"Fucking guts. Oh, sweet stupid guts."

-Kyle Anderson

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BEING a teenager is hard. That's what Kyle Anderson felt. Lots of things to do, lots of things to think. All about the future, and forget the past. Things that the adults forget that future and past are connected to each other. Kyle's past is not so bright, made him think that his future is going to be all dark and blur.

"Zero motivation, zero fucks, zero problems." is his motto. He always thought that the less he cares about things around him, the less trouble he will get. Although, his actions said otherwise. Come late to school, broke the school's dress code, and daily meet up with the counsellor or detention –if he lucky-. He's famous among the school. Labelled as "The Dark Boy", which he gets by the way he dressed. Black outfits, piercings, and dark eyeliner. The rumour says he have a tattoo on his body, which is not proven to this day. The scent of his breath is the smell of cigarettes and rack of beers.

This morning is like any other mornings. He wakes up, groaning, thinking if whether he should skip the school or not. Today, he decided to go to school. Perhaps something interesting will happen. he thought. And so, he got up, go to his bathroom and clean himself up. When he's done, he went to his closet to grab some clothes. His today outfit are black t-shirt, a stripped long-sleeved shirt and wear it underneath the t-shirt, blue baggy jean and adds it with some belt and chains. He perfected his looks by adding a black boot, and apply a dark eyeliner onto his eyelids. He didn't even bother to grooming his hair, so now it's just a messy black curly hair, and he's fine with that. He then grabbed his satchel bag –which only filled with a pack of cigars, his car key, a pen, an earphone and a lighter- and go downstairs.

"...this is a final discussion!" Matthew's voice echoed around the house. He scolded his other son, Jack who is now seating and looking down at his plate. Kyle looks at his mom who's walking into the eating table to sets up some food. When she saw Kyle, she smiled.

"Oh hey. Pancakes?" ask her. Kyle looks at the pile of pancakes and grabs two of them. She looks at Matthew and then Kyle, "You're not eating here? With us?"

He shakes his head no. "I'm late."

"Kyle," Matthew called when he's at the door. Kyle turned to him, "Please behave at school. I don't want to hear from your mom that Steve called her about your stupid behaviour."

Kyle rolls his eyes, slightly, "Yes, sir." Matthew doesn't know the sarcastic in that tone.

He then walks outside to his truck. He drives the vehicle to school and parked at one of the deserted spots, far away from other students. A boy with blonde hair walking towards his car while Kyle got out from his car. The blondie, Elijah, is his friend. His only friend, actually. All of the reputations and rumour he's got makes him unable to make friends very easily. Sometimes when he managed to greeted a new person, they always walk away scared. Thanks to James from 9th grade who spread a rumour about Kyle being a former murderer and criminal –which is not true, of course-, now more than a half kids in school hates Kyle more than he hates himself. Only Elijah who dodges off the feelings of being friend with 'former murderer and criminal' and accept him the way he is. Same with Kyle, who accept Elijah for his bubbly and gleeful self, even though he has his own way to express his love and affection. Elijah grinned when he saw his friend since he was little.

"Hey," he greeted. Kyle responded with a simple nod. "So, what makes you decided to not to skip school today?" Elijah knows for sure that Kyle hates going to school. It actually became his weekly routine, that people tend to ask the reason why he attend the school that day, rather than ask him the reason for him to skips school.

Kyle shrugged. The two starts walking together. "Don't know. Just a gut."

"Well, then. But you know Mr. Peterson will be the pain in the ass for you today, right?" Elijah asked, "You know, since you didn't come to school yesterday."

"Yeah, whatever. That's not new." Kyle responded, "What did I miss?

Elijah tracing his own mind, trying to remember all the events that happened yesterday. "Just usual. Harley and Joker got caught for making out, again." Harley, as in Harley Quinn and Joker. That's the nickname from the two to a crazy couple from the school, Nick and Cassie. "Oh, and. There's a party tonight at Evan's at 7. You coming?"

Kyle's hand reached out for his satchel, looking for his pack of cigarettes, "Depends." His hand found what his looking for. He pulled it out and reach for a lighter.

"On what?" Elijah looked at the cigar in his mouth. It's not like he never smoked before, but he's not a fan of the thing.

"The motivation." He smiled.

Ah yes, Elijah thought. The motto. Kyle never bothers to care about anything unless he had a motivation.

