Senior Year at Sommerville High

All characters are 18 +

CHARACTER GUIDE

Jake - He is the main character.

Sydney - A Friend of Jake, part of the group.

Zoe - A friend of Jake, part of the group.

Ray - A friend of Jake, part of the group.

Tyler - Best friend of Jake, part of the group.

Soniya - A friend of Jake, part of the group.

Matt - A friend of Jake, part of the group.

Ms.Santiago - Jake's Home Ec teacher.

Nurse Mapleton - School nurse.

Mr.Barlow - Jake's boss.

Rebecca - Co-worker of Jake.

Stella - Jake's mom.

Andrew - Jake's dad.

Danielle(Dani) - Jake's older sister.

Mrs.Augustyne - Sydney's mom.

Courtney - Friend of Jake.

Morgan - Friend of Courtney, hates Jake.

Madison - Friend of Jake.

-----------------------------------

My alarm went off at 6:00 on Friday morning instead of the usual 6:30, so I begrudgingly got up and turned off the alarm. After brushing my teeth, I began to pack my suitcase. I was regretting not doing this before going to sleep last night.

My mom and I were going to stay at my sister's new apartment in the city. This would be the first time I saw my sister since she moved out. I finished packing in half an hour and had time to spare. I took out my phone to text my sister.

Jake: Hey! You up yet?

Dani: Got up a while ago. Decided to go in early today, so I'll be back when you guys are here. Did you pack yet?

Jake: Just finished. What's the plan?

Dani: Depending on when you get here, go out. Either for dinner right away or sightseeing and then dinner.

Jake: Sounds good. How do you like the city so far?

Dani: Not bad. Haven't gotten a chance to explore it a lot yet.

Jake: Are we blindly following you?

Dani: We've been to the city enough to know some spots. I'll show you some new spots I've discovered.

Jake: As long as we're safe, I'm happy with whatever you got planned.

Dani: I'll try my best to protect my little baby brother. Gotta go to work. See you later today!

Jake: Bye.

With nothing else to do, I went downstairs to get some breakfast.

"Good morning! Someone is down earlier than usual," my mom said as she was working at the stove.

"Morning. I woke up early to finish packing. Are you done packing?"

"Yes, I finished yesterday, and I remember telling you to do the same yesterday."

"Yeah, I'm regretting that. No need to rub it in my face. Did Dad change his mind?"

"Nope, I tried convincing him last night, but he wouldn't budge. Wasted my time for nothing, well, almost nothing."

Dad walked down unusually late for breakfast, wishing us both a good morning. "You packed kiddo?"

Kiddo? He only called me that when he was in a really good mood. "Yeah, I was just telling Mom I finished packing this morning. Are you sure you don't want to come to Dani's?"

"Oh, I'm coming, but just not staying the night. I already spend a lot of nights sleeping in hotel beds. I'd rather sleep in my bed when I get the chance. Did you let Barlow know you're not showing up to work today? He told me you called off at the literal last minute the other day."

"Uhm, yeah, I wasn't sure what to do, but I don't work today. Nothing to worry about in that regard."

"Good. Isn't it time for you to get to school?"

I checked the clock, and it was earlier than I usually left, but I decided to leave anyway. "See you guys later tonight. What time are we leaving again?"

"As soon as everyone is here," answered my dad.

"Ok! Bye!"

I got into my car and headed to school. With a few minutes to spare, I decided to stop at the convenience store near the school to pick up an energy drink.

I grabbed my drink and was at the checkout when Courtney walked in. "Hey! How are you?" I asked.

"I'm good. It seems like it's been forever since I saw you."

"It does feel like that, huh? Are you grabbing anything?"

"Yeah. My car wouldn't start, and I thought it would be smart to walk instead of getting an Uber. I saved the money but burned my entire breakfast. Just grabbing a breakfast bar to hold me over till lunch."

"Go ahead and grab it, I'll pay for it."

"You don't have to. I got it, after all, I did save money on Uber," she said with a giggle.

"I insist, and I won't take no for an answer."

She grabbed the breakfast bar and placed it on the counter. After paying for it, we went out to my car. "How about I give you a ride the rest of the way?"

"Buying me food and giving me a ride? Aside from my car not starting, I would say this day is off to a great start."

We got in the car, and I asked, "How come your parents didn't drop you off?"

