Defyance of Death 1

March 21 2007 was a typical early spring / late winter day at Williamsport High. Chilly but warm enough to wear a t-shirt if you didn’t mind a shiver or two if you had the misfortune of being sat next to a window. It wasn’t too cloudy or sunny. Not to dry or wet. The typical half an hour long bus ride didn’t take to long or seem to go by before I could listen to anything decent on my Ipod.

Mod one chemistry went by the same. A hell of a lot of paperwork, before doing a 5 minute long lab involving kitchen chemicals. Because even in 10th grade our class was too rowdy to use real chemicals at the moment. All the while trying to balance out chemical compounds while blocking out the class clown David who insisted upon constantly singing "Humps" all class driving everybody mental.

The bell finally rings. God if I had to hear that half-wit sing another sexist song I was about to throw my chemistry book at his head. I run across the hall to meet up with Jamin. I have no real reason to run. Even if I walk the short distance I'd make it there before him because as always he's the last one out of his class. My only real rush is out of my eagerness to see him as he's really the only friend I see all day until fourth mod. That and well...I’m me...and I like to be there before him.

I crack some irrelevant joke about how he's the last one out and Jamin just shrugs smiling a bit as I dive into conversation about which ever fan fiction it was I was working on. I can’t really recall what it was as relevant as what I had for dinner 3 months ago. At the moment though it seemed to be the center of discussion as if it were life and death to figure out every little detail about it and he was right there helping me.

That’s one of the many things about him that I love. He listens. Not like most guys in the school who you can talk at but you can’t talk to. That and he's real. He doesn’t just put on an act for people just to get on their good side or get people to like him for a fraud. If he disagrees with you he lets you know, if he has an opinion he'll state it if you don’t like him for who he is he doesn’t give a shit. He's honest but never rude. That and he knows when things have to be done. He doesn’t go looking for trouble but doesn’t let himself or his friends get pushed around.

Our school (like most I suppose) is of course not like on TV where there seems to be more time spent in the hallway then in the actual class room. With only 4 minutes to get across the school to your next class there’s hardly anytime to maneuver through the hallway traffic let alone time to talk. I thank the fates for putting his class being on the way to mine. We put in our last words and wave our good-bye as he turns into his English class.

Great. Now there’s nothing between me and my most dreaded class of the day. Art. Mind you I don’t hate the subject; as a matter of fact it’s possibly my second favorite subject of the day. It’s just the people in the class that I have to deal with that drive me up the wall. Although he IS a major factor of it I don’t just mean David who I have the misfortune to have in this class as well.

No who I refer to are three people in particular that live to spite me. Marissia and her minions. Anti-social I may be; quick to judge is something I most defiantly am not. These girls how ever I *WILL* say without hesitation are the spawns of satin...or at least the biggest preps in the entire school.

"Don’t forget the 24th!" one of them rings out in an obnoxiously and unnecessarily loud voice at the other two.

I know full well what their talking about. My 16th birthday party. I was having it at the skating rink and invited a few friends, the drama class, family and of course Jamin. Queen evil and her goons found out and science it was on a Saturday we couldn’t afford to rent out the entire skating rink. As such they could pay to get in...And they would do it just to fluster me as usual.

So I just do what I do every single day in Art class. Focus all my attention on my shading project paying no attention to them. Ignoring the girls talking about who there going out with that week and what they got high off of the night before.

I suffer through Lunch without any close friends of mine and through the most boring subject of the day; Tech. Drawing. I took it only because it’s a required class. I like the subject itself its just that everyone in the class picks up on it so slow I’m always so far ahead of the class that the teacher tells me to slow it down and I always end up just sitting there staring at the computer screen because internet is turned off there. Finally the bell to end 3rd mod ends. Thank. God.

I run down the hall to the lockers. I hate fighting against the crowd but always seem to get stuck in it no matter how much I hurry. As I stand looking further down the hall to most people I seem to be lost. Someone slams into my shoulder in their hurry to get by but I pay little attention to it. I'm to busy clutching the wolf pendant around my neck.

