One Last Day

1

***

Two days now. I woke up with a major headache, hoping that if I tell my mom I would get to stay home.

    "Mom, I don't feel well," I say.

    "What's wrong sweetie?"

    "Headache."

    "Have a Tylenol and go to school, I heard you have a test in Chemistry."

    "Hmm great. Chem, best subject of all time."

    "Just please, don't argue. Go to school."

    "Alright. Bye Mom." As I kiss her goodbye, I let her know that I love her and I always will.

    I put my headphones in as I head out the door, listening to my favorite song. The walk to school is dreadful, the feeling of being pushed and punched in the stomach resurfaces. Joseph and his "jerk-tourage" keep popping up in my head like a mosquito. The ground beneath my feet shakes as the view of the school became clear, buses pass me, all of us going to the same destination; why would the bus drivers be so eager to send kids to hell on Earth. I see Joseph, hanging around Emily and her litter of pets, that she calls her friends. I try to hide myself in my black hoodie, wishing I could just melt into it and fade away from the world. Joseph runs after me as I walk into the depths of hell and he grabs me by my backpack.

    "What up, Casey. Were you just going to walk past me without saying hi?"

    "Hi Joseph."

    "Why were you even born into this world, why still come to this school if you know that I will do this to you every time you come."

     "Believe me you won't have to worry about me anymore," I say under my breath.

    "What was that dumb-ass?"

    "Nothing, Joseph."

    "Whatever Casey, hope you learn to leave and never come back to my school, I hate breathing the same air as you."

He then punches me in my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. He knows what he's doing, always leaving me feeling much more worthless than I already knew I was. I walk into class, knowing that Joseph's friends will hurt me, since Joseph doesn't have Mr. Garcia's Robotics class.

    I drown Mr. Garcia out thinking about my suicide note as he goes on with teaching.

    "Mr. Casey?"

    "Josh Casey."

    "JOSHUA CASEY!"

I look up and see Mr. Garcia and the whole class staring at me, Joseph's friends taking pictures of me, knowing i'll be turned into a meme later.

    "Yes?" I say.

    Mr. Garcia replies, "Is something more important than learning about the sensory feedback of robots?"

    "No, sorry."

    "Don't let it happen again. Eyes up Mr. Casey."

    "Yes sir."

    Hours pass by like minutes. Each class was just a way of letting everyone know that if you want to succeed in life, you will need to pay thousands of dollars.

    Lunch. The only time I'm actually alone, and the only reason for that is because I just sit in the bathroom. And no I don't eat lunch in the bathroom if that's what your thinking; I wait till I get home because school lunch is just horrendous. I grab my notebook and think of ways I can apologize to my mother for my decision. I don't regret it, I just want her to know that I needed to do this. My trance was so deep, I almost didn't hear the bell ring for us to go home. I jump off the toilet and run outside; I bump into a girl, who I've never seen before.

    "Sorry," she says.

    I hate when girls say sorry for things that aren't their fault, "No need to say sorry, I ran into you."

    "Yea, women tend to do that, I'm trying to stop."

She gives off a nervous giggle, I look into her eyes. The pool of her deep brown eyes makes me feel at ease, a feeling I haven't felt since I was a child. Her warm smile shined her gorgeous teeth, hiding that smile would be a crime. Her soft brown hair that falls perfectly around her face, no one would see that, but I do. I notice her. I see her.

    "I'm Remi," she says, "Remi Martinez."

    "I'm Josh. Josh Casey."

***