Heartache High: The Primer Read online



  Heartache High:

  The Primer

  Heartache High’s Primer for Students,

  as written by Stephanie Johnson,

  Heartache High Permanent Student

  Jon Jacks

   

   

  Other New Adult and Children’s books by Jon Jacks

  The Caught

  The Rules

  Chapter One

  The Changes

  Sleeping Ugly

  The Barking Detective Agency

  The Healing

  The Lost Fairy Tale

  A Horse for a Kingdom

  Charity

  The Most Beautiful Things

  The Last Train

  The Dream Swallowers

  Nyx; Granddaughter of the Night

  Jonah and the Alligator

  Glastonbury Sirens

  Dr Jekyll’s Maid

  The 500-Year Circus

  P

  The Endless Game

  DoriaN A

  Wyrd Girl

  Heartache High

  Coming Soon

  Heartache High: The Wakening

   

   

  Text copyright © 2013 Jon Jacks

  All rights reserved

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 1

   

  At some point in their lives, most people enrol at Heartache High.

  But anyone who enrols can never leave.

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 2

   

  You know how it is; you fall for a guy, you work out the wonderful times, the amazing future you’re going to have together.

  You know; nights out at the movies. Or staying in, watching that sitcom you both fall about laughing at. Weekends spent down the mall together, or out with a group of friends who think, wow, are they the real item or what?

  Oh yeah, but you forgot one thing, didn’t you?

  You forgot to check it out with this guy if all this was all right with him.

  The big flaw in your plan, yeah?

  Don’t worry; we’ve all been there.

  We all understand.

  Sure, we get it; you just sort of haven’t got around to asking him yet.

  But you’re meaning to ask him, right?

  Any time now, in fact.

  Or maybe you’ll just drop him a few hints.

  Hoping he’ll pick them up.

  Knowing he won’t.

  But then, why should you be the one doing the running?

  Why is it you that has to drop the hints?

  That’s not how it’s supposed to work, is it?

  The girl asking the boy.

  It’s gotta be the boy asking the girl!

  We can’t just go turning that old tradition around now can we?

  Ah, but there’s the problem, see?

  What’s a girl got to do if a guy’s too shy to get around to asking?

  Or worse, what’s she gotta do if a guy’s way too confident?

  That’s far far worse, yeah?

  Because, let’s face it, he’s not really shy, is he?

  Not when it comes to other girls, anyway.

  Thing is, you’re not really getting the vibes that he’s in too much of a hurry to ask you out, are you?

  Fact is, he’s not really even talking to you on the sort of level that might mean he’ll even get around to it.

  No, it’s more on the level of, ‘Hey, you; you seen Jemma/Chrissie/Kassy around?’

  Thing is – we’re sure you’ve noticed – is that when it comes to these other girls, he doesn’t even seem to have to actually ask them anything, right?

  You can’t quite work out how it works, but, hey, what do you know, it just seems to happen between this guy and these other girls perfectly naturally.

  Ouch!

  You just wish it would work that way for you too, yeah?

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 3

   

  You’d be surprised just how many girls who enrol for Heartache High actually enjoy being here.

  They don’t think they do, of course.

  The think they’d rather be anywhere else but here.

  But really, they’ll accept the agony just so they can enjoy those odd flashes of joy when, their imaginations working overtime, they dream of how it all might have been if only, if only…

  They enjoy feeling sorry for themselves sometimes, too.

  So you see, Heartache High is a very happy place, in its way.

  How else do you explain all these people who leave each semester, only to come back the next?

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 4

   

  The pretty girls, the popular girls – how do they do it?

  What do they say?

  What do they do?

  I mean, you’re not that bad, are you?

  You’re a lot smarter than those other girls for a start, right?

  You read a lot – good stuff too.

  Though yeah, course, you’ve also read all those books and magazine articles telling you The Ten Most Important Steps to Attract a Guy.

  You know the kind of thing.

  Step 1; Give your skin a daily cleansing; good looking guys don’t like spotty skin!

  Step 2; Wash and condition your hair; guys just love clean hair!

  Yeah, like you didn’t already know all this, right?

  You thought greasy hair and spots were straight out of Vogue.

  Even the steps that seem, well, reasonably feasible, well, they don’t seem to work either, do they?

  Not for you, anyway.

  Not for anybody, really.

  I mean, have you ever seen any girl skilfully utilising steps 9 and 10 to finally land the man of their dreams?

  No, right?

