. Just, no.
"Um, okay." Johnny was the first to reply. "Just hop on and we'll put four players." And I would say that was the first thing I noticed that was actually different about our day. We'd never played with more than three players- Never. Not like I minded, though. There was no harm in some extra competition.
"Alright, cool." He said, smirking cooly and positioning himself on his machine. I was between Brendan and Johnny, the new guy on the other side of Brendan. I saw him in my peripheral vision jumping up and down repeatedly- A warm up, perhaps? What kind of person warms up for DDR?
A really, goddamn good player, apparently. For as soon as the game started, this strange, blond haired guy instantly dominated the screen with his perfect score. Brendan was good, really good, but even he made mistakes sometimes.
This guy? Not one.
Halfway through the game, I messed up and quit. My legs hurt, and I just felt like watching Brendan do it anyways. When I stopped, Johnny stopped too. That left Brendan and mystery man, battling to what looked like to the death. On Brendan's side, at least. His face flushed as he struggled to keep up with the guy, who evidently, was kicking his ass. Finally, it ended. And guess who got the highest score?
I'll tell you, for the first time in ever, it actually wasn't Brendan. It was him. Both Johnny and I stared, mouthes agape.
"Did he just... Beat Brendan?" Johnny dared to ask, caught up in disbelief. Slowly, I nodded.
"I... I think he did."
The guy then energetically jumped off the DDR machine, while Brendan slumped off, exhausted. "Good game." He panted, his face still red from pushing himself too hard.
"Yeah." The guy smiled cockily at him. "You're alright, y'know? With more practice, you could be an expert."
Brendan merely laughed, though I could tell he was annoyed by this statement. "Thanks. I tried."
"Wow, I thought Brendan was an expert." Johnny mused, as him and I walked over to join them.
"He's good," The guy said. "but he's got a long way to go."
I furrowed my eyebrows at his. Thats a bit rude. I thought, but said nothing. I continued to silently listen.
"I guess I'll keep practicing." Brendan said, forcing a smile as he took a swig from his water bottle.
"So where'd you learn to play like that, anyways?" Johnny asked curiously, and the guy (who had not yet mentioned his name) grinned slyly, about to get into a detailed story about his 'amazingness', likely. About five minutes of this guy, and I could already tell that his ego was even higher than his unbeatable DDR scores. But before he could reply, a little alarm went off and he checked his cell phone. It was a light blue, girly looking phone, I noticed.
"Shoot, I can't stay." He said, grabbing his things in a rush. "Maybe I'll run into you all again." And with that, he sped out out of Got Game? and was out of sight in seconds. Brendan, who was still panting from the intense exersize, wore a twisted expression.
"The fuck?" He asked. "He wasn't even out of breath!"
Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Bren. You're still the best of us three."
He smiled slightly. "Yeah, but... That guy-"
"Was a complete jerk." I finished, cutting him off. Brendan and Johnny nodded in agreement.
"Totally cocky." Brendan said.
I nodded, picking up my bag so we could move on to a different game. All of a sudden, none of us were in the mood for DDR. I looked at the machine that strange guy had played on, his incredibly high score still plastered on the screen, and rolled my eyes. Way cocky.
Author's note: Hey there, thanks for reading! :) This is a direct remake of my story Exchanged on fanfiction, incase any of you happen to recognize the work :) aha yeah, my fanfic penname is Homely.
Anyways, review please! Let me know if I should continue? :o