Freshmen hell

Chapter 16 - Riding in Cars with Nerds

The rain continued to come down heavy as Cole drove through the quiet middle class neighborhood.

The noisy windshield wipers battled for audible supremacy against the angry music pouring from the car speakers

In the front seats, Cole and Brayden talked baseball like old friends. In the back seat, Aiden watched angrily. The little twerp was quite literally still butt hurt from his most recent wedgie. It was a painful undie assault by his traitorous so-called friend. 

"I hate jocks!" whispered Aiden. 

"Ya, you could say that they are all made up of copper, nitrogen and tennessine", laughed Owen. 

Aiden looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what the hell his four eyed friend was talking about. Owen was about to explain that it was a science joke, but realized that would probably just end up earning them another "nerd punishment" from Cole. 

.............

The first stop was Owen's house. The nerdy teen thanked Cole for the ride, then waddled through the torrential downpour as fast as his shoulder wedgie would allow. 

As Owen hurried out of the rain, and into the garage, he noticed that his parent's Toyota Prius was absent. He remembered that his mother had told him that they would be out of town at his little sister's dance competition. They were not expected home until late in the evening. 

As the nerd wiped the rain drops from his glasses, he took the opportunity to finally pick the wedgie that Cole had given him earlier that morning. As he was about to head inside the house, something caught his eye. He noticed a wide roll of sticky duct tape and a bag of heavy duty looking zip ties sitting on his fathers work bench. This weekend's events had ignited a new curiosity in the dorky teen. Owen quickly thought up a plan. He scooped up the items into his backpack and headed toward his bedroom. 

..............

The next stop was Brayden's house. He and Cole exchanged a fist bump as they said their goodbyes. The budding bromance made Aiden want to gag. 

"See ya at school, Aiden", yelled Brayden as he waved, before he dashed through the pouring rain. Aiden didn't respond. The bitter teen just glared back.  

"Aren't you going to move to the front seat", questioned Cole. 

"I am fine", grumbled Aiden. 

"Suit yourself", replied the senior, as he began driving again. 

........

Brayden entered the house through the mud room. He hung his hoodie on a vacant coat hook, and neatly tucked his shoes away under the bench. 

"Sweetie? is that you?", Called his mother, " How was your sleepover? Come sit down. I want to hear all about it!"

"It was fine, Mom. We just hung out and played video games", lied the teen.  

"Boys your age should be outside getting exercise, not playing video games all the time!", lectured his mother.

Brayden helped himself to a healthy snack, as he dashed to his bedroom. He wanted to avoid any more of his mothers prying.

The lingering question was still on his mind. Would unfriending Aiden stop all his bully problems? Could he really do it? As soon as the teen put on the headset and picked up the video game controller, all his worries melted away. He was no longer a skinny freshman that got bullied. He was a god! He was a zombie killing machine! All hail the great brayerslayer_3721 !

.........

As the car stopped out front of the Thompson household, Aiden got out and started walking away. "Bye! your welcome for the ride!", said Cole, sarcastically. 

"Ya, whatever! thanks!", spat the grumpy freshman. 

"See you at school tomorrow, Dork", Said Cole as he drove away. Aiden immediately began to regret giving attitude to the vengeful jock.  

Aiden slowly sondered up the sidewalk leading to his front door, picking his wedgie along the way. The torrential rain quickly soaked the small teen. Once inside, Aiden yelled "I am home!", as he dropped his backpack on the floor of the front entryway. The same followed with his soaking wet jacket. After leaving wet foot prints halfway down the hallway, he kicked off his running shoes, leaving them in the middle of the floor. 

"How was your sleepover at Cole's?" asked his mother. 

"Cole? I thought your new friend's name was Brayden?', questioned Emma. 

"They had a sleepover at Cole Wilson's last night", answered their mother. 

"Since when does Cole Wilson hang out with losers like you?", teased Emma. 

"Emma! That's enough!", warned their mother. "Besides, I think that Cole is a good role model for your brother. Maybe he could help Aiden get on the football team".

Emma laughed out loud at her mothers idea, while Aiden just looked horrified at the thought. 

"Aiden on the football team?!, I guess they could use him as the football!", laughed the older sibling. Aiden couldn't help but giggle at her joke too. Their mother just gave her a stern look, while obviously trying to hold back a laugh herself. 

Their mother announced, "Well, either way, we will be seeing a lot more of Cole again. I have asked him to tutor you again this year. Isn't that great, sweetie?"

Aiden was speechless. This had to be a joke! This nightmare just kept getting worse. His start to highschool was becoming a freshman hell!

The End