Hate The Sin , Love The Sinner. - Salvis

Chapter 2: Sal.

It's my first day of school in Nockfell. I'm scared shitless. Larry is running late so I had to walk there. All by myself. I attempted to wake up Larry, but it was useless. The guy was as good as dead. Seriously. He didn't even move. It's cold here in North Carolina. Not as cold as Jersey though. It'd get deathly freezing there. I guess that's a plus side to this huge move. At least i'm not freezing my ass off. I continued to walk, seeing the school in the distance. I looked down at my feet as I walked. My shoes were worn out. I hadn't really noticed until now. I let my mind wander. I miss my mom. I still think it's all my fault. I sighed as I continued to walk, brushing the thought of my mom off of my mind.  As I was walking I saw a church up a steep hill. "Phelps Ministry." I read out loud. The place looked like a nightmare. It was a old creaky church. I walked faster to get away from it. I turned around to check if Larry was coming. I guess not. I walked until I reached the school. I could feel eyes on me already. I tried to not let it bother me. I mean hey, I got through middle school with my prosthetic. This shouldn't be as bad. I walked inside the doors pulling a schedule from my pocket. "Mrs. Packerton."  I read out loud. "Room 202." I kept repeating to myself until I reached the room. From what I heard it was a bit loud, so I braced myself. I walked into the room and the sound of people laughing and talking quickly hushed. Their eyes all turned to me at the same time. Then they began to whisper. They didn't even wait until I left? Assholes. There was one guy though, he didn't laugh or whisper to anyone. He just minded his business. I liked that. It was relieving in a way. "This is Sal." Mrs Packerton began to speak. Mrs Packerton paused then continued to speak "Would you like to introduce yourself Sal?" I nodded and began to speak. "I'm Sal. I'm a guy in case you couldn't tell." I knew everyone would be confused on that end. I looked down at my feet avoiding any eye contact. "Take off the mask freak!" Someone yelled from the back of the room. I inhaled "It's a prosthetic." The guys face quickly turned red out of embarrassment. "Crap man...Sorry." I rolled my eyes and walked to a seat in the back. Larry told me that this was the seat next to his in this class. Speaking of Larry, where is that bastard? I look at the door waiting for him to come, and sure enough Larry was knocking on the locked door and entering the classroom. "Yo how was your break Mrs P!" He chuckled as he walked to the seat next to me. "You're fifteen minutes late for class!" She grumbled. Larry shrugged and turned to me. "Hey, don't worry about anyone here." Larry scanned the room. "For example, take Travis Phelps. Complete asshole. All he cares about is his public image and the Bible it's fucking scary." I looked at Travis and frowned. Great, there goes the one stranger who doesn't care about my fucked up face. Larry continued "Travis likes to bother us regularly, It's kind of routine." Larry pulled a Pop-Tart out of his bag and stuffed it into his mouth. "Johnson! No eating in my class, save it for lunch!" Larry continued to stuff the rest into his mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about I didn't put anything in my mouth." as he talked crumbs fell from his face. Soon after that the bell rang and we all got up from our seats. As we walked to the front Larry glared at Travis "No snarky remark?" Larry asked. "Fuck off dickhead." Travis grumbled and walked away. As soon as we got in the hallway I looked at Larry. "What's his deal today?" Larry shrugged "Probably had some bad bologna or is upset that the winter break is over." I nodded as we continued to our classes. 

By the end of the day I was exhausted. I walked back to the apartments with Larry. Him and I had most of the same classes. Probably considering the High school isn't that big. I followed him to the basement. I lied down on the bean bag chair and began to talk. "Dude. Travis doesn't seem like that bad of a guy." Larry's face turned sour. "Ew what the fuck." I shrugged and sat up. "He was the only one who didn't laugh at me when I went to class, plus he kind of smiled at me." I started to think. Maybe this guy just wants a friend? I began to speak my thoughts aloud "Maybe.. he just wants a friend? I mean  he seemed lonely." Larry sighed. "Look he may seem nice now but trust me he's a complete asshole." I was curious now. I wanted to know what he did that could be so horrible. "Like how?" Larry sighed. "First off, his dad runs the Phelps Church, and he completely stole his personality from his dad. He hates gay people, for example last semester Todd was minding his business and Travis kept harassing him. He eventually tripped Todd down the bleachers and broke his brand new prescription." I frowned. "jeez...he does suck." I was a bit disappointing but I don't think he's a horrible person. 

Time seemed to pass quickly. And soon enough I found myself saying goodbye to Larry to go to sleep. "I'll see you tomorrow, and this time actually walk with me to school." Larry laughed "Sure thing Sally Face." I waved goodbye and headed to my room. 

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1/16/92

There's someone at school. He's different from the other assholes there. He didn't laugh at me. Larry said that he was an asshole. I mean sure he may have done asshole things but it doesn't make him a complete asshole. Maybe he's just misunderstood? He looks tired. Maybe he just wants a friend. I think that may be the case.  I don't know but I just feel bad. From what I hear it's normally people just fearing him because he's Christian. For all we know his dad could be the only one who is christian. I'm unsure but he seems like a nice guy. Just misunderstood. It's getting late I should head to bed. But i'm One hundred percent positive that Travis is a good person.

Later, Sal.

I closed my notebook and left it on my nightstand, allowing myself to drift off to sleep.

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(1125 words)