To most people it's just a small pewter wolf pendant on a leather string; to me its one of my most valued possessions. Jamin bought it at Hershey Park after him me and Lizzy (the third of us three musketeers) went through the zoo there. His favorite animal is the wolf so he couldn’t pass up the chance when he saw it.

I laugh a bit. When he got that pendant and ever since then it was the one thing that he would never part with, I don’t recall ever seeing him without it. I recall that almost a week before we admitted (with much assistance from Lizzy) that we saw each other as much more then friends I had a dream that he gave it to me. Not even a month later he comes to me with a Christmas gift. To my surprise it was the necklace that now I almost never have off.

Corny? Well maybe to you but if that’s what you think then all I have to say is your rather unromantic.

I finally catch sight of Jamin at his locker. I run over pushing my way through the crowd who are too involved in their own places to go and things to do to even notice me trying to get through. I make it through leaning against the locker next to his; the person who uses it has been long gone.

"MEEP!"

Yes folks. 'meep.' Call me crazy, call me a freak, call me an idiot with no social life what-so-ever. Frankly I didn’t care. It was my typical afternoon greeting to Jamin in which he responds with one of his oversized grins.

"You meep-ed at me!" he blinks exclaiming as if it were something new "why for do you go meep at me?"

"Becaaaause" I shrug as I subtly shift the weight of my books into my left arm, holding back my fits of giggles "Ifeltlikeit!" as I blurt this out before he has anytime to react I poke him in the stomach before he gets the chance to retaliate. Jamin's response was a weird laugh that seemed to be a cross between a gremlin and the Pillsbury doughboy.

"Duuunt poke meeee" he whines as we head towards the stairs and we both start laughing about how childish he sounds as he says it.

"I can poke you when ever I feel like it" I start laughing again as I poke him in the shoulder

"In some countries poking me is illegal" Jamin responds sticking his tongue out as we begin ascending the staircase to the upstairs area of our school. Both of us restart our fits of giggles.

"Jamin...your worlds’ biggest Goober."

Yup that was us for you. Jamin and Nicole. Two of the best sophomores, if not two of the best students at Williamsport High School, and both of us were total and complete goofballs. He smiles waving as we go our separate ways.

Yes! The best subject of the day! Drama. Drama 2, to be precise. One of my best friends; Jenny, is already here. She’s pretty much the Goth/punk-rock girl of our group.

"SHA-LA!!!!!!" I call out to get her attention

"SHA-LA!" she replies as we break out into fits of giggles

Seeing as the entire class consisted of 'unique' people ranging from Ed the protester, to John who brought a pile of sticks to a safari the class went on when meeting each other, to Earl who intentionally writes his name backwards on everything of his, to Betty who is who makes Drama class Dramatic things are always interesting. As such someone yelling something such as "SHA-LA" across the room was pretty normal for this class.

Instantly Jenny comes up whispering to me about our so dubbed “E.R.V." a.k.a.  "Ed-Ray-Vision." Long story about that but I'll try to shorten it for you. Basically she and I had to shoufer for a Saturday performance of the school play of Annie in which Ed was playing the part of Rooster. After the show on our way out the door we had to walk by the boys changing area (which was the locker area and wasn’t enclosed) not thinking the both of us look up and there’s Ed in his underwear.

Class has been slow of late. The reason; our school play. With it just ending class has been slow getting back to doing acting drills rather then painting the applause sign and rearranging Daddy Warbucks mansion. So as you can imagine after 2 months of arranging lights and other lazy work the class wasn’t to compliant with the teacher. Such rebellion was made obvious when Ed led the class in laying down spelling out the word "NO" with our bodies when assigned to do some class interview thing.

So basically at the moment she was hardly bothering trying to stop the note that was going around the class. With my party coming up this Saturday I was desperate to get an estimate of who could show up and who was defiantly not able to come.

"Is Ed coming!?" I was hardly surprised when Jenny asked this as the paper finally came back to me. She was virtually obsessed with him Even before the underwear incident. Ever since then however it’s only been 10 times worse.

