“Hey! We’re talking to you. Stop looking down.”
It’s okay. I’m used to this.
“You’re always like this. Take his backpack.”
If I just stay silent then in an hour’s time I’ll be home. It’s okay.
“Oh look, he’s got a new textbook.”
They took it and threw the backpack to the wall. One rip after another echoed throughout the hallway, along with laughs. That’s fine.
“Ah, you know, I’ve been needing some new shoes. You got some nice ones on. Would you mind lending them to me?”
They didn’t cost that much anyway. It’s okay.
Before I could take them off, one of the two lackeys behind him spoke up. “We’re going to be late to practice, let’s get going” he said. Darting up for a moment I caught the lackey’s eyes: filled with a strange pity.
“Fine, here’s your textbook.”
He dropped on the ground amongst all the scattered pages.
“Great catching up! See you next time Lance.” So they snickered down and out the front door.
Yes, that’s my name. Lance. I’m supposedly a freshman at our local highschool. Not that grades really matter all that much around here. Kids of all ages attend, since it’s the only educational facility left. It’s a rural village after all – once you exit this school so you’re surrounded by forest and meadow and farm. The entrance to the school is actually a sandy dirt path.
I hurry over to the backpack and check its pockets to confirm: yes, luckily the satchel underneath wasn’t noticed. It’s where I keep a few handfuls of sunflower seeds for critters. The squirrels around here love them, along with the wrens and robins.
As you can probably tell, I love the animals around here. When I sit on the lone vending machine bench and throw out some seeds, so they all come out to greet. There’s no need for conversation. Even if they could talk, I wouldn’t be sure what we’d talk about. That’s probably why I like them so much.
I gather up all of ripped pages and straighten out their crumples before cementing them tight in the textbook. It’s nothing some tape won’t fix.
With the sun setting I’d have to cut my schedule short. Usually after school I go to my trusty bench to hang out with my critter friends, but it’s too late now. After dusting off my backpack and readjusting all its contents, so I set out toward the distant hill.
The hill has a house of one, with a resident of one: me. I don’t know what happened to my parents. It was my grandmother and I, but she passed just around the middle school years.