A Ring of the Bell.

Rio and Kate sit at their usual spot with breakfast in hand. It was just classic cereal, but anything was better than nothing. The cafeteria smelled of the weird cheese that the old cafeteria women wheeled in. Rio watched as students with their own car pulled in later than everyone else. He wasn't watching out of jealousy, he was searching. He was searching for the last person to make this trio… well, a trio.

"Where is he," Kate scanned along with him. They both watched as students piled in. they seen Travis, the school's very own pervert. They seen Merida, the captain of the Baseball team that Kate is on. One by one they saw people that they've spent years with, but none of them was who they were looking for. "He should be here by now." Rio then searched around the cafeteria to see if they had missed him.

"There's no way we could've missed him. He like, seven feet tall." Rio muttered to himself. Truth was, everytime Rio talked to the guy, he felt like his neck became more and more crooked.

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a group of three coming from the hallway into the cafeteria. Rio's eyes widened when he realized who it was. One of them was a shorter, yet wide-bodied guy. His hair was dirty, crusty blonde with blue eyes to match. Beside him was a black guy with dreads. He was pretty lanky and his tips were bleached to hell, along with his outfit that looked as if he never washed it in a million years. Their names were both Haris Franklin and James Earnheart. These two weren't much trouble, just minions to the devil himself; Jonathan. He had brown hair along with green eyes. He was generous and sweet to the teachers and people that he liked, but to everyone else… screw him. He gave off kindergarten vibes to the max, meaning he valued people based on what they could give him. Of course that didn't matter, due to the fact that some people were so desperate to give him something.

"I think I know where he is." Rio stands up, leaving Kate where she was. The thing about those boys is, they are a part of the basketball team. They played on this team with their friend, Adrian. Adrian Harrison was a tall guy, but he lacked confidence to ever fight anyone. His parents were dumb enough to believe that he was friends with the boys, so she forces him to ride with them everyday. 'You should get out more!' is what she likes to say to him. Everytime he rides with them it always becomes a matter of seeing how long it takes before he just walks the rest of the way. The three like to pick things like: his clothes, his hair, and even how tall he was. Adrian has worn his hair in an afro for as long as Rio could remember.

With every step Rio took, he could feel himself getting more angier at everything that caused one of his best friends to be bullied. It wasn't like Adrian was a bully before, he genuinely never fought back to a bully. It was usually Kate or him who had to scare someone off for him. It wasn't long before Rio finally made his way to the men's restroom only to see his friend in a ball on the floor. With his height he kinda looks like some sort of SCP. Rio sighed to let the other know that he was there.

"How bad was it?" Rio asked as he made his way beside him. The bathroom stalls were this Air Force Blue. while the tiles were a dingy white. Clearly, only one of the things in the bathroom was taken care of. He looked around the room waiting for an answer, but the only thing he got was a head shake. As he waited for more, his eyes took in how Adrian was wearing the classic school varsity jacket over his burgundy shirt. His jeans were ripped in a way that you couldn't see;; if it was intentional. Rio's thoughts were then interrupted by a small sniffle.

"I just," He began to speak as he wiped away tears from his eyes. "Can't wait till we graduate." The room then filled with this deafening silence. He knew that the one thing Adrian needs right now, is a friend to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say. This feeling continued until they heard the sound of their warning bell ring.

"Do you want to go to class," Rio looked at the other and reached out his hand. "Or we could skip?" Adrian only shook his head again as he now stood up. It was crazy how tall he was compared to a scrunched up little boy. His eyes were a deep, comforting black. It was almost as if it didn't matter what his intentions were, you were bound to follow. Rio learned a lot about him over the last few years; He learned about Adrian's terrible anxiety, stuff like how to help him deal with it, most importantly when to help. He also learned that when Adrian was feeling good, help him savor it. Over the summer it wasn't a lot of times that he felt that way. Him and his mother barely talk. His mother tries, but usually ends up going against what he would want. He never wanted to play Basketball, but with height like that his father couldn't resist. He gets along with his siblings most of the time, probably because he idolized their confidence. Rio was then taken back by Adrian next words.

"Nah, it's senior year. Let's not do that shit."