L as in TRAIN

Chapter One: L as in LORREN

I hate the line. Every day I take it from my apartment to good old (read that with a sarcastic air, if you will; thanks darling) PS 143 and then back seven hours later.

And let me tell you, there is no shortage of disgusting spectacles on the line. Earlier this morning I had to sit next to this woman and her baby (if they thought I was standing, on the line at six in the morning, when I had been cramming for a Bio test until three, they had another thing coming) and of course, because small children are just that annoying, the baby was not tired at all.

Oh no, this little vomit-machine was bouncing happily about the double-seat, never mind that I was sitting there, waving its rear about in the way that only small children with large diapers can manage.

And then, because my day was not practically guaranteed to be stressful enough, the baby pooped. Which yeah, it was wearing a diaper (thus the rear waving), but it still stunk to high heaven, which meant that with my luck it would cling to my clothes and I would go along smelling like pediatric shit all day.

And do you know that that woman looked at me like it was my fault that her kid had become the poopie monster right there on the train? Yeah, whatever.

So it's finally my stop, and I quickly stand and position myself in front of the doors, determined to put as much space between me and the Great American Shit Machine as possible before the doors slid open and I rushed out onto the platform, never more glad to see the littered, most definitely infectious surface in my life. I breathed in the smell of exhaust and fifty-cent hotdog stands that was wafting down from the surface of the city, feeling the polluted air fill my lungs as though it were the country air that my sister is always going on about. The air that can carry the smell of rain for miles.

Yeah, around here it carries smog.

XxX

"Yo, Lor, wait up!" a familiar voice called as I knew it would. Jesse never could manage to get his timing just right, so he always had to hurry to catch up. It was a good thing that he lived close enough to the school that he didn't have to catch a train. He would be seriously screwed then. "Hey man, did you do the guide for the Spanish test today?"

I stopped in my tracks, staring at him in disbelief.

"No-o…" I said slowly, trying to decide if he was joking or not. My money was on 'not'. "I studied for the Bio test."

"Dude, that's tomorrow. We have a Spanish exam third hour today," he said. I groaned. " Como estas?" he asked in a sarcastic voice.

"Estoy horrible… y me siento mal," I groaned.

"Yeah, you'll get over that," Jesse said, shaking his shaggy head. I guess if I were completely honest with myself (and I'm usually not, when it comes to Jesse, so pay attention!), I would say that Jesse was cute. He had thick, soft black curls, kind-looking chocolate eyes, and a slightly tanned complexion that he maintained by skateboarding and giving his mother constant bouts of anxiety from all of the injuries he drags home with him. He was shorter than me by an inch or two, but something in the way he carried himself (or maybe in the way I carried myself) made him seem the same height as me, if not taller.

He didn't fall into the skater category at all, despite his hobby. He was more scene, with a strange sort of visual kei spin. His black curls just happened to be streaked in three places (the front left side of his face, the back right, and the left back under-layer) with blood red dye, and the hair itself was cut into a sort of man-bob, the bangs a bit longer than the back. He had also straightened the bangs.

He was wearing a white long john-style tee shirt under a slim-fit Hurley tee, and that was all covered by a black-and-blue rugby-striped zipper paired with a red-and-black scarf and matching fingerless gloves. His jeans were tight for a guy, but decidedly male, and he wore blue-and-gray checked Vans.

I swear to God, the scene kids are the only ones who could pull that shit off. I dress in a way that I personally consider to be more reserved than Jesse, although he has told me on numerous occasions that I frighten people. Yeah, it apparently does me no good if I can't even get Potty Dotty to leave me alone on the line.

I was wearing a pair of black pants with a lovely amount of chains and studs dripping off of them, along with more pockets than any respectable pair of pants should ever have. But hey, between those pants and my locker, I never had to carry a backpack. That was something I loved to point out as I watched Jesse struggle with his shoulder bag for a bit.

The rest of my outfit… not so interesting. I had on a yellow shirt with a picture of a monkey on it that said: Sometimes I wish I were a monkey (that way I could throw poop at people and it would be legal), a red MCR hoodie (yeah, I clashed; so what?), black cons, and my trusty fedora. I love that hat. I bought it for three bucks from a thrift shop downtown when I was in the fifth grade. I've had it ever since.

XxX

"Me duele sarpullido…" I groaned as I walked into the Spanish room third hour. Senora Luna turned to me, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed.

"There are some things you might want to keep to yourself, Senor Mason," she said in her heavily accented voice.

"Um… oh-kay…" I said, taking my seat beside Jesse, who was obviously trying very hard not to laugh. "What's her problem? All I said was that my stomach hurts."

"No, that would have been 'me duele estomago'," he said, shaking his head. "You said 'me duele sarpullido'…"

"Which means what, exactly?"

"My rash hurts," he said, bursting out laughing.

"Shut up," I said sourly. Jesse suddenly stopped laughing and looked at me closely. "What's your problem?"

"I'm just in awe of how well you're probably going to do on the test."

"Shove it, Jess."

"No, seriously. You must tutor me sometime."

"Shut up."

"But not tonight, because lately, me duele sarpullido."

I slapped Jesse and he spent the rest of the class sulking.

XxX

AN: Well, I hope you guys like the new story!!! I mainly introduced characters here, but the next chappy will introduce you to a bit more of the plot, I think, so please stick around!

And please review!

♥'s and X-Rated Thoughts—Luci-chan