Right before Kyle light the cigar on his mouth, a wrinkled old hand grabs the stick and throw it away. "What the f-"

A shock face was drawn to Kyle and Elijah's face but it swiftly changed to a slight fear. What –or who- Elijah and Kyle saw is the one and only, Steve Peterson, Shibertown High School's principal and counsellor. Mr. Peterson wears a pair of brown blazer and pants, with red-white strip tie. His expression was strong, yet Kyle can't hide his laugh about how ridiculous he looks, especially how the fake hair is misplaced about an inch from his hairline. Mr. Peterson who saw that action, of course, doesn't feel any pleasant.

"Mr. Anderson!" hearing that, the owner of the last name stopped his laugh. He slouching his body and clears his throat.

"Yes, Mr. Peterson?" the right eyebrow of his slightly raised and a smirk is appeared on his mouth.

Mr. Peterson sighed. He slowly put off his glasses and take a handkerchief from his back pocket. The edge of the soft fabric was rubbed against both of the sides of the glasses. When he's done, he puts it back on. "Where were you yesterday, Kyle?"

"Away."

"Away?" Mr. Peterson asked in disbelief.

"That's right."

"Where exactly is away?"

Kyle shrugged and cross his arms, "Somewhere that wasn't here."

Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

Mr. Peterson had enough. In fact, this is not the only time he had enough with the boy that one feet taller than him. "I need you to come to the detention this after school. And I will call your parents again."

A pair of Kyle's hazel eyes are wide open, but he tried to hide it as much as he can, giving Mr. Peterson nothing but an emotionless face. "Does that really necessary? It's not like, those can make me change or something."

"Yes, Mr. Anderson. It does necessary."

"But what are you going to tell my father this time, Mr. Peterson?" Kyle asked. "You already told them I got caught on action for smoking a week ago. So that's a check. A week before that, you told them I broke the dress code validation of school by wearing fishnets to school. Check. Interrupted a class. Check. Now, you're going to calling me out because I came to school?"

Steve Peterson turned his head to Elijah, "Mr. Blake."

The poor boy's body jumped when he heard his last name, "Uh, yes, sir?"

"Tell me," he talked slowly making Elijah gulped his own saliva, "Does Mr. Anderson come to school yesterday?"

With that, Kyle gives Elijah a sharp glare, which later they make an eye contact and communicating with their eyes. What shall I say? Elijah gives a signal with his blue eyes. Just tell him, there's no going back now. Kyle responded with also his eyes.

Knowing the answer, Elijah cleared his sore throat, "No, sir."

"See," Mr. Peterson turns his eyes back to Kyle, "That's what." He slowly put his smile into smirk of victory, knowing that he finally made the Dark Boy fed up with him, "Check."

This son of a bitch, Kyle thought.

Kyle rolled his eyes and walk away. "Whatever."

"Hey!" Mr. Peterson tried to stop him until his secretary peeks from his office and calls him that he has someone to meet.

Elijah finally speaks to Kyle, "Yup. Pain in the ass."

The interlocutor breath his laugh away, "Yeah? Tell me about it."

"Figured," Elijah said. "Hey, what about the party, man? You coming or not? Because I need a ride."

Kyle's glared at him, "I told you, okay? It depends." He sighed, "I'll tell you later about it. Right now, I have to go to the English class. I can't miss this one out. Or else, my father is going to be so mad at me." He showed Elijah a sheet of absent paper. He needs to fill out the paper with the signature of the teachers he went to class to. To prove that he actually went to the class.

"Uh-huh," Elijah nodded, "I'll see you later then? At lunch?"

Kyle replied with a simple nodded. And with that, the two separated. The Anderson boy entered a room filled with pictures of period poets and authors. There, almost seats are filled out with people and their bags, except two seats in the back, near the window.

Kyle, like any other day, sit on the very corner of the room. Took out his earphone, plug it up to his ears and the other end to his phone, he completely on the world. The world he dives in is the song 'Recognize' by PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake.

While he's mind travelling to another dimension, his eyes travelling the room. Looking around at his classmates. Nick and Cassie, like the usual, eat each other face while his jock's friend barking and cheering at the hot session. He turns his gaze to a red hair girl, seating in her own chair and busy flipping through a stack of papers, Bernadette. She dropped her pen to the floor. The pen itself rolling away from her and found a place at Kyle's right shoe.

"Shit," she murmured quietly enough that the only person who heard that, was her.

Kyle picked up the pen. When he's about to hand it to her, he can see the fear and disgust in her expression. That makes him turn into his cold self again. When she takes the pen from his hand, Kyle heard she thanked him but he just ignored her and back to his own world.

