Dissapointment

Cyrus First Person Point Of View

“This time everyone's getting a warning, but next time, you won't be so lucky."

Every person in the room experienced this relief wave. The guys sighed, and their normal cocky attitudes returned immediately.

They started cracking jokes, taunting each other, but I barely heard them.

I was kind of dazed, but the relief was completely overwhelmed by the immense fear of what my dad would say when we returned home.

The men surrounded Arzhel and me, looking all concerned and such.

"Hey Cyrus, don't cry, okay?" one of them commented, but I completely caught the taunting attitude they were giving out.

Derick's voice completely ruined the atmosphere.

"Cut that out," he instructed sternly, giving the group a hard stare.

They all sort of smiled shyly but then retreated, leaving Arzhel and me alone.

Derick locked eyes with me, his gaze unreadable. "Yo," he said, his voice low.

I gazed up at him, wiping away tears.

"Stop crying," he told her, though he wasn't being cruel about it. He kind of nudged her, though.

Before I could utter a word, Arzhel panicked.

"You're every bit as crazy as your pals," he retorted, dripping with disdain.

He grasped my arm hard and hauled me after him, our arms all jumbled together again.

I couldn't stop thinking about last night the whole time we were leaving, but I didn't say a word to Arzhel yet.

The day dragged on seriously but I couldn't focus. I kept thinking about what my dad had told me that morning, repeatedly, in my mind.

"You're disappointing me."

Despite my efforts to concentrate, every class was just a din in the background. There was this tightness that gripped my chest constantly, and my stomach kept doing somersaults.

Arzhel always had this habit of catching things, that's who he is. He would hang out alongside me for all of my classes, tapping on his notebook, waiting for me to talk.

"Hey, you good?" he'd whisper when the teacher wasn't looking, and he'd nudge my elbow.

I completely nodded in agreement, but truthfully, I wasn't actually with it. I've been sort of off since last night.

When lunchtime finally arrived, Arzhel attempted one last time to cheer me up, flashing me that infectious smile of his.

"Let's stop by the vending machines, man. Here, take this one."

I shook my head and told him that I wasn't hungry, and Arzhel looked frowny. But he didn't pressure me. He never does.

The rest of the day blurred together, my mind too occupied with thoughts of my dad, the principal's warning, and the embarrassment of this morning's breakdown. It was all too much.

When that last bell rang, I had this strange combination of relief and jitters. The day had ended, but I completely knew what would come after.

As the halls emptied, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I hesitated before looking at it, knowing exactly who it would be.

Dad.

"Hey, do not get on the bus," he growled, his voice coarse, equally enraged as before

"I'll come get you myself. Just wait near the door."

I swallowed hard. "Okay

I dropped the phone and looked over to see Arzhel already dismantling his equipment.

I must've appeared extremely stressed out because he simply stood there, not budging an inch.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, frowning with concern.

"My dad's picking me up," I murmured, not meeting his gaze. "I'm not riding the bus." Arzhel blinked, stunned. "Wait, seriously? That's. not great." His tone shifted, disappointment clear as he ruffled his hair in frustration.

So, are you okay with that?

I simply nodded, though I had absolutely no idea.

Arzhel sighed, and for a moment, I thought he had something on his mind, but he simply moved in closer and hugged me extremely tightly.

"Call me, okay? You better."

""Of course,"" I replied softly, managing a small sad smile.

He squeezed my arm reassuringly one last time before he left, turning back to me with the same concerned expression on his face.

I simply sat down on the stairs at the front of the school, hanging out by myself while I waited.

Time seemed to be taking forever. Each car that passed by got my heart racing, only to fall when it wasn't my dad.

Slowly but surely the campus emptied, and people walked home for the day. I had never felt so lonely.

The last group to leave were Marcus and his team, laughing and joking all the way out to the parking lot.

They caught me just lounging there, and I could clearly hear the mocking in their voices even before they actually spoke.

"Hey, Cyrus!" one of them cried out from the vehicle, sticking his head out the window.

"Did you miss the bus or something?"

We all laughed when the car slowed down, and Marcus looked over with a sympathetic expression but didn't comment.

"Hey, do you need a lift or what?" a person shouted from the vehicle, somewhat sarcastically.

I simply shook my head, completely unsure of what to say.

They lifted off, laughing even harder as I sat there by myself.

I was completely red with embarrassment, but I just remained there.

I had almost packed it in when suddenly this awesome roar of a motorcycle revving its engine caught my attention.

I had a brief glance over the parking lot and noticed that Derick and Troy were about to leave on their bicycles.

My heart skipped a beat when Derick spotted me.

He sort of stood there for a moment, looked at Troy, and muttered something that wasn't clearly audible from here.

Troy nodded and dropped his visor as Derick jumped off his bike and paid him with some money.

Troy started his motor and sped off completely leaving Derick behind.

My heart raced as he walked toward me, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, his expression unreadable.

I simply stood there, completely unsure of what to do or what to say.

Derick halted a couple of feet from me, regarding me from top to bottom.