"Both of them had to leave for work early. I was going to ask Morgan for a ride, but it seemed like a nice day out."

We pulled into the parking lot and started walking into the school. I saw a flyer for volunteers for an old committee, and that made me ask, "Are you part of the Valentine's Day committee?"

"Nope. I didn't even know they started looking for volunteers. I'm not much of a committee person anyway."

"Sydney asked a few of us to join before they opened it up to everyone. If you want, I can tell her to add your name to the list. I'm part of the committee."

She debated inside her head for a second before saying, "Ok, I'll do it. You are 100% a part of it, right? Not pulling a mean trick on me."

I held up my pinky, "I pinky promise you that I am on the committee."

We interlocked pinkies, and Courtney said, "I hope you know that if you break a pinky promise, you'll be cursed forever."

"I don't believe in that stuff, and I'm not lying. So, nothing to worry about."

Our pinkies were still interlocked as Morgan walked up to us. "Get your grubby fingers off of her, you perv!"

I immediately pulled my pinky away and hoped she wouldn't cause a scene and draw a crowd.

"Morgan!" Courtney said forcefully but also in a hushed way. "Why are you trying to cause a problem?"

"I'm looking out for you," she replied, mildly offended. "We know that we can't trust him," looking at me. "He may appear nice to you, but I know his true form."

Now, I took offense. "True form? What am I? An alien?"

Courtney held up her hand in my face to stop me from talking. "Morgan, I don't know what got into you. Whenever Jake is around, you go all psycho. Did Jake do something to you?'

"Woah, woah, woah! I never did anything to anyone," I defended myself.

Morgan was at a loss for words. This was the first time I had ever seen her like this. With nothing else to do, she huffed and walked away.

I looked at Courtney, "Are you gonna go after her?"

She sighed and replied, "Yeah. Sorry for all this."

She ran after Morgan, and that's when I noticed there were a few eyes on us. Not too many since students were still walking into the school. I quietly walked away from the situation. I saw Ray and Soniya sitting in the library and joined them.

"Hey," Ray said as he moved his backpack so I could sit. "You're here earlier than usual."

"Yeah, and I regret it."

"Why?"

"Morgan flipped out at me for making a pinky promise with Courtney."

Soniya said, "Oh, that's what that noise in the hallway was. I was wondering what that was. What exactly happened?"

"Courtney and I made a pinky promise. That's it. The way she reacted, you would've thought she walked in on me having sex with her daughter."

"Serious question, what did you do to Morgan to make her hate you so much? Whenever she sees you, she has it out for you."

"I have that same question. We've been going to school together since kindergarten, but I don't ever remember being friends with her. Our paths never really crossed until Courtney and I began talking this year. You're friends with Morgan, right? Don't you know anything?"

"I've asked her once or twice, but she always responds by saying you're some pervert. And just to let you know, I don't think you're a perv, and neither does Courtney. Whatever she has against you, she's gatekeeping it for some reason."

"That sucks. I hope she doesn't spread shit about me. The last thing I need is to be the talk of the school for some bullshit reason that's not even true."

Ray changed the topic by asking us what our weekend plans were. I told them I was visiting my sister in the city, and Soniya said she was gonna hang out with her cousins.

"What about you?"

"I'm heading to the state university to meet up with Felicity. There's a Valentine's Day party with a couples costume competition."

"Oo, that sounds fun," Soniya said. "What are you guys going as?"

"No idea. She asked for my measurements, and I gave it to her. I'll find out when I get there."

The bell rang for homeroom, and we left the library. Soniya and I were headed in the same direction, while Ray went in the opposite direction.

As we were walking, Soniya asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go for it."

"How is Tyler?"

"Aren't you guys still talking? But to answer your question, he's doing fine. He doesn't say anything about the breakup, but he's not Tyler Tyler if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I get it. We do talk, but I don't feel like he's honest with me about it. I feel like a piece of shit sometimes. This relationship was way too serious for us. I should have given him some more freedom."

"And compromise your values? You did the right thing. Not all relationships are meant to last. You'll find someone who wants the same things as you, and he'll find someone who wants the same things as him."

We reached her homeroom, where we stopped. "Thanks, Jake. Even though Zoe has pretty much told me the same thing, it feels better hearing it come from a guy." She hugged me and went into the classroom.

As I walked into my homeroom, both Mr.Grayson and Zoe were present. I sat down next to her and asked, "Where were you yesterday?"

