Hell on Earth

Back to School

A small alarm clock rings violently, threatening to fall off my nightstand. Another day, another nightmare. I slap the alarm clock with all my might and look at the small calendar on my nightstand. It's still November. Sliding on my house shoes I walk to the stairs saying good morning to my parents as I walk past their room. I grabbed an orange and devoured it like a lion. It was pretty sweet. I walk back upstairs to my bedroom expecting to be greeted by a messy bed. How fun. Feeling drowsy still, I quickly make my bed and throw on baggy jeans, a t-shirt from my favorite show and the softest hoodie I own. "HONEY, HURRY UP! YOUR BROTHER IS READY!" My mom calls. OH CRAP, I completely lost track of time. I throw on the closest pair of sneakers, grabbed my purse, my backpack and ran out the door to a white car that my brother, Terrance is waiting in. "You need to come downstairs on time, your making us both late, Leonardo!" My older brother snaps when I get into the car "Sorry! I just lost track of time." Though Terrance can be an massive jerk, I still care about him. As I open up my purse I rub my eye, trying to wake up fully before I get to school. I begin to bounce my leg as I look through my bag for my phone. I am usually this fidgety. I grab my phone and put my headphones in, scrolling through Spotify to find my favorite playlist.

TIME SKIP!

Parked in front of the school building I let out a huge sigh. I'm basically being tempted to run back home but I'm here now. Grabbing my bags, I wave Terrance goodbye and start walking to my first class. After managing to shove my bags into the locker I look at my friend, Max. "LEO! HIHIHIHIHI!" "Hi Max!" I say and you both hold each in an embrace. "I'm so glad you're back! How do you feel?" Max asks as we both pull away. "Ehh... I feel a lot better. Still got a long way to go though." I remark. I was gone for quite a while due to your mental health declining. I wave to the teachers I haven't see in weeks. Through out the entire day people pester me about where I was and why I left. Very annoying to say the least. Finally it's lunch. I walk to the lunch line and sigh. I really need something good after the day I had. Somebody tapped on your shoulder. "Hiya Leo!" "Hm? Oh, hi Ronnie." "It's nice to see you" "same to you, you sweet idiot" "awe, you're gonna make me blush" we both chuckle in unison. Our friendship could transcend lifetimes. We've know each other since diapers! "Nice to see you got your soul stompers on" I say pointing at his shoes. "Yeah, I wanted to look relatively okay on your first day back" "How sweet..." we both walk forward in line. Pasta. Not too bad for my first day back, to be honest. I grab my food and the lunch lady asks me what my number is "2746" "okay (DEADNAME)?" "Y-yeah..." "NEXT!" I walk away from the lunch line and stare at my food. I already have a mental path of where my table is. I pull out my regular chair and sit down " AHHHH! LEOOOOO! WE MISSED YOU SO MUCHHHH!" My best friend, Laura says as they squeeze me. Laura, Ronnie, and I have been friends since preschool. Although our backgrounds are so different we always stick together. "I missed you guys so much too!" I say as I squeeze them back. I feel so much better after reuniting with my friends. The rest of the day we laugh and talk together.

As I flop onto my bed I smile softly. I think... I think I feel happy.

Leonardo: He/They (Trans male and Pansexual)

Terrance: He/Him (Gay male)

Max: He/They/She (Genderfluid and Pansexual)

Ronnie: He/She (Gender Queer and Bisexual)

Laura: They/Them (Non-Binary and Lesbian)

Word count: 694