Holes in The History of The Universe

1: The History Class of The Modern Youth

Trigger Warning in this chapter for discussion of The Holocaust 

Samual O'Dally was not a good person. Normally, when such a large group of people feel the urge to say such a cruel thing about a child. It is hereditary, encouraged by the parents, for they are just as horrible as their offspring. Perhaps you've encountered these people, telling their children to come back to their side when they play with the Muslim girl from their dance class, or simply ignoring the deep pain, psychological or physical, that they dish out to their unsuspecting peers. For the O'Dallys, that couldn't be further from the truth. Samuel's mother, whom everyone just called Laura, was a lovely, accepting woman who cared for her son and a great deal of other people dearly, Samual was simply too skilled at hiding his behavior then what was good for him.

The source of his habits, she suspected, came not from him, but his friends, who were far more typical cases of Secondary School annoyances. Now, these children didn't actually care for Samual, and he knew that perfectly well, but by the time he had properly gotten to know them, he was far too deeply burrowed into his narcissistic facade to be able to make friends with any of the other P-7 students, so he remained in their group, and kept digging himself into the now freakishly deep hole he had created, struggling and failing to climb out without even realizing it, until he was suddenly rescued by perhaps the most rare, horrible, and beautiful freak accident that could possibly happen to a person like that.

The day it happened started as normally as it could for a twelve year old boy, even when it came to the tiniest of details. He was awoken much later than he probably should have by his mother, dressed himself, and was driven to school, where the other two members of his group already stood in the courtyard, talking amongst themselves whilst hesitantly opening a space for him to join.

His first class of the day was history, a subject which he had always had a strong dislike for, often complaining of it's uselessness. That unit they were discussing The Holocaust, and while it is almost inarguably agreed upon that the topic is extremely important for a school to cover, it makes for quite an awkward learning experience for many students, especially those who struggle finding the right words to use for such a horrible subject.

The class began as it always did, a lecture was given on the topic they would be studying that day, the current one being the nerve racking thoroughness of how The Nazi concentration camps were designed and built, and then the teacher, a proffesional, yet friendly middle aged man, allowed the class to discuss it without his assistance. The conversation was as mediocre at best that day, until one child interrupted.

"Hey," said he, "do you guys ever wonder if gas chambers are a little over discussed?" The others looked at him as though he had suddenly sprouted wings, but he had the confidence to ignore them and continue, "I mean, yeah, it was scary for those involved, and it is important that we talk about it, but you do realize that not all Holacost victims died that way, right? Heck, Anne Frank died of typhus."

The teacher nodded and spoke up, "that is a good point," said he, "Derek? Would you care to elaborate?" It was a classic example of a teacher addressing a student just to get them to pay attention.

Samual, who insisted on being called 'Derek' at school, sat staring out the window, fiddling with a cheap orange pencil that probably wasn't even his, completely withdrawn from the conversation, "huh? No, not much." His voice then fell into a low mumble "this whole conversation is bullshit anyway."

"Derek," a rather feminine girl yelled to him from across the room, "what the Hell?"

"I mean, you guys act all weird and quiet when we're talking about this, but not when we were discussing, say, The Irish Potato Famine a few weeks ago. You guys talked about it like it was nothing, I mean, why can't we joke about it?"

"Because actual people caused it, jerk." Said the same girl as before.

"So? That means nothing. Here let me show you, how many Jews can you fit in an-"

"Alright, enough." The teacher stood slightly, "Derek, while I believe you had a good point just now, that last bit was completely unnecessary. You will be spending recess in detention, do you understand?"

"Yes sir," stated he, though there wasn't a hint of emotion in his voice, he had gotten far too used to punishment to care.