"My cousins came into town, and we went out. I felt like shit when I woke up, so I skipped."

"Wait, I thought you were sick. At least, that's what Sydney or Soniya told me."

"What? Oh, uh, no, I wasn't sick. They probably didn't get what I was trying to say," she said with a panic in her voice.

"Hmm. Grayson didn't show up yesterday either," I said casually.

"Oh, that's weird."

She quickly moved on from yesterday and started talking about something random. Classes went by quickly until it was time for Chemistry. Madison was already at our table, and I joined her.

"What's up with Tyler?" she asked as soon as I sat down. "He's blowing me off and not even responding to my texts anymore."

"It hurts, doesn't it? I bet this is the first time you're the one being ghosted instead of ghosting. He's going through some stuff now. Is it about editing your photos?"

"Yes, it is about editing my photos. Why else would I text him? I need some pictures taken and sent out. I already missed all the Valentine's Day shoots. I need to get on top of this so I can get some pictures out for spring and summer."

"Like I said, he's going through some stuff right now. I can try asking him, but no guarantees."

"I don't care what he's going through. He agreed that he would do it, and he's going to have to do it. You're incapable of editing. Otherwise, I would've gotten you to do it."

"Editing is something anyone can learn, you know."

"I'm the talent. All I need to do is look pretty," as she flipped her hair back. "You need to talk to him. Or I'll find someone else. And you'll lose your privileges."

"What privileges?"

She looked around to make sure no one was listening and then leaned closer to me, whispering, "Seeing me change."

The teacher cleared his throat, "I'm sure the entire class would like to hear what you secretly told Mr.Rosati, Ms.Hill. Am I right, class?"

There were a few sounds of agreement, but he said, "Please don't repeat this. It's been 15 minutes since the bell rang, and you two haven't heard a single word from today's class. Please pay attention. Just cause you are seniors doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet."

The rest of the class went by as we focused on the lesson. The bell rang, and as we walked towards our next classes, she reminded me, "Don't forget. Get him or else."

It felt like an empty threat, but I didn't want to risk it. I decided I'd bring it up to Tyler but wouldn't push him too much.

As I walked into Ms.Santiago's class, I saw everyone stopping at her desk, grabbing a piece of paper, and then heading to their seat. I followed the line, and as I reached her desk, she scribbled something on the piece of paper and handed it to me. I took a seat, and it looked like a pop quiz. However, on mine, it said, 'Next Saturday?'

She was asking about our final hookup, and I wrote yes underneath it.

Ms.Santiago stood in front of the class and started talking. "Ok, class. As you can tell, I gave you a pop quiz. Nothing too hard. I want to make sure everyone is paying attention to my class. Also, we're ahead of schedule. It doesn't count toward your grade, so no pressure. You got till the end of the class to finish, though, it shouldn't take that long."

She was right. The pop quiz was relatively simple, even for a Home Ecs class. Once she saw that everyone finished well before the bell rang, she collected the papers and let us do whatever we wanted for the remaining time.

With a few minutes to go, we locked eyes, and she announced to the class, "You know what, you're free to go. Enjoy the weekend!"

Everyone got up in a hurry and left just us two alone.

"Next Saturday?" I asked.

"That's what the paper said. At that same motel. I hope you remember the address."

"Yeah, I'll be able to pull it up. What time?"

"There isn't any bar or restaurant nearby, so it should be relatively quiet at night. How does 8, 9 sound?"

"Works for me. We're spending the night, yeah? I need to come up with an excuse for my parents."

"If you got to leave, you got to leave."

"No way in hell am I passing an opportunity to spend the night with you. Even if I get shit from my parents, it's going to be worth it."

She giggled, saying, "I'll try extra hard in that case. Who knows? Maybe I'll fulfill one of your fantasies," she said with a wink. She gave me a gentle push, "Now get going to lunch. I don't want you staying here too long."

I walked out just as the bell rang. I grabbed my lunch from my locker before heading to the lunch spot. On the way, I saw Tyler and Soniya, which I thought was nice they were together after the breakup. Then I saw Madison, and she was heated.

In an effort to do some damage control, I interrupted their conversation. "Hey! What's going on here? Everything good?"

"Yeah, everything is good," Tyler responded. "She was just reminding me about our agreement."

I looked at Soniya, worried about what she would think of it, unsure of how much of the agreement Madison revealed.

