Chapter Twenty
When JJ arrived home, he checked his phone and
found a voice mail from his parents saying they'd be home next Tuesday, and
they expected his room to be clean. Grumbling under his breath, he gathered
trash bags and gloves and set to work. First, he picked up all the trash on his
floor. Then he cleaned under his bed, cringing when he found a moldy slice of
pizza and crusty socks. Once he'd gathered up all his dirty clothes and placed
them in his hamper, he swept the floor and took the trash out. Then he
showered.
Once he was clean, he called Brianna and
Rachel to see what they were up to. Brianna was busy braiding hair while
Rachel's phone went straight to voicemail. Henry was busy too, as were Lance,
Mitchells, David, and Jason. Sighing, he told Alexa to play I'm Just a
Kid by Simple Plan. He scream-sang along to the lyrics, feeling more
alone than ever at that moment. JJ was halfway through his third listen when
the alarm on his phone sounded.
Shit, I forgot all about
my Google Hangout with Travis. He rushed around the room, trying to remember
where he put his laptop. After finding it, he booted up and logged on.
~DaJoshFather
has entered The Hangout~
It took a second for Travis's image to load,
and when it did, he looked beat.
"Hey," JJ said, nibbling on a candy bar.
Travis yawned. "Cute username. DaJoshfather, like the God Father?
Smiling, JJ said, "Yeah. It's legit my fav
movie. So, where do you wanna begin?
A pensive look came over Travis. "Your
name, birthdate, and family history would be a good start."
JJ nodded. "My full name is Joshua." He
cringed. "Joseph Giovanni and I was born April 1, 2003."
Eyes wide, Travis said, "You're almost two
years older than me. How are we in the same grade?"
"I was held back twice. On purpose, mind you. I
used to go to Choate, then I flunked all my classes to get my parent's
attention. But all it earned me was a grounding. I did the same thing the next
year, and they transferred me to AP Prep."
At Travis's confused look, JJ said, "What's
wrong?"
"I don't get why you'd want to flunk two
grades.
As soon as I'm old enough, I'll take the GED
test and be done with school."
"Why do you hate school so much?"
Travis rolled his eyes. "Why do you think?"
JJ looked down. "Sorry."
Neither of them said anything for a while
until Travis broke the silence. "What are your parents like?"
"Demanding. Always going on about how I must
uphold the dignity and honor of our family and how my every action reflects
upon them. Honestly, it's a load of horse shit. What
about your parents?"
"Mother is an RN, and Father is an electrician
with a local construction company. They work a lot, leaving me to look after
the twins when they can't get a babysitter."
"I wish I had a brother or sister."
Travis laughed. "No, you don't. They're
annoying brats, and I'd rather be an only child like you. Back to my parents.
Mother, being from old money, is prim and proper, always hectoring me about
`dressing for success and my image. Father is stoic but has always stressed the
importance of education and hard work. Even though I have a 3.666 GPA, he's
always telling me I can do better. The truth is I learn more outside of school
than I do inside it. Parents can be such . . ."
"Bastards?" JJ said, making a sour face as his
resentment ratcheted up.
"I was going to say authoritarian
Neanderthals, but that works. They act like because they're older, they know
better. But I'm old enough to make decisions about my own body."
JJ raised his hands in the air. "Preach!
Parents think they know everything, but they have no clue what we go through on
the daily."
"Exactly. They wouldn't last thirty seconds as
a kid today. I swear, they should require people to have a license before
siring offspring."
"Amen," JJ said, and they laughed.
"You know," Travis said, smiling, "you don't
completely suck, Giovanni."
"Thanks, and you're not half-bad yourself,
Travis."
Scowling, Travis said, "That's Turner."
JJ rolled his eyes. "Don't you think we're
closer than that, given our kiss?"
"One, we didn't kiss. Two, you must earn the
right to use my first name."
And just when I was starting to like him, he
goes and says that. "How about this: you can call me JJ if I can call you Travis?"
"No deal. It's either Joshua or Giovanni."
"Why?"
"Because JJ has tormented me for years."
"Huh? Wait. I get it. Then how about you call
me Josh?"
"That's satisfactory. A glossy look came into
Travis's eyes, and he froze as if in a trance before cracking a grin and
saying, "You want to kick it at my crib tomorrow or what?"
"And the award for most schizo goes to you." He laughed.
Travis smiled wide. "I know I can be a real
prick, but give me another chance?"
JJ didn't know what to make of Travis's mood
shift. Should he accept the offer and hang with him or decline it? They both
probably had enough info to satisfy Dr. Dull. And he was still pissed at Travis for getting them kicked out of anger
management class. But the thought of being in Travis's actual room was too
great a temptation.
"Imma need an answer
soon."
Pushing aside his fears, JJ said, "Yeah.
When?"
"Six PM?"
"Cool. Oh, can I have your cell number? In
case my plans change."
They said goodbye, and JJ promised to text him
later. For the rest of the day, he couldn't stop smiling. Tomorrow,
I'm gonna hang with Travis frelling Turner. But what
if I spaz out, and he doesn't like me? What if this is all an elaborate prank
to get revenge on me. What if I go over there and he tells me he hates me?
He hyperventilated until he remembered the
breathing exercises Dr. Dull had taught them. Calm down. We're just
going over there to hang. That's it. Maybe I should have a drink to chillax?
He shook his head, thinking better of it, and
spent the rest of the day on YouTube.
***
The next day, JJ spent hours agonizing
over what to wear. He didn't want to dress too formally, but he didn't want to
look like a slob either. He settled on a pair of khaki cargo shorts with a polo
and Converses. Outfit decided, he attempted to tame the orange beast that was
his hair. He was all set to begin the battle when he noticed he had a giant
pimple on his nose.
Fuck! What am I gonna do?
He tried popping it, but it wasn't ready
and swelled up, turning an angry reddish-purple. Maybe Mom's concealer
will work?
Creeping up the stairs to the third floor, he
entered his parents' room and searched his mother's side of the bathroom,
finding several bottles of concealers. But which to use? He tested a bit of
each on his hand until he found one that matched his skin tone. After applying
it to his zit, he checked himself out in the mirror. It now looked like he had
a huge bump/wart on his nose. "I'm hideous."
Screw it.
He put the concealers away, washed his nose,
and got his hair presentable. When he was ready, JJ texted Travis.
"We still on to hang today?"
The message stayed on read for ten minutes
before Travis replied, "Yeah. See you in a bit."
JJ requested a rideshare, and when it arrived,
he piled in, heart in his throat.
Here we go.
Author's Note: Don't ya
wanna slap some sense into these boys? Aw, to be young,
dumb, and full of . . . love. Next chapter, Josh and Travis hang out,
complements of Pro's meddling.
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