Uptight & Light

Today was like any other day, I was going to Rivertown High School, and my first class happened to be homeroom. Here was where I started the day, with the teacher writing important notes on the whiteboard and calling out our names.

“Tracy Donald,” he said.

“Here”

“Jack Diamond”

There was a silence, so this student was marked absent.

“Jacklyn Evergreen”

“Here”

The teacher continued to call out the other students’ names until ...

“John McDougall”

“H-here”

That was me who responded after hearing my name called out. I was always known as the quiet kid in the class, the one who rarely ever gets called on, the one who rarely ever helps out, the one who rarely ever does anything noteworthy. There’s a reason I never did anything to please my teachers, parents, or classmates, but we’ll get to that later. In the meantime, a very interesting student was about to enter the classroom door.

“Slam!”

“Hey there, everyone, sorry to keep you waiting!”

This kid was the one who got all the attention in school, especially with his long hair that stood up like the leaves of a pineapple. He was always known for getting into trouble, outsmarting bullies, talking back, and ending up in detention by the end of the week.

The teacher spoke: “Jack Oliver Diamond, you are late once again!”

“Fashionably late I presume, you know how hard it is to keep up with my charming good looks.”

“That’s not what I-”

The teacher groaned in annoyance.

“Just take your seat! I’ll deal with you later!”

This kid was known as Jack O. Diamond, the class clown at my school. As soon as he sat at his desk, which was, unfortunately, next to mine, he looked at me.

“Hey-a Four-Eyes, what’s new?”

“Jack O. Diamond, it’s bad enough that you’re late to my class” the teacher stated, “but I will not have you talking in my class as well! Pay attention!”

“You take cash or check?”

“That’s strike one! Strike three will send you to the principal’s office!”

“Oh, really? How’s he do-”

“Diamond, please!” I spoke aloud.

Everyone looked at me all of the sudden, this was the first time I ever spoke aloud on my own accord, especially if it was to keep Jack O. Diamond of all people from getting into any more trouble than he already found himself to be in,

“Psh, whatev’s” Diamond responded. That’s when he leaned back and put his feet up on his desk.

“I mean it, Mr. Diamond! Now if you don’t mind, I would like for us to return to class!”

“No prob, Bob.”

“That’s Mr. Lawrence to you, young man!”

So as the teacher tried to continue class, pretending my classmate’s antics never happened, I began to take notes on what he was talking about. I also wrote some additional notes that would help me better remember what he was saying. This was especially important to me as I currently had a C average in my classes, not something I myself was proud of. I really wanted to please my peers, but I didn’t know how I could do it yet. In fact, I didn’t think I could do it. I can never do anything right, I’m destined for failure.

Yet whenever Jack O. Diamond starts acting up, I can’t help but get riled up, it’s like I should mind my own business, but for a reason that I didn’t even know myself, I stepped in whenever Diamond’s mischief got out of hand. I never cared for Jack O. Diamond, he could’ve been expelled entirely for all I cared, but for some reason, I always got involved to try and de-escalate the problem. I didn’t know why.

But that’s when, during class, Diamond began to shoot spitballs at my face. This annoyed me quite a bit, as you could imagine. But as hard as I tried to ignore it, he kept shooting spitballs from his straw.

“Pst, John,” he whispered.

As he kept whispering to me, I kept trying to ignore him.

“John.”

“Jonathan McDougall.”

“John, I’m right next to you.”

“I have to tell you something important.”

I sighed in annoyance and began to whisper.

“This better be important.”

A smirk came across his face as he pointed his finger at me.

“Pull my finger.”

I whispered again, “Diamond will you please grow up? I’m trying to take notes here.”

He whispered “I’m trying to take notes here” in a whiny voice to try and mock me.

My annoyance towards him was slowly transitioning to anger, but I knew that I wouldn’t want to get involved with Diamond’s shenanigans like I always did, so I continued to ignore him again.

Diamond chuckled a bit and whispered, “Watch this”.

He had a paper airplane in his hand and proceeded to throw it at Mr. Lawrence.

“Who threw that!?”

Every other student, except for me, pointed their fingers at Diamond.

“I should’ve known, that’s strike two, Mr. Diamond!”

But then, the bell rang for the students to leave for their next class.

“Well, I hope you’re happy! Ridiculous!”

“Thank you, thank you very much.”

So that’s when I left my homeroom class in order to proceed to the next class.

Later on, I was in the cafeteria during the school’s lunch hour, sitting at an empty table by myself. This was where I was hoping I could have some peace and quiet after my rambunctious morning. I looked towards my left, and then I looked towards my right, nobody else seemed interested to sit at the table I was at. Best of all, there was no sign of that Jack O. Diamond. So that’s when I proceeded to eat my lunch. But then-

“Heya Four-Eyes!”

He just came out of nowhere! Right behind my back! How did that even happen!?

I sighed.

“Why do you keep following me?”

“I dunno. Why are you sitting here by yourself?”

“I prefer to enjoy my lunch in peace. You’re more than welcome to leave me be.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d like to be alone.”

“Why?”

“Because I prefer peace and quiet during lunchtime.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s nice.”

“Why?”

“Because … just leave me alone!”

“Why?”

“BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!!”

Everyone else looked at me and Diamond again.

“Why does this keep happening” I complained.

Diamond sat down next to me.

“Why do you prefer to be alone?” Diamond asked me.

I didn’t want to answer his question, it’s really none of his business. I just wish he would leave me alone. But at the same time, I want someone else to know how I feel. I want someone to know what I feel. I want someone to understand me a bit more. So, I took a leap of faith and said …

“I can never do anything right.”

I paused, and he paused for a moment as well. But then he started to speak:

“What do you mean?”

I sighed.

“When I was little, I made a lot of mistakes. I tried to do things I wanted to do, but I just kept messing things up. It’s like I was better off not trying anything. I’m very clumsy, I’m not that smart no matter how much I study, and I can never please anyone. It’s like I don’t even know what anyone wants from me.”

We paused again for a little while.

“You know what I want from you?” Diamond asked me.

“What?”

“I’d like you to be happy.”

Be happy? What did he mean by that?

“In this school, you’re the guy who barely has any attention while I have all of the attention. That’s because you don’t try to let loose, you’re always so uptight and you keep to yourself. What if you tried being a bit more carefree and happy, like me?”

“I don’t want to start getting in trouble.”

“I will admit I might take things a bit too far sometimes, but that’s where you come in, right? You always tell me off to try and de-escalate the problem when it’s time to take things seriously.”

“Wait, so you know that what you’re doing gets you into trouble?”

“I don’t always recognize it when I do things I’ll regret later on, but I just want people to try and be like me. People in this world are so uptight sometimes, always stuck-up and don’t know how to enjoy their lives.”

“Yeah? But being too relaxed can be a bit of a problem too. People should relax a bit more, but they should also know when to take things seriously.”

“Maybe you’re right. But that’s where you come in, right? You always try to tell me when I should take things seriously, and I try to be a bit more carefree in hopes that others could be that way once in a while, too.”

“You do have a point, I do try to keep you grounded when things get out of hand.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s good to know when to take things seriously, but nobody should be too serious all the time. People need to learn when to relax and to enjoy their lives.”

Was this a lesson I would learn? Was Jack O. Diamond trying to tell me that I should lighten up a bit but also know when to take things seriously? Who knows? But either way, this was something that may have started a newfound friendship I formed with an unusual classmate.

THE END (FOR NOW)