Blind

Broken

"Have you heard about that new kid?"

"Yeah! What's his name?"

"Lenard or something? I think he said Lenny though right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Gosh, he's such a hotty isn't he?"

"I know right?"

Charles had been hearing conversations like these all day. Everyone was so hyped up about this new senior who had transferred here after a fight. How great a new soul to be taken to the popular kids dark side. Charlie was heading toward his study hall, final period of the day before he could go home. When he got there he sat down in the back, away from everyone else and opened his book. That's when Lenny walked in.

Charlie didn't notice Lenny get stopped by the group of kids at the front of the classroom. He was really into his new book. And paying attention at this time of the day wasn't something he was super interested in doing.

"Hey..." Lenny said coming to sit next to him. It had been about 5 min since the bell had rung so Charlie felt confused seeing him not sitting down already.

"Hi?..." Charlie said quietly. The girls in the hall were right, Lenard was very handsome. But no one really talked to Charles and he had no idea what to say. He just looked at Lenny and smiled awkwardly.

"Excuse me! I understand you're new but everyone needs to sit in my room so please find a seat thank you!" The study hall teacher rolled her eyes and returned to her business on the PC. Lenny decided to sit at the desk right next to Charlie.

Charlie felt his excitement rise. Is someone here finally going to try and be his friend?

"What's that you're reading?" Lenny leaned in closer to Charles in order to see some of the words in his book.

Charles felt extremely nervous and said nothing to the other boy. He leaned away and stared awkwardly. He wondered if the popular kids had already gotten to him. He really wasn't sure if he could trust this new person.

"D-did ya hear me?" Lenny asked

"Yes." Charles said quickly.

"Well then are you gonna answer?" Lenny tilted his head in confusion.

"Oh... Well.. It's a romantic tragedy... Charles said, closing the book and viewing the cover.

"What's it about?"

Charles closed his book and placed it in front of him. He thought for a moment before saying anything. "Why are you even talking to me Lenny?" He said "no one in this school talks to me. Hell no one in the entire county but my mother and sister talk to me."

Lenny smiled devilishly "Well why don't they? You seem nice ."

Charles tilted his head. Was this really his opportunity to make a friend? Like June before she moved away. "Well... I'm openly gay. and people in this area don't-"

"Oh so you ARE a faggot?" Lenny said cutting Charles off.

The class went silent. Excluding a few of the giggling popular kids in the front of the classroom.

"You're a fag who reads fucking gay porn in class aren't you?" Lenny said laughing. Grabbing the book from Charlie's desk and opening it to a random page.

The Teacher in the room, without looking away from her computer monitor, decided to speak up "Mr. Lenard! Please if you want to say those things say them in the halls not in my room thank you!"

Charles frowned as tears started to swell in his eye. He looked over at the kids at the front of the classroom laughing. "Forget it asshole just give me my fucking book back. i should've guessed you'd be like them." He reached to take his book back.

"Wow seriously?" Lenny pushes Charles away as he starts to read a passage from the book "Guys listen! 'Ken could feel his cheeks heat up, and instead of saying anything else, he kissed Jordan like a man dying for air-' Oh my god this guys literally reading fag shit right next to us."

The classroom erupted in laughter. Lenny tossed the book to the ground and stomped on it, crushing the pages and bending the cover. As the teacher tried her best to get the classroom back under control Charlie started to struggle with his own self control. He was tired of it. Everyone had treated him as an outsider for so long. Lenny didn't even know him. He JUST got here and he still treated Charlie like trash.

Charlie wiped his tears and got down to reach under the desks and pick up his book. It was damaged but still readable. That's all that mattered to him at that point.

"Damn it Charles get off the floor and into your seat! You are always causing way to much chaos!" the teacher raised her voice. Tired of having to keep pausing her game of solitaire.

Charlie stood up with his book in one hand, clenching his other fist

"You've got to be kidding I just-"

"Come on bitch boy! Let the teacher do her job. We all know you want to get on your hands and knees but you'll have to wait until after class!" Lenny laughed and lightly kicked the back of Charlie's knee causing him to trip and fall forward a bit before he caught himself on another student's desk.

"You're actually just a fucking bastard you know? You don't even fucking know me!" Charlie yelled as he felt his composure starting to slip. He turned around to face his new bully. "Lenny no one gives a fuck who you are just the same as me. You're a senior who changed fucking schools in the last semester!" Charlie raised his voice, now screaming with everything he had "No one here will give a fuck about you!" and with that the book left Charlies hand. Sailing straight into Lenny's face.

Lenny grabbed his face seeing blood from the small cut the corner of the book had made on his cheek. The teacher yelled but Charlie didn't hear it, he realized what he had done right away and started preparing himself for what was going to happen next. In what felt like an instant Lenny had stood up from his desk and tossed it to the side. Students started taking out phones and chanting for the fight. The teacher ran out of the room to get help but it couldn't be fast enough.

Charles shut his eyes and did what he could to protect himself. Lenny was just so much stronger then him. After a short struggle between them Lenny landed one punch that'd change everything. A teacher from another room finally was able to intervene. He pulled Lenny off of Charles and that's when Lenny noticed there was too much blood. Charlie was knocked out and something just didn't look right.

"Look what you did!" The study hall teacher screamed in Lenard's face as the principal and two other teachers ran into the classroom. The principal grabbed Lenny by the arm pulling him away from everyone and shoving him out of the classroom

"Go to the office!" he demanded harshly. Lenny angrily turned away and headed toward the office alone. Running anywhere wasn't a choice anyway.

"You." the principal pointed at the study hall teacher "Call 911 and get an ambulance here." She nodded and used her phone for something other than texting her baby daddy at work. The bells rang and students left to go home. Not a single one cared about Charlie or Lenny but some of them got to film the crazy fight in room 208 .

As the ambulance arrived Lenny could hear the sirens. There was one thing that truly traumatized him though. As he sat in the office just feet away from the front entrance Charlie had woken up and started screaming "I-I can't see! My eye! I can't see!" Dread filled Lenny. He knew he made a huge mistake today. He might not be ok after this and he was so scared.