The Idea of Us | Manthony

A Day in Hell

   Christian swings his feet out from his silk bedsheets, placing them on the hardwood flooring of his tiny bedroom. The floor creaks under the weight of his feet sliding into his fuzzy black slippers. The boy pushes himself off of his queen-sized bed and walks to his closet.

   "Fuck this..." Christian grumbles as he pushes against the thin wooden doors.

   The doors slide in their metal tracks nailed to the floor, revealing an almost empty closet. Christian sorts through his clothes, pushing aside hangers that hang from a wooden rod. The plastic hangers slide against the rod, each shirt is pushed out of the way to reveal another, none good enough for Christian.

   Christian walks over to his desk and picks up a shirt laying on the black desk chair. He brings the shirt to his nose and inhales. Without much smell, the shirt is deemed clean to the young boy. Christian slides the dark blue shirt over his bare chest, covering his pale skin.

   "Christian, are you almost ready?"

   "Yeah, mum!" Christian calls from his room.

   "We'll be leaving in 5 minutes honey, please be in the car by then."

   Christian sighs. He can't do this again. Another day of the same old hell-like school.

   He throws his notebook in his backpack and tugs at the zipper, pulling his backpack shut. He slings the bag over his shoulder.  The bag, hanging from his right shoulder, jostles against his back with every step he takes down the long staircase. To the left of the stairs in the family dining room. A kitchen table, made of darkly stained wood is fixed in the middle of the dining room with place settings at each of the four chairs. A plate filled with a waffle and two veggie sausages waits for Christian on one side of the table.
  
   The boy grabs a sausage link off the plate and shoves it into his mouth. He takes a swig of the orange juice by his place setting and starts to make his way to the door.

   The fall air nips at the boy's skin as he walks outside. He follows the pavement from the front door to the driveway, meticulously stepping on the bigger stones that line the ground.

   "Christian stop messing around! We're going to be late!"

   The driver's side door slams shut as Christian's mother files in the minivan. Christian is quick to follow his mother inside the vehicle, throwing his backpack in the backseat and himself in the passenger seat.

-

   School is such a dreary place. Teens walk around aimlessly with their heads down in hopes to make it to their next class before the bell on the overhead speakers. Christian stares at his feet as he walks across the tiles of the hallway. The glossy flooring, recently waxed, reflects the empty stare on Christian's face. 

   "Christian!" a young boy runs up behind Christian and smacks his back.

   Lucas Huges, Christian's best friend since the two of the young boys could remember.

   "Hey, Lucas..."

   "What's got you down my friend?" Lucas places his hand on Christian's chest, stopping the blonde boy in his tracks.

   "It's 7:55 A.M. on a Tuesday morning. You tell me." Christian scoffs.

   "Okay, okay, I won't press." Lucas moves out of Christian's way.

   A loud screech sounds from all of the speakers, letting everyone know that five minutes are left before the day's first class starts.

   Christian and Lucas turn into their classroom, Chemistry. The classroom is set up with long tables, each with three stools underneath. The two boys file to the back of the class and take their seats in the corner of the room. As the two boys situate themselves, more students march into the small class and quickly fill in the empty seats.