"Don’t know" I murmur with a heavy sigh "The only ones coming for sure are You, Jamin, Lizzy, Ashley, the family and now Earl. I got about 7 maybes. Just so you know Ed is one of those 7. Then if Ashley comes she might be bringing a friend and if Betty comes so is Zach so that’s about 2 more maybes"

It was about as a good a turn out as I had expected but still part of me had hoped that the entire class would of been able to come. But what can you do with most the class being upper classmen who have jobs and an actual life now. Between work and other obligations it’s difficult to get anyone able to come to anything.

The last mod of the day went by rather quickly, just as classes you actually like tend to do. I rush towards the lockers but just before I can even make it to the stairs a voice comes rising up over the noise of the crowd around me.

"Don’t you ignore me!!!!?”

I turn around instantly recognizing the voice smiling "Ashley-Chan!"

"Nicole-kun!"

Ignoring the stares that we receive as we refer to each other with Japanese respects (and the fact that I believe 'kun' is techncally a term put at the end of names of males) we run over hugging each other.

Ashley and I became good friends when she heard Jenny and me arguing over our favorite characters of FAKE. Jenny insisting that Bikky was the best, me defending my favorite Bluenette JJ Adams ( Yaoi is another obsession of mine; one of which Jamin has given up on arguing with me about and has numbed himself to)

"Did you see my new AMV on youtube?" she asks after we finish laughing with and at one another. My thing was writing. Hers was Anime Music Videos. While both of us had a love for both hobbies we each knew who was better at each. That wasn’t saying the other wasn’t excellent at the other mind you.

"No I will tonight though....I've been in a slump on my story so....you know how beeaaahh about everything I get when I’m like this" I shrug looking down the stairs at the door below "I got to go Ash..." I smile waving as we both had already begun on our own paths to our lockers across the school from each others.

Quickly I make my way downstairs once more forcing through the heard of students who were in a hurry to get their stuff and get home. It’s far to crowded to get to my locker. Luckily my bus doesn’t come right away and even if I were to wait a good 5 minutes to get to my locker I’m still standing outside the school for 10 more minutes waiting for the bus to come and with the rain that was now coming down I really wasn’t looking forward to that wait.

"So the group is supposed to be over at my house for an anime meet at your house before the party right?"

I nod to Jamin smiling lightly. Lizzy, Ashley, Jenny, him, and I started an Anime Club of sorts. It could hardly be called an actual 'Anime Club' as while we do start out discussing Anime or Manga it usually just turns into us sitting in front of my computer or watching random movies. But were friends having fun so that’s all that we really cared about.

"we video taping it our not?" he asks sorting though books he'd need to take home and ones to leave in his locker. It’s kind of funny actually. Most people stereotype boys as having the messy locker and girls being thoughtful about what they put in their backpacks and not lugging around unessacary papers. Between us were the exact opposite.

"Don’t matter....unless Ashley is doing an Inuyasha puppet show it just gets erased anyway"

We start walking and I go right by my locker which I could full well reach at this point. I really don’t care too much about that at the moment. It’s raining hard. Not to mention I'd rather be talking with Jamin then fighting with my locker trying to get the ancient combination lock to cooperate with me.

"I'll get online tonight when I get home" he sighed heading towards the stairs. I figured as much. He does so every night unless of course something comes up. It seems to be a habit of his to say so anyway. After the month long run of Annie (plus 3 months ahead of that rehearsing) where he was stuck at school practicing the lines of Mr. Bundles/ Hull/ one of the servants he seemed to be spending more time online then before to make up for lost time.

"Ok I'll talk to ya then" I smile lightly as he taps my shoulder when I stop at the stairs and he continues. He's not one for public show of affection which I am perfectly fine with because to be blunt neither am I. Especially when the kid two lockers down from me is always shoving his tongue down his girlfriends throat right in front of everyone every day after school. It’s a bit of a turn off to being all cute in public to say the least.

As I went back to my locker and try to ignore said person who without fail was indeed there doing previously mentioned actions I began to gather my stuff and I couldn’t help but let a small smile spread across my lips. Even if nobody else came, even if only Jamin showed up. It would still be a great birthday. Because when I'm with him; that’s when I was the happiest.