Strung

“So,” Alec licked his lips, “We should probably get going.”

“Uh?” I looked around. “We just got here?”

“Right.” Alec didn’t make eye contact. Instead he coughed and opened the fridge. “I kind of signed us up for school.”

I froze. My heart damn near beat out of my chest. “How do you kind of sign us up for school? When you say kind of do you mean you thought about it and then laughed your ass off for even having that thought?”

“Don’t worry. I gave you easy classes.”

“Are you shitting me?” I roared.

“No.” Alec’s jaw flinched. He threw me a bottled-water and took a swig of his own. “I’m not. Now put on some jeans that don’t have rips all the way up to your ass and try not to make a complete fool out of yourself.”

I shook my head. “Your insane! We’re going to get mauled!”

“Nah,” I shrugged, “It’s Seaside. Check it, they still have a video store.”

“I’m sorry I really don’t know what that means.” I muttered.

“VHS,” Alec said slowly, “Tapes.”

“Like as a joke?” I scrunched up my face. “Why the hell would someone watch — oh God, are they Amish?”

“Who?”

“The townfolk!” I threw my water-bottle onto the couc., “Do we have to grow beards and shit?”

Alec’s stern face broke out into a smile. “Yeah and they deliver milk to our front door every day. But don’t worry if you run out we can just milk the goat out back.”

“We have a goat,” I repeated. “Is it tame?”

“Yeah.” Alec shrugged. “I named it Billy.”

My eyes narrowed. “Does it live under a bridge.”

He smirked.

“We don’t’ really have a goat do we?”

“No, but it is Seaside, anything’s possible.”

“Next you’re going to tell me it’s like Disneyland and this is where dreams come true.” I grunted and picked up my tossed water-bottle and started playing with the paper so I wouldn’t reach into my front pocket and take my second pill of the day. If I was going to be going to rehab I needed to stop being so dependent if I had any dream of graduating the program and moving back to LA. I wasn’t that addicted anyways — I could quit for a few months. It wasn’t like I needed drugs to live or anything.

Yet my hands still shook.

And I still wanted that happy feeling.

The one that was so damn fake it made my chest ache — because at least then I wouldn’t have to think about everything else going on.

“They can’t possibly be that naïve,” I grumbled. “We’re on every magazine in the country not to mention we were trending on Twitter for an entire week. A week dude.”

“But” — Alec held his hand into the air — “They won’t expect it. Besides, if things get crazy we hire security. Our fans aren’t like Bieber’s.”

My body shivered involuntarily. “Scrappy little monsters.”

“Older.” Alec shrugged. “We have older fans, it won’t get that crazy.”

“Famous last words,” I grumbled. “Let me go change out of my pants then, seems we have a super fun day of going to actual school to look forward to.”

“That’s the spirit.”

I nodded, forced a smile, and did what I always did when my brother pissed me off. I grabbed the little white pill and chewed the bitter pieces — my tongue was already going numb.

In a few minutes the rest of my body would follow.

As I ran up the stairs and changed out of my jeans, I caught a glance of myself in the mirror.

Dark circles were under my glassy eyes. I looked like hell.

Well great, going to high school sure seemed like hell. I’d fit in just fine.

“Hurry up!” Alec shouted from downstairs.

“On it.” I grumbled and put on a pair of pants that wouldn’t get me arrested.

The drive to school was way too short.

“Do we really have to do this?” I watched in horror as kids, normal kids, piled into the large run down building. Some had backpacks, others carried books. “Hell, its like someone’s dropped us into a lame teen movie.”

“Hmm” Alec turned off the Mercedes — “You’d think after taking a pill this morning you’d be in a happy mood.”

Caught. Damn it. “Alec, look, it was only one—”

“Honestly man. I don’t wanna hear it. I really don’t.”

He got out of the car and slammed the door behind him, leaving me blanketed in the silence of my own guilt.

With a curse, I got out of the car and followed him through the parking lot.

Nobody stared.

Seriously?

Huh, who would have thought?

We walked through the doors and went straight for the office where one teacher promptly fell into a chair and started fanning herself, the secretary swallowed her gum.

And the principal beamed. “So you made it.”

“Yeah.” Alec nodded. “We did.”

“Your schedules.” He handed a folder to each of us. “And you let me know if there are any issues. I’m still convinced you won’t be able to pull it off, but good luck.”

“Thanks.” Alec smiled warmly and nudged me back towards the door.