High Score

Post date: Nov 10, 2014 10:47:43 PM

A short story by Debra Fabian

Shane Grey was slouched in his green bean bag chair, controller in hand. Most of the tiny plastic pellets had fallen out over the years, but he chose to sleep on it anyway. Video games were his life. He’d lost many friends, especially girlfriends, over the years, but his games had always been there. Half of a large cheese and pepperoni pizza was laid out on the coffee table. A fly hovered over it.

“Shane, wake up!” his mother called from upstairs. Shane blinked and wiped away some drool. It was six in the morning. What did she want at this time? Then the lights flicked on, and Shane was blinded for a second. He heard his mother’s footsteps as she came down the wooden stairs into the basement. The basement was pretty cool; it was finished and everything. There was faded carpet, an old couch, and Shane’s collection of band posters hanging on the wall.

“Wake up. It’s time for school,” Mrs. Grey said, tapping Shane’s shoulder. She pried the Xbox controller from his fingers, and turned off the console.

“Wait, I didn’t save it,” he protested.

“Get ready. The bus will be here at seven.” His mother went back upstairs, and Shane was left alone for a few minutes. He turned the video game back on. Might as well get one more round in before he went into withdrawal at school. He blasted away at zombies for half an hour.

“Shane, turn that off!” Mrs. Grey hollered when she saw that he was playing again. “I told you to get ready for school. Now get dressed and go eat breakfast.” Shane stood up; he knew he shouldn’t argue with his mother. It took all the energy he had to walk upstairs and go to his room. A black shirt with a red guitar logo was lying on his bedroom floor. He reached down to pick it up, sniffed it, and then pulled it over his head. Then he looked in the mirror at his shaggy brown hair. He ran his fingers through it and shook it out. His hair was something that looked good messy. He went into the kitchen and snagged a Pop Tart before walking outside to catch the bus. The yellow beast screeched to a halt in front of his house, ready to swallow him up in a world of real problems and real concerns. He preferred the imaginary world where he could rip it apart with bare hands, and prevent it from taking him to school.

Shane was a senior now. He counted in his head for a moment. It had been three years since his dad left. He shifted the weight of his back pack and walked onto the bus. He smelled underclassman. He smelled their new shoes, new book bags, and new crayons. He hadn’t used crayons since elementary school. Shane took a seat in the back of the bus. Why didn’t he have his license?

The bus stopped again a few blocks later. Bree Johnson stepped on and scanned the aisle for a seat. All Shane knew was that she was junior, and she was smart. She’d gotten a high score on her ACT, and would probably be Valedictorian when the time came. The only thing Shane could get a high score on was his video games. But of course, Bree did well in school; she was perfect, and Shane envied that.

“Can I sit here?” she asked shyly, barely loud enough for Shane to hear her. He sighed and scooted over. “Thanks,” she whispered, and it didn’t appear like she would say anything more. It was the most boring bus ride of Shane’s life. As they walked off to their classes, Shane noticed a copy of the newest racing video game sticking out from a pocket in Bree’s book bag. Not as exciting as shooting zombies, but maybe there was something there.

Student Written features work written by LHS students. The views portrayed in these written works are not the views of The Leopard's Roar, as it is an unbiased news publication source.

Student Written is edited by Debra Fabian, Student Activities Editor. Fabian can be reached at dramagirl319@hotmail.com.