  As we’ve already agreed, it all just seems to happen naturally for some girls, right?

  Like it’s their birth right.

  Like it’s all been preordained that they deserve a happy life.

  What you need isn’t a To Do & Not To Do list – you need to know The Secret of Being Attractive to The Opposite Sex!

  So, what is the secret?

  Well, here it is…

  Ready…

  The big secret is – there is no big secret!

  Shheesh!

  That’s it?

  What a let-down, eh?

  Well, no.

  It’s not a let-down.

  See, at least you now know that there’s no secret that someone’s been keeping from you.

  You’re not going to go around waiting and wasting your time telling yourself everything’s going to be hopeless until someone reveals the big secret to you.

  You now know for sure that it’s all down to you.

  And nothing and no one else.

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 5

   

  Study study study.

  The more you think about that boy, the better the chance you have of attaining high grades at Heartache High.

  It won’t do you any good, of course.

  There’s absolutely no benefit to you.

  You’re just wasting all the time you could be spending doing things you enjoy.

  Things that make you look like fun to be with.

  Rather than a miserable high-grader people want to avoid.

  (Oh, that doesn’t mean ignoring your other areas of study, which leads to success, better confidence, and being seen as
someone people want to be with.)

  *

   

   

  Chapter 6

   

  Thing is, it really is all down to you.

  Not the boy, whoever he is, that you’re hoping to end up happy-ever-after with.

  See, he isn’t ever going to change, is he?

  Not in the immediate future, anyway.

  (But sure, he’ll eventually change right enough – give it forty years or so. Then you’re going to find yourself wondering just what it was you ever saw in him; unless you’re still deeply, madly in love with him of course!)

  Fact is, when we say he isn’t going to change, we also mean he isn’t going to change his view of or attitude to you either.

  Not, of course, unless you change.

  Okay, so we get what you’re thinking now; why the heck should it be you that has to change?

  Why can’t he just accept you as you are?

  Well, you’re expecting him to change, aren’t you?

  At least, to change the way he thinks about you.

  But you can’t change him, can you?

  No one can.

  So it’s no good complaining life isn’t fair, no good crying on a night, thinking why isn’t it like this, why can’t he be like this?

  That’s just the way it is, yeah?

  Like him, the situation’s not going to change.

  No one can change it.

  You can’t change it

  But you can change yourself.

  And what do you know, if you change yourself, you know what?

  The world around you does change.

  Amazing, yeah?

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 7

   

  At Heartache High, there’s just one student – you.

  Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of other students here.

  All just like you, too.

  But they’re all lonely.

  Even in a place full of people just like them.

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 8

   

  Yeah, yeah; we get it.

  You’re still a bit narked that’s it’s you that’s got to do all the changing.

  You’re beautiful, you’re wonderful – why can’t he just see that?

  Yeah, we know; but, fact is, he isn’t seeing it, is he?

  But you’re happy with the way you are, you say?

  Sure you are!

  That’s why you’re enrolled here, in Heartache High, right?

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 9

   

  Well done, you passed your test!

  You filled in all the answers correctly.

  Just one problem;

  You set yourself the wrong questions.

  You know what that means don’t you?

  See you in class next semester!

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 10

   

  You don’t think you should have to change, because you think he’s got to change.

  He’s got to accept you.

  Hang on a minute though.

  Why should he change?

  He’s already got everything going for him, yeah?

  Everything’s going his way, isn’t it?

  Sure he’s gonna change – in your dreams!

  (Yeah, and we mean literally in your dreams. They’re the only place that he actually changes the way you want him to, right?)

  Face it anyway – that’s why you want him, isn’t it?

  Because of the way he is.

  Because life just seems like a breeze for him.

  So, the question you’ve got to be asking yourself now is – just how drastic a change do you have to make?

  And the answer probably is – probably not very drastically at all.

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 11

   

  No principals.

  No exams (but plenty of tests).

  No vacations.

  No life.

  Welcome to Heartache High!

  Enrol today!

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 12

   

  What is it you like about this guy?

  Go on, make a quick list.

  Done that?

  Now, don’t you think he just might be looking for similar things in the girl of his dreams?

  (Okay, yeah, barring the well-known and well-studied gender differences of course, miss smarty-pants!)

  Now check that list off against the things that the girls he likes have going for them.

  And sure, you can list the things going against them, naturally.

  (Now don’t go enjoying this part too much; it isn’t going to work, is it, if you get your poison pen out?)

