<strong>NAME:</strong>Aaron Gilbert<br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>Grey t-shirt and hat, dark grey khaki shorts<br/><strong>DAY:</strong>Friday, June 9<br/><strong>TIME:</strong>Night<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong>Caulton Residence - Backyard Pool<br/><strong>CONTENT:</strong>Observation, Embarrassment<br/><strong>MOOD MUSIC:</strong>You and I Both Lose (But 5 Wins) by Toehider (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcPqxQiWk7Y)<br/><br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Open<br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x401/callmecapone/grinder_treatment2.jpg)</div>For about ten minutes Aaron had been standing with his back against the Caulton house, hands in his pockets, legs crossed at the ankles. The pulsing bass of what he assumed was some Drake or Li’l Wayne song seemed to drown out… well,<em>the song</em>itself, sending light tremors throughout the ground. His eyes scanned his surroundings, watching his classmates of the last six years intermingle, laugh, flirt, and pout, voices competing loudly with the pop hit rumbling through their bones. No one seemed to take notice of him up against the wall. Not a single pair of eyes landed on him, not a hand gesturing towards him in greeting. Aaron inhaled deeply, his chest puffing slightly as he closed his eyes.<br/><br/>“Okay,” he said softly as a whisper. He removed his hands from his pockets, allowing his fingers to softly drum on his thighs. “<em>’But this is the last thing,’ I said to my good friend. ‘If this bombs, man, if this time it doesn’t fly… I’m throwing the towel in, I tire of these welts from banging my head against the wall…’</em>”<br/><br/>Aaron’s voice continued at a whisper -- if that -- as he recited the lines to the song. His face flushed slightly as he only confirmed his “weirdo” status by drumming and singing to himself. However, thinking of the song also helped him shut out not just the noise, but his own anxieties.<br/><br/>“<em>Pulled up a chair, tied back her hair, with not a care whipped out a deck of cards. Opened the box, I looked at my watch, she pulled up her socks and dealt a hand of 5.</em>”<br/><br/>His own voice continued to be drowned out by all the commotion surrounding him despite his rising confidence. As he recited the track, hearing the guitar in his mind as his fingers more vigorously filled out the percussion, he felt the tightened knots in his stomach loosen. The adrenaline of an energetic song began to slowly seep throughout his limbs. His leg uncrossed, foot lifting and planting itself flat against the house behind him. Eyes still closed, the picture of the song’s story played like the slides of a PowerPoint presentation.<br/><br/>“<em>’So, what, that’s it? You’re full of shit!’ She didn't quit. No, it's like she didn't hear. ‘So now you know the way it goes. Let's play and, oh, so here's the final rule…’</em><br/><br/>“<em>’You and I both lose-’</em>”<br/><br/>His eyes squinted as he banged the back of his head against the house. Perhaps a bit too into the song, he hadn’t noticed his voice had risen even further as his fingers had tapped with an even more eager vitality. Upon the impact of his head he not only lost his flow, but his eyes opened to see the upward eyebrow, crinkled nose and quirked lip of Gretchen Bullworth, one of the less friendly cheerleaders on the squad.<br/><br/>“Well,” she said, her eyes giving Aaron a rather disapproving scan, “one of us has certainly lost the game of life before a single roll of the dice.” She flicked her dark raven locks that contrasted perfectly against her pale skin, her lips tinted with a darkened red that matched the hues of her eyeshadow. “Y’know, it’s a good thing you forgot your yearbook. It would only be so heart-breaking to take it home with absolutely no signatures, wouldn’t it?”<br/><br/>Gretchen gave a fake pout before turning around, her denim shorts providing just a hint of ass cheek as she swayed towards the pool. Her voice took on a much perkier tone as she wrapped her arm around Vincent Kelligree’s arm, pulling his bicep towards her breasts. Aaron sighed, turning his attention back around the rest of the pool, his hands slipping back into his pockets as his stomach knotted back up again.<br/><br/>Maybe he should have gone with Benny after all?