Those Who Whisper, Become the Subject of Whispers

2: Misunderstanding

As I sit at the front of the class, I can't help but look back and stare at Larry. It isn't that I have hatred for him, just hatred for what he represents. He's so perfect with his high class life and my family's money goes to hiding the fact we're pitiful.

His eyes wander but always come back to me. I feel his gaze singing a song that only the morning birds can hear yet, I am the moon. He tries to joke around with his friend but I still notice the symphony sounding.

I attempt to focus back in on my school work to remain eligible for baseball but all the words lead back to my thoughts of what happened to him and they will not stop nor slow down. I disassociate until I hear the faint ringing of the bell.

I walk out of class, purposely intending to not go to my next one for a while. The hallways clear as the next bell rings but I still linger for I've always thought Algebra was really fucking stupid. As I walk down the longest hall in the building, only a single face lingers on the opposite end, that of Larry Rhodes.

He looks down as our eyes meet.
He looks down as our feet hit the same floor.
He looks down as if I'm the invisible man.
He looks down on me.

Before I can even gather my thoughts I hear the tornado drill siren ring and run right into a random janitors closet. Clearly great minds think alike as Larry comes cramming in, now looking at me. The cramped closet has this awkward energy that one can describe as god stomping on that exact spot.

"Why do you hate me?" is what I utter without even a second thought or a first breath. Larry stares at me blankly before responding with, "Because the first time we ever spoke you looked to Levi and asked to leave." My face goes from confused to crushed in an instant. "It wasn't you, it was the fact that my brother had just died and Levi forced me to go and I simply asked if I could leave," I try to explain myself to him while a single tear comes down my face. "Oh...I...I didn't know," Larry says, stuttering over each word.

The tornado drill ends and we part ways without another word. I finally make it to Algebra, only to realize I had so much work due today and now most of the period is gone. I slouch in my desk and start mapping out each equation to figure out how many juice boxes Sally sold each day. I cannot get that closet off my mind. I hate the closet.

I manage to finish all my work and begin to listen back in to those around me. "You coming to my party tonight?" A tall blonde named Chris says to me with a smile. "Hell yeah!" I put on my mask to hide the fact that I'm desperately miserable.

I look at a girl, Lanie or as some call her, Gaynie, reading some novel but I pay no mind because I don't hang around those kind of people. I hate most people but people like her and Larry the most. There I go again! Thinking about Larry and for a second it feels like he understood our conversation but what does, "I didn't know" even mean?

Does he truly understand my circumstances? Does he understand me? Does he understand anything?

The bell rings and it's time to go to my final class, Science, which is never quite that interesting. I walk in and sit at my seat before going to sleep to escape thinking. I love to escape my own thoughts as they run towards me because it feels like a shield of protection. The doctor said I have PTSD but I barely even understand what that means.

I hope it means that one day my thoughts get three strikes and then are out; I want my thoughts out forever.

I want my thoughts of seeing my brother in that state gone forever

I want my thoughts of Larry gone forever yet, they're strangely comforting.

A/N:
Sorry I write short chapters 🧍‍♀️