Getting to Know You

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I can't say I like or even understand Andy. It's apparent that he holds a dislike for pretty much everyone, and seems intent on making sure it's known. Well if you don't really care about anyone, why bother? Instead of wasting energy on being a jackass, why doesn't he just ignore everyone? Whatever. As I suspected from our first meeting, he also seems to carry a dislike for me as well. Lord knows why. It seems that I insult him with my mere existence. You know what buddy? Deal with it. That glare you gave me- You know, when I got assigned to sit in front of you in English- was totally unnecessary.

I think I'll make an extra effort to suck up all of your precious oxygen, and kill you with my oh-so-offensive-friendly smiles. Or maybe this year I think I'll just start talking to you. I'm sure that'll piss you off plenty. Which is exactly why I'm going to do it. Maybe it'll even make your stupid little head explode. I mean Jeez, I'm not a freaking leper. But if I was, I'd make sure to touch you all the time. Bite me jerk. I never did anything wrong to you.

Anyway, it seems this year the fates are against me. He's in all of my classes. All five of them, hehe. Being a senior is awesome. I'm not going to have to do squat this year. Taking all those AP courses last year really paid off. Now I can just coast through this final inconsequential year. I'm really looking forward to college. After all, I think high school is pretty pointless.

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“Boobies!” Courtney and Lacey squealed in unison as they ran up behind Julianna, each squeezing her into a hug as they shamelessly groped the unsuspecting girl.

Julianna laughed, returning the hug before prying the girls off. “You guys are such pervs.”

“Only because you're so sexy, Juli.” Lacey winked at her.

“Not at sexy as you, Lace.” she smiled, falling into their usual banter.

The three girls started walking down the hall towards their first classes. Courtney and Julianna both had Economics in the morning. Lacey was two doors over in AP American History. So every morning they were at least able to walk together.

“Did you do the homework, Juli?” Courtney asked as they neared the classroom.

“Yeah, but I don't know why I bother. He never checks it.”

Beside them Lacey giggled. “I wish my teacher never checked homework, because I never do it.”

Julianna smiled, shaking her head at the smaller girl. “Yet you stay on honor roll. How do you do it?”

“That is a secret my friend.”

“Well I'd like to find out this 'secret' before we graduate, you know? The less I have to do this year, the better.”

“I'll think about it.” Lacey laughed as they reached the first classroom. Giving a wave, she continued on. “I'll see you guys later.”

The classroom was still mostly empty, being that there was still two more minutes until the bell would ring. The majority of the class would show up within the last 30 seconds. Julianna smirked when she saw Andy already sitting in back, looking his usual ecstatic self. The boy had his feet propped up on the seat in front him, his gaze fixed on the notebook in his lap as he scribbled words across the page. His expression was bored at best, but somehow managed to carry a tinge of cynicism as well. She leaned in closer to Courtney, whispering to her friend. “Seeing the joy on Andy's face is a great way to start every morning, don't you think?”

Courtney giggled, nodding in agreement. “It truly is uplifting. Don't you get to see sunshine all the time now too?”

“Unfortunately. You know, he goes out of his way to be an ass to me.”

“Hehe, maybe he has a crush on you.”

“Doubt it.”

A light bulb went on in Courtney's head, an impish grin curving her refined features. “Why don't we go sit next to sunshine today?”

Julianna raised an eyebrow, turning to her friend questioningly. “Why? He's only going to insult us all period.”

“Because it'll be fun. We're both thick skinned girls, and can dish it out as well. So why don't we go talk to him for once. Maybe we can make him our friend? If not, we can at least torture him a bit. It'll make our last year more interesting, no?”

Before Julianna could answer, Courtney had already started to walk away. With a small smile, Julianna followed. It did seem like a fairly fun idea. The brunette plopped her books onto the desk next to him, sliding into the seat with a wide grin. Juli took the seat in front of him, watching in amusement as he lifted his head. The two looked a lot like cats who'd begun to stalk their prey. His gaze moved between the two of them warily, realizing that he'd been cornered that morning. But unsure as to why.

“Morning sunshine.” Courtney chirped.

Julianna, who was straddling her chair so that she was facing him, smiled at him lazily. “Yes, good morning Andy.”

He made no move to hide the aggravation on his face. After glaring at the two girls, he returned his gaze wordlessly to his notebook.