Five minutes later, when the song finished, the English teacher, Mrs. Finnigan, enters the room. He puts his earphone off his ears and put it in his bag. The class who at the beginning was loud and noisy, turns into quiet and some of the students who were not sitting, place their butt onto the chairs. She pushing a trolly with an old TV and a DVD player. She sets the whole thing up to the rack by herself. When she finally done, she walked to the black chalkboard. She writes a beautiful cursive word with white chalk from the shelf. 'The Twelfth Night' she writes. She puts the chalk back on the shelf, clapped her hands off from the chalk dust, and smiles warmly to her students.

"Good morning," she greeted, walking to the book shelf next to the board and grab a book. She walked back to her desk, "Today, as I told you a week ago, we will watch a play from Shakespeare, Twelfth Night." She showed the whole class a book that she holding. "Now, some of you may not know the play. Since William Shakespeare's most famous play, Romeo and Juliet, steals all the spotlight from his other play. And I will not play Romeo and Juliet today because I will give you a task after this, and all of you knows what happened in Romeo and Juliet."

Different variations of respond come from the class. Some groaned, some shouting their complaint, some stay silent. Kyle giving a different respond by dropping his head on his table.

"No, no. Listen. The task will be easy. All you have to is pay attention to the video and,"

A knock on the door interrupted Mrs. Finnigan word. And when she shouted to the knocker to come in, the door open, revealing the face Kyle saw earlier that morning, Mr. Peterson. "Sorry for the disturb, Mrs. Finnigan." He apologized.

"It's okay, Mr. Peterson," she walked to him, "What's the thing that brought you here?"

"I just want to escort Mrs. Simatupang here to her first class." He gives a girl a way to enter the class. She's a five feet five tall girl with brown hair. Her long hair falls down gracefully to her waist. She wearing a red wine top with a black cardigan as an outer layer, and a blue legging with a pair of white shoes. Her blue shoulder bag –with as nice little shoe shape knit on it- stuck on the handle of the door, pulling her backwards. She chuckled and unhook the bag tail from the door. She then walked herself to Mrs. Finnigan and smiled. A two deep dimples were formed on either side of her cheeks as she turned her smile to the class.

Kyle watched as her dark brown eyes met him. And for a second, he wondered. What makes a girl this beautiful went into one of the most boring little town in Williamsburg, Virginia. They made eye contact for a moment until Mr. Peterson cuts it.

"This is our new student, Luna Simatupang," she gives the crowd a little wave, which responded quickly by Bernadette who seem know her. "She's just moved here from North Dakota. Please do your best to make her feel welcomed in this school."

Mr. Peterson left the room after gives Luna a friendly smile. "Please take a seat Mrs. Simatupang." Mrs. Finnigan said, pointed the seat next to Kyle. Luna thanked her and walk to her seat. She made eye contact again with Kyle for a split second before she turns her eyes to Bernadette who sit in front of her. Bernadette gives her a huge grin while she makes herself comfortable with her seat.

"Hi," Bernadette greeted, held out her hand to Luna, "I'm Bernadette. You can call me Birdy. I supposed to show you around the school."

Luna takes her hand and gently shakes it, "Oh, yeah. Mr. Peterson told me." Her soft voice sounds like a fairy little voices, and it's so much better than any song Kyle's ever listened to. They both smiled and tuned their gaze back to the teacher.

"Well, I see that Mrs. Simatupang has settled. Now we'll back to our class session," Mrs. Finnigan said, "As I said, we will watch 'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare, and you may do a little quiz after that." She walked her heels to in front of the class. "Now, does any of you knows what's the play is about?"

To everyone's surprise, a right hand of Luna raised.

"Yes, Mrs. Simatupang." The teacher said.

Luna lowered her hand, "It's about a pair of twins, Viola and Sebastian, who, uhm, got separated in a shipwreck." Kyle noticed that she had a slight accent to her. Accent from far away. "While she can't find her twin, she disguised herself as a man under the name of Cesario in order to serve to Duke Orsino, who falls in love with Olivia. As Duke Orsino's servant, Cesario become an intermediary to profess Orsino passionate love for Olivia. However, Olivia, fall in love with Viola as Cesario, Meanwhile Viola herself falls for the Duke."

Mrs. Finnigan nodded her head in amazement and smile to her, "Very well. Now, let's watch the video."

Kyle found himself staring at the girl. He finally felt grateful that he decided to go to school this morning. While smiling, he talked to himself quietly, "Fucking guts. Oh, sweet stupid guts."