  So, now you know what sort of things he likes in a girl.

  Don’t you think he’d be looking for the same kind of things in you?

  (Barring, of course, those odd, endearing little foibles of yours that make you so adorably special!)

  Okay, so there are things going against these girls.

  Those things you’ve just taken great delight in scribbling down.

  Can’t he see them too?

  Sure he can.

  But he isn’t stupid; he realises people can’t be perfect.

  He’s prepared to forgive a few bad points so he can enjoy the good ones, yeah?

  If the good ones outweigh the bad ones – well, he’ll give it a go, won’t he?

  Just as you would.

  He’s got bad points, yeah?

  But you’re prepared to ignore them, right?

  For the sake of enjoying his good points.

  Hey, you’ve got something in common!

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 13

   

  Of course, you decided to enrol here.

  You came of your own free choice.

  But now you want to leave?

  I’m afraid that means there will have to be some serious changes made.

  A serious effort is required.

  Wait – forget the serious bits.

  Have fun.

  Serious means you don’t really want to leave!

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 14

   

  Now when you’ve finished making those lists of the pros and cons about yourself, about him, about the girls he hangs around with – you’ve also got to make one about the guys you don’t like.

  Like yuk, yeah?

  But, this is important; so go ahead and do it anyway.

  No laughing (well, okay then, have fun) – but this has to be done honestly, right?

  Now compare the positives and (probably innumerable) negatives of these boys against your list of personal little quirks.

  And you’ve been perfectly honest when making these lists, right?

  If so, if you’ve been really honest, chances are you’ll find some of the boys’ shortcomings are also cropping up on your own list.

  So, if you don’t like these faults, why should anyone else?

  If you see them as negative qualities in these guys, why should you expect others to see them as positives in you?

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 15

  Looking forward to Graduation Day at Heartache High?

  Most of us, eventually, leave here.

  Then when you look (not particularly fondly) back, you wonder:

  What was all that about?

  What was I thinking?

  So, all that effort, all that time
, was wasted.

  All for nothing, eh?

  But you know what?

  You’ll be back.

  If your changes aren’t permanent, you’ll be enrolling once more.

  We’ll have to drop you down a few classes, of course

  Some people, they never learn.

  *

   

   

  Chapter 16

   

  Okay, so some of these negatives, you’re stuck with, right?

  Some of these things, you’re never ever gonna be able to change, because you were unfairly dealt a lousy hand of life’s playing cards by someone up above, yeah?

  So, change the things you can.

  And as for the things you can’t change – well, you know what? What you can change is that you can be a bit more forgiving of other people who have also been dealt a poor hand.

  Chances are that, just like you, they’ve got a heart of gold hidden underneath that exterior.

  They might, just like you, be really interesting people too, once you allow them to open up rather than just dismissing them as nerds or jerks or bores.

  They might just be lacking in the confidence they need to really shine.

  (Remind you of anyone?)

  And, the strange thing is, once you begin to accept these people for who they really are – and who they could be, with your backing and encouragement – you’ll find that you’re enjoying life more too.

  Suddenly, what do you know; you’re popular.

  You’re being sought out to be with.

  You’re seen as being bright, and fun and funny.

  Sure, you’re thinking; but only amongst these unpopular guys!

  How’s that count? you’re wondering.

  But they’re not really unpopular, remember?

  That’s just the way some people see them.

  Besides, you’re coming across now as someone who’s fun to be with.

  Not someone who’s miserable, and morbid, and off hand.

  Which, okay, you weren’t anyway (unless you like being like that, and it’s all just part of your wonderful, unique character).

  But let’s face it; you weren’t the life and soul of the party, were you?

  No, thought not.

  No one attending Heartache High ever is.

   

  *

   

   

  Chapter 17

   

  Congratulations!

  You’ve started to make the necessary changes that could lead to a successful Graduation Day!

  Stop!

  That doesn’t mean rewarding yourself with a raid on the ice box.

  That just means short term gain now – and long term gain in all other areas later!

  Which mean heartache. Yeah?

  Which means – no Graduation Day from Heartache High!

  So, think; small pleasure now, or huge pleasure later?

  No contest, right?

  *

   

   

  Chapter 18

   

  Now you’re having fun, you know what?

  All kinds of people want to be with you.

  Because everyone wants to have fun, right?

  Everyone wants to with people who are fun.

  Cos it rubs off on them too, yeah?

  Hey, what’s that girl got that I haven’t got?

  Why can’t I have fun too?