“Sunshine, it's not very nice to ignore people. You can at least say hello.” she smirked.

Resting her cheek against her palm, Julianna gave a dramatic sigh. “Don't you know, Court? All greetings and positive formalities were removed from his vocabulary as a small child. It's not that he won't say hello, it's that he can't.”

“Do you enjoy hearing yourselves talk?” he asked without raising his head.

“I knew that would get you to say something.” Julianna laughed. “Let's try this again. Good morning Andy.”

Continuing to ignore them, he didn't even so much as blink.

“Why don't you want to talk to us, sunshine?” Courtney asked when there was no reply.

“Well, why do you want to talk to me?” he asked snidely.

“Why wouldn't we?” she countered.

Sighing he shut his notebook, sticking the pen behind his ear. The smug smirk he often wore finally appeared. “Answer honestly. Are we friends?”

“No...”

“Are our friends even friends?”

“No, but-”

“How long have I been going to this school now?”

“Um, two years?”

“Right. Now please explain something to me. Why should I suddenly want to talk to someone, who has never said a word to me in two years?”

“Because we're trying to talk to you now. There's no reason to be so defensive. We're just trying to make friends with you.”

“Oh? So I should be honored and jump at the opportunity?”

“That's not what I said.” Courtney frowned. “What's your issue?”

“The fact that you're talking to me right now.”

Julianna raised an eyebrow, deciding to join their wonderful conversation. “And that's an issue because...?”

“Because I don't like either of you.” he smirked. “So if you don't mind, I'd like to go back to writing.”

“How can you not like us, if you don't even know us?” Courtney challenged, her eyes narrowing.

“I don't need to know you for me to not like you.” was the simple reply Andy gave. A few seconds passed before he added “Besides, I know how you and your whole crew work. I don't need your pity friendship. I have friends of my own, thanks.”

Juli stared at him in disbelief. “You have a massive chip on your shoulder for absolutely no reason. You don't know anything about us or our friends, far less how we 'work'. So what exactly are you judging us on?”

“The basic facts of life. The more popular you are, the more superficial you tend to be. ”

“What? That makes no sense.”

Courtney glanced at her friend, sharing her sentiments. “Seriously dude, that's a really pretty big assumption.”

“Is it? The only way to make everyone like you, is if you bend and fold to each person's tastes. Which would mean you're not really being yourselves, because you always stay on the surface. Which would then translate to you being superficial.”

Julianna started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of his statement. “You watch way too much T.V. Did it ever cross your mind that there is no 'popular', and maybe people like us because we're nice? You don't have to be superficial to be nice.”

Not appreciating her laughter, Andy sat up, leaning in towards her. “Listen. I have absolutely no reason to talk to either of you. The fact that you're sitting here right now attempting to talk to me, proves my point. The only reason either of you care about me, is because I'm one of the few people in this school who doesn't talk to you. You're either trying to talk to me out of pity, or because you're bored and need something new to have fun with. Regardless of the reason, I don't feel obligated to talk to you, just because you want to talk to me. Because in the end it's not because you really want to get know me.”

Courtney and Julianna fell silent, somewhat guilty expressions crossing their faces. Though he was exaggerating the whole thing, to a degree he was right. They really hadn't approached him with the intention of truly getting to know him. The two girls glanced at each other before turning back to him. Julianna had opened her mouth to say something, when the bell rung. The teacher started speaking, forcing everyone's attention toward the front of the room. Behind her, she heard Andy smugly mutter.

“That's what I thought.”

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Who exactly do they think they are? It's funny how people try to lie to themselves. Did they really think I wouldn't guess that I was just one big joke to them? They have real nerve telling me it's not nice to ignore people. Well you know what's not nice? Talking to people under false pretenses. They really should go look up the word superficial in a dictionary. Just because they're not catty bitches to each other, doesn't mean they're extending true friendship towards me. I have no need for fake acquaintances or small talk.

To make matters better, I have to see them most of my day. Well, Julianna at least. I know she's going to attempt to talk to me again. I really don't get why people feel the need to seek others approval. The world doesn't end just because someone doesn't like you. I can't wait to leave this place. High School is growing pretty old.

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“What's up with you today?” Matt asked as they walked into English. “Something happen?”

