Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 23:01:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sky Pro <skypro21@yahoo.com>
Subject: I'll Be, Chapter 1

Legal: If you're not old enough to read this, please go away... Now, for
the rest of you....


I'll Be
by Skyler

Chapter One:

Ah, the trusty alarm clock, never failing to pull him from the dreamy
wonders of the nether, back to the stormy, dark land of reality each school
day at 6:15. You'd think a person might grow accustomed to this routine
after nearly two years, but that wasn't to be. He rolled to his side and
viciously slapped the noise-box, silencing its tinny, metallic "bleep", but
painfully aware that it would spring to life again in just fifteen minutes
if he didn't get moving soon.

Besides, the bus always arrived promptly at 7:00 and he needed to shower
and eat before leaving.  Missing either of those daily routines always
managed to spoil the rest of his day. It never failed.

Grudgingly, he crawled from beneath the warmth of the covers and padded his
way down the hall to the bathroom. After turning on the shower and taking a
leak, he determined the water was at desired temperature, stepped out of
his shorts and climbed underneath the steaming spray. A few minutes later
he increased in consciousness and started feeling much more human
again. Getting out of bed on time did have some advantages, he smiled to
himself, glancing down at his morning wood and remembering that day awhile
back when he woke up late and his mother walked into the room just as he
was climbing out of bed, hard as a rock. In his shock and surprise he'd
managed to quickly cover himself with a nearby pillow and yell for her to
get the hell out.

More embarrassing was that several days later, during dinner of all times,
she commented that he was "developing just fine"! He always wondered why
he'd been blessed with a pediatrician for a mother. He recalled how red his
face had gone when she said he would have nothing to worry about in the
girl department, once they found out. A reassuring, if not downright
flattering statement in itself, but from the mouth of his mother? If she
only knew, he laughed lightly to himself.

Shaking that train of thought from his mind, he killed the water, grabbed a
nearby towel and hurriedly dried off. This morning he would shave again. A
special, rewarding event even though it occurred maybe once a week and
lasted for only a minute. Then it was do the hair, add deodorant and a shot
of cologne, just for good measure, and finally trudge back to his room,
still wrapped in a towel, to choose the day's ensemble.

Today he settled on an orange Hilfiger T-shirt, stonewashed Levi's and
brand-new Nikes. Adding his black leather jacket and Oakleys on the way out
the door, he deemed himself to definitely be stylin'. He pocketed two
strawberry Pop-Tarts and a bottle of orange juice for the bus ride.

As always, by the time he'd gotten to the bus stop at the entrance to their
subdivision, he found the bus waiting and the pastries completely
devoured. To bad he hadn't grabbed four. He climbed aboard, glancing for an
empty seat among the other half-awake passengers, selected one halfway back
and immediately zoned again, sipping his juice and staring blankly out the
window at the chilly October morning.

It really sucked that he was still riding the bus. At 16, all his friends
had cars, except him.  He had his license, but his parents said he didn't
need one yet, primarily because all his friends had cars and he should just
catch rides with them. Unfortunately, they all lived across town and while
they had no problem coming to get him on the weekends, none of them were
ever interested in waking up any earlier just to pick him up for school. It
wasn't as if his family couldn't afford another car either, since his
parents were a doctor and an architect, earned high six figure incomes and
drove a Mercedes and Porsche respectively. Yet, no matter how hard he
begged, mom and dad just wouldn't give in.

Twenty minutes later he was roused from his thoughts as the bus arrived at
Evanston Senior High School and he disembarked with the rest of them,
navigating slowly through the never-ending sea of people in route to his
locker. Like always, Cameron was already there, waiting on him, dangling
car keys and grinning happily.

"Morning, bro! And how was the magical journey of the cheese wagon today?"
Cameron laughed at him, bopping him playfully in the arm.

"Screw off, dude." Tyler said acidly, smiling back at him, a part of their
usual morning exchange.  Three months earlier, upon successfully obtaining
his license, Cameron was given his dad's old car to drive. "Old" was really
a relative term, considering the yellow 2001 Lexus IS300 with black leather
interior had just 800 miles on it. Boy, was Tyler jealous! Then again, so
was everybody else. Cam knew it, too, and like any good best friend should,
rubbed it in every possible chance he got.

Together they walked to History, first class of the day and one of the many
they shared this semester. Cameron chattered away endlessly as they went,
discussing the upcoming basketball try-outs and whether or not either boy,
both of them being juniors this year, even had an ice cube's chance in hell
at making varsity. Tyler mostly just listened, occasionally inserting
single word answers or comments when appropriate. He never could understand
how Cam always seemed brimming with life this early, as he himself was
never fully awake until at least third or fourth period.

Moments later the boys took their customary seats in the back corner of the
classroom, close to the door, to begin their mental preparations for fifty
straight minutes of sleeping with their eyes open. Enduring this subject
just had to be one of the most terribly boring exercises encountered by
students everywhere, Tyler thought. As Ms. Fraser drone on monotonously
about the socioeconomic conditions during the War of 1812, Tyler couldn't
help but wonder if she was speaking from personal experience. The woman was
certainly as old as dirt, after all, so that idea was perfectly
palatable. A quiet snicker escaped his lips as he pondered exactly when she
might tell the class about her experience during the life of Christ. He
felt a lightning-fast slap upside the skull, looking over to see Cam
glowering somewhat curiously in his general direction. Apparently Tyler's
soft laughter had disturbed his friend's sleeping pattern.

The remainder of the period went by uneventfully. At least there was no
homework assigned.  Whenever the "Old bag", as the students affectionately
referred to her, managed to talk nonstop for the entire hour, everyone
always seemed to get out the door at the very instant the bell began to
ring, affording the witch little or no chance to dish out anything
productive for the next day.

At this point Cameron and Tyler parted ways for a while, one to Physics,
the other to Calculus.  Math definitely wasn't Tyler's strongest suit,
either, so he was always thankful that Cam went first and took excellent
notes. With those distinct advantages, plus the occasional cheat on
homework, he figured he stood a halfway decent chance at passing the course
anyway.

The boys met up again at lunch, taking their usual table in the cafeteria,
surrounded by friends and teammates. Several conversations always took
place while they ate, lunchtime being the central point of the day to catch
up on the latest news or gossip. A key issue in debate this particular day
was an upcoming party this weekend at Cody and Cory Mills' house. The twin
sophomores were immensely popular and well known, so the "Who's Who" list
would be enormous, since everyone who was anyone at school just simply had
to be there. Cameron and Tyler both agreed they'd be there, as the event
was sure to be the first big party of the school year. The Mills brothers
had a swimming pool, game room and huge barn with a real dance floor, so
there would be plenty to do and excellent music for sure. Plus, there might
be some alcohol or other assorted pleasures available, since they lived in
the country and there was little threat of getting busted. Their parents
were way cool about that stuff anyway, though they were rumored to be out
of town.

Naturally, then, everyone was pretty upbeat about the impending
possibilities, especially considering that when any kid whose parents were
away threw a large-scale party, anybody in attendance would definitely have
an excellent chance at drinking, getting a little high or even catching a
piece of tail, if that's what they were after anyway. It seemed like the
entire school was bursting with newfound energy and excitement as the bell
rang and people scurried in various directions to their next class. Tyler
agreed to meet his friend later that evening for a quick pick-up game,
since try-outs were coming up in the next few weeks and then the boys went
on with their day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Yeah, I know its short again... Please email me (skypro21@yahoo.com) with
any thoughts, ideas or suggestions... This one is coming together kinda
slow. Peace!
								-Skyler