All Chapters of Head Over Shoulders : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

It's noon. The sun is shining directly on my face, burning my skin. I'm not in the dorms unfortunately. I'm on the basketball field. The professional one, not the one we played on for fun. Archer's coach is there too. Along with some other students I care not know where they came from. It's tryouts and I'm trying out. Dad had been low-key pestering me about it for forever, and I was one step away from snapping at him. The only reason they want me to play basketball is so that I can be one way more similar to Archie. "Matheos 2, it's your turn." I try not to roll my eyes at the nickname. What the heck is Matheos 2? I take the basketball from the other person and bounce it a little. The little bitch ricochets and hits me in the chin. If you guessed I'm not in my element today, you guessed right. It all started when I woke up. It was a call from dad that did the trick. He called me 17 times. 17 fucking times! I picked up the phone and my mind was racing. The first thing that came into

It's one of those times I can't think because my mind is crowded with thoughts of Vicky. I sit in my car, staring at the packs of cigarettes on the passenger seat. I said I was going to stop. I really do want to stop, but sometimes, it calls me. Like I need it more than anything else. My phone rings. It's Vicky calling me. The pace at which I grab my phone makes me cringe. "Yeah?" I pick the call before he ends it. I hope it's not a mistake. "I'm free. My class was moved to Wednesday." "Oh, you want us to meet." I don't mean to sound like that. I immediately correct myself. "If you do, that's fine by me. Where are you? I'll come pick you." He tells me where exactly he is and I'm heading there. Vicky is standing under the sun when I see him. His face is sweaty and sunburned. "Hey." He looks at me and smiles. A small one but it still counts. He gets into the car and I crank up the AC. He looks grateful for it. "Why were you under the sun? You've gotten sunburned." "I just wanted

There isn't any other person in the dorm. Gideon was in here earlier with me, but he got called in by his mother. I'm standing in front of the tv, remote control in my hands, looking for something good to watch. The door opens and Jesse walks inside. He sees I want to watch tv and is flinging his book bag to the corner. "What are we watching? I've got this amazing film I think you should see." As a film student, I'm supposed to be familiar with my movies and everything, but I am a 100 percent sure there's nobody that has seen as many films as Jesse. I hand him the remote control and puts on a black and white film. "It's black and white." I say trying not to laugh. I think it's just a joke. A harmless prank. "Yes Vicky. Don't be like them. There are a lot of cultural references in this one. Hallmarks and events that changed the film industry forever." "I learn everywhere I go. Can't we just watch Spiderman? Or, Batman. Something goofy and unserious. Please?" Jesse doesn't resist

I'm loosing my resolve more and more. There's a cigarette in my bag. I was fooling myself when I said carrying it around was proof enough that I was over it. I'm not over smoking. I need the nicotine in my bloodstream else I'm going to go crazy. Sometimes, it feels like they're too many things on my shoulder. I just want to get drunk and pass out like my brother, but, little does he know that the problems don't go away after a few drinks. They might even double. "Did you understand what I said Archer?" Our professor and half the class are looking at me. I had zoned out again. And this is my 3rd class for the day. "I was a little bit distracted. I'm sorry." I apologize even though I don't mean it. I almost never mean any of the things I say. It's just to maintain my reputation.And because I'm a golden student and our professor isn't a complete asshole, the concept is explained to me all over again. I'm not listening the second time either. I codedly slip my phone out of my pocket. V

I wake up in a more sour mood than yesterday. I have a test I'm to study for but I can't. Why? There's a stupid song that keeps playing over and over in my head. It's catchy, but annoying at the same time. I get off my bed, when I'm a 100 percent sure no memory is getting retained. It's almost noon and I've missed my first class for the day. It's a little rule I came up with, but if I miss the first class, there's no point going to the others. That has never made sense, but I really like sticking to my principles. I arrange my hair, because I have no one else but myself to please, and go to get breakfast. To my greatest shock, Vicky the education loving moron is curled into a ball on the couch. He's been in this mood since the Archer thing. I'm low-key irritated by how my brother is able to control him. And I don't know if Vicky is in love with him or not. "Hey, get up." He doesn't raise his head until I'm kicking him. "You look like shit. Don't you have school or something?" He lo