Andy shrugged walking to his seat. “Nothing, just in a bad mood.”

“Okay...if you say so.” he replied, giving him a doubtful look before continuing to his desk a row over. Matt knew his friend was moody, but something seemed more off than usual. When he'd met him in the hallway, he sensed a bit of aggravation. The only thing he couldn't figure out was why.

Judging by the scowl on Andy's face when Julianna entered the room, he was able to figure out it had something to do with her. But that only peaked his curiosity. To his knowledge, the two never spoke to each other. And even if they did...Julianna was one of the nicest people in school. So what could the issue possibly be? He leaned back in his chair, watching in amusement as she made her way to her seat, which was of course right in front of Andy.

After a minute or so, she turned around. Without even glancing in her direction, Andy cut her off. “Don't talk to me.”

That didn't really stop her. Without flinching she continued on. “I just wanted to say I'm sorry.”

“Great. Now turn back around.”

His response seemed to amuse her. She chuckled, her eyes still fixed on him. “You were right about us not really planning on getting to know you this morning.”

Andy was a little surprised she openly admitted it. But it didn't really make a difference, because he still didn't want to talk to her. “Like I said, great. Now can you please turn back around?”

“Wow, you actually said please. Even if you are still kinda being a jerk. Okay, fine. I'll leave you alone.” she replied, turning to face the front of the room. She opened her book as she continued to speak, this time without facing him. “But that's only true for today. When I first met you, I really was interested in getting to know you. But it was you who superficially judged me. So that would make you a hypocrite.”

Andy glared at the back of her head as the bell signifying the beginning of class rung. Matt, who had heard the short conversation, laughed to himself. He had a fair idea now what this was all about. When class finally ended, he fell into step beside Andy as they made their way out of the room.

“So that's what was wrong.” Matt smirked.

Rolling his eyes, he decided to play dumb.“What?”

“Julianna. I heard your little squabble in there. Care to tell what actually happened?”

Andy snorted. “Her and Courtney decided out of the blue that they wanted to be my 'friends'.”

“And I'm guessing you don't want to be?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't feel like being their project for the year.” he replied, spinning the combination on his locker.

“I'm not following...” Matt frowned, leaning against the lockers next to him.

“They don't really want to be my friends, Matt. They only want to talk to me because I don't give them the time of day, and it hurts their precious little egos.”

One eyebrow raised as Matt watched him exchange books. “Are we still talking about Courtney and Julianna?”

“Who else would I be talking about?” he answered, shutting the locker.

“Well them I guess...but have you ever bothered to really talk to either of them?”

“No, and I don't want to.”

“You should, they're both hot.” Matt snickered. When he saw the look of death thrown his way, he held up his hands. “I'm only kidding man, lighten up.”

Andy shook his head, turning to head to his next class. “Right.”

A smile curved Matt's face as he followed him. “Seriously though, they're really not that bad. You should give them a chance.”

“Since when do you talk to them?”

“I do on occasion. They're both actually pretty nice.”

“Yeah? Then why aren't you friends with them?”

Matt shrugged. “Does it matter? It doesn't mean we can't have friendly conversation at school.”

“I don't need friendly conversation at school, Matt. I don't even want to be here half of the time.” Andy sighed, not wanting to talk about this anymore. Why was Matt on their side anyway? “Look, I'm content with the friends I have. I just don't feel like talking to them, alright? Besides, after today I'm sure they're not going to bother anymore. I made myself pretty clear.”

“Whatever, I'm not trying to give you hard time. I just thought you were being a bit harsh, because they're both nice people. But hey- If you don't want to talk to them, you don't have to. No one said you did.”

“And I won't, so let's drop it.”

“No problem. It's already dropped.” Matt replied with a smile. “I gotta stop at my locker really quick. I'll see you later.”

“Later.” Andy nodded, continuing to his next class.

Matt watched the boy's back as he disappeared down the hall. It was unusual to see him so aggravated over something so small. Usually he'd just brush people off with a sarcastic remark and call it a day. But something had truly gotten understand his skin today. Most likely it was someone. If he had to guess, it was probably the fact that Julianna hadn't backed down easily. It probably made it worse, that she had gotten the last word in too. He thought about it for a bit. She'd called him a hypocrite. Later on, he'd have to remember to ask him why.