"Ok. Now that we're on the same page, you better respond to my text." As she walked away, she stared daggers into me, bumping into me in the process.

"You are so stupid!" Soniya directed to Tyler.

"Huh?"

"The hottest girl in school wants you to edit some sexy photos for her, and you ghost her. It's a dream scenario, and you're throwing it away."

"I'm not in the right state of mind. It feels wrong..."

"How? Because you think it'll hurt my feelings? Tyler, newsflash, we're broken up. I don't care what you do with other girls. Go for it. This is the reason we broke up in the first place. I'd be mad at you if you passed up on this opportunity."

"What's going on?"

"What's going on is that I want you to do what you want. Old Tyler would've hopped on this opportunity in a minute. Why are you showing hesitation?"

"It feels disrespectful to you, especially right in front of you."

"I just told you I don't care. Go do it! And shame on you, Jake!"

"What did I do?"

"For not encouraging your best friend to follow his dreams! You two are pathetic," as she stormed off to the lunch spot, with us pathetically trailing behind her.

At lunch, Sydney was in the middle of talking about the Valentine's Day committee. As she saw me walking, she asked, "Do you want to add anyone, or should I make it open?"

"Courtney? I talked to her about it this morning, and she seemed interested."

"The question is, will Morgan let her? Yeah, I found out about Morgan going off on you."

"I wouldn't necessarily call it going off, more like a little yelling."

"She went off on you, or at least that's what people are saying what happened."

"Damn it!"

"Yeah, good luck, bud. I'll ask her if she wants to join."

Sydney rattled off the list of the committee members, leaving Matt off the list. This made Soniya ask, "What about Matt?"

"He thought he needed to be on the committee to accomplish something, but I made him realize he didn't have to."

"What were you trying to accomplish?"

"Nothing specific. Trying to add another notch on the bedpost," he replied.

"I don't think you're using that right."

Sydney sternly also said, "Yeah, you're not using that right," in addition to staring lasers out of her eyes.

The rest of the school day went uneventfully, and the bell rang, letting us know the weekend had begun. My mom texted me, saying not to waste time and get home ASAP since Dad needed to get back.

I did as told and got home within 10 minutes. My parents were waiting for me in the kitchen. Mom told me, "If you're changing, go ahead and get changed. Do you want me to make you a snack?"

"Why are you making the kid a snack?" my dad asked. "We're going to be grabbing dinner in a few hours anyway. In fact, we better get going now so we don't miss the reservation. The traffic is going to be horrible on a weekend."

"I'm not going to change. I'll just put my backpack back, use the bathroom, and be right down."

We were in the car less than 2 minutes later. The traffic wasn't bad, but once on the highway, it was jam-packed. There was no time to go to my sister's and then go to the restaurant, so we asked her to meet us there.

We made the reservation on time, with Dani waiting for us. Dinner was nice as we rarely ate dinner at a restaurant, let alone a fancy one.

Dani asked, "What's new in Sommerville? Has it changed much?"

"You've been gone for like a month or two? Don't be one of those people," I said.

"Shut up! Not having to deal with you every day is probably the best part about moving out."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I bet your ass is bored without me around."

"Children!" my mom said, "Can't you hold off on your bickering till we get back to Dani's apartment? We're at a fine establishment, let's try to blend in and act like we belong."

She turned to my dad for backup, but he was oblivious to the whole thing. He was nose-deep in the menu, trying to figure out what to order. "$50 for a fish? Who chose this place?"

"Dad! Relax, I'm paying for it. Get whatever you want, and don't worry about the bill."

"I don't care who's paying for it. It's still ridiculous." He found something he deemed to be better value, and we placed our order. The dinner conversation was us quizzing Dani on living in the city and on her own.

Dani took us to a dessert spot that was a 5-minute walk. As we were walking, we heard Dad say, "Oh, for Christ's sake! These guys are incompetent!"

"What happened, honey?"

"I have to travel out of state. I gave them one job. They're incapable of getting it done."

"When do you have to leave?"

"The company already booked me for a flight tomorrow morning."

"That's fine, Dad. You can leave from my apartment. I can drop you off. It's a much shorter ride from here than from the house."

"Yeah, but all my stuff is at the house. I can't leave without it. You guys carry on with the night and bring the car back. I'll take a taxi home."

"No, I'll come with you," my mom insisted.

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your night."