Chapter 23

"Hey," Sarah said, "we were just joking around. Neither of us meant any of that stuff."

I then looked up at her with a big smirk just as the bell to end class rang out.

"So was I!" I exclaimed with a cocky laugh as I scooped up my backpack and headed for the door.

"Oh, you jerk!" Jordan called out as she jumped to her feet. "You see, you bring these things on yourself!"

I continued laughing all the way out into the hallways which started to become filled with students pouring out from their classrooms. I sighed happily. It felt so good to one-up those two for once. They were always looking to mess with me and now, I felt confident enough to mess with them.

As I walked down the hall to my final class for the day, I passed by the lockers that Talia and I had fornicated at earlier. I looked at the dried cum stains I had left on the locker and held back a laugh. I wondered just how long they would stay there.

My next class actually brought me out of the main buildings and into the mid-day sun. With a few other students, I headed down the pathway along the grass toward a handful of portable classrooms. I walked up a small ramp toward one of the doors and headed on inside for my final class: Driver's Ed. I felt fortunate enough to have all three of the guys from my close group of friends—Frank, Josh and Brandon—in Driver's Ed with me. Thanks to the fact that we were allowed to pick wherever we wanted to sit, the four of us sat near each other in a two-by-two box.

"Hey Anthony," Frank greeted me as I took my seat and let my backpack slide to the floor.

"Hey guys," I said as I looked at them with a slight grin. "How's it going?"

They seemed to exchange glances back and forth before Frank replied, "How's it going with you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, idly scratching the back of my neck.

"You seem different lately," Frank said. "I notice you've been pretty damn happy, actually. Usually you just kind of sit there during class and tune everything out."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Brandon asked. "Got a new girlfriend you want to tell us about?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," I told them. The conveniently-timed bell to start class rang and we all faced forward to pay attention.

Driver's Ed afforded us not one, but two male teachers. Unfortunately, most of the beginning of class was spent looking over and copying down text from our driver's handbooks. Again, not my favorite thing in the world to do. During the typical days of having all six classes at once, practice driving was usually at a minimum. However, on days when we had Driver's Ed for two hours, any driving had everyone involved.

Luckily, when most of us were done with our assignment, the teachers got us up. They led us out of the annexed classroom, down the ramp and a short distance away onto the driving course. A trio of nondescript white cars awaited us, as usual, and the kids began to take a seat on the metallic bleachers under a tall, cemented covering.

In each car there was a driver, the learning student, and a leader, another student who already has a license. The leaders all headed for the cars and climbed into the passenger side while the teachers began to call off names and a specific number car they were to go to. The lesson was the dreaded parallel park.

The students weren't restricted to sitting down and were allowed to congregate anywhere under the fairly spacious covering while awaiting their turn to drive. My friends and I were all kind of standing around in our own little group.

"So," Frank said, "are you gonna tell us about your new girlfriend?"

I grinned and slightly mocked him as I replied, "I actually don't have a 'new girlfriend,' seriously."

"So why are you so smiley?" Josh asked. "Looks like it's pasted on your face. You're obviously happy about something."

"I just... feel like I'm hitting a turning point in my life, you know? I'm trying to make something better out of myself and I feel good about it, that's all."

"That's good," Josh replied, "especially considering how you usually act." That remark got him a swift elbow to the ribs by Brandon. "Ow! What?"

"No, he's right," I said. "My 'bad' qualities outweighed the 'good' ones by a mile. Like I said, I'm trying to make something better of myself."

"That's pretty grown-up of you, man," Frank said with a proud smirk.

"Please don't call me 'grown-up,'" I said, causing the lot of us to share brief laugh. "I want to live it up while I still can."

"My man!" Brandon said as he threw an arm around me. "All right, first thing's first, we gotta get you girls—lots of them."

"I think I'll handle that on my own," I replied, hiding a slick smirk.

"All right, all right," Brandon said as he took his arm away, "good man. You'll need that confidence to impress the ladies." He then turned to the other two. "Did I or did I not say the boy's gonna be six-foot-two, two-twenty-five and ripped? He's on his way to becoming a man! Yeah!"

I then followed him into a pretty manly high-five which left me laughing and shaking my head.

One by one, the four of us started taking our turns driving. I was the last to go. Soon after Josh was done, the teacher called me over. I hustled over to the parked car '#3' and took my place in the driver's seat. Sitting next to me was an acquaintance of mine I'd met during the school year—he was a good guy named Nick. I knew him after becoming familiar with his cousin who'd been a pretty big douche in middle school. Nick, however, was far cooler and far more enjoyable.