Peaked in High School

Wanderer

The Greyhound bus finally arrives in Columbus after a three and a half hour drive with many pit stops. Scratch that—what actually ends up happening is Beau, in a moment of panic, decides to hop off the bus at one of the stops before his final destination. He now finds himself in a rural town on the outskirts of the city.

He couldn't shake the anxiousness he felt about going back home throughout the entire trip.

The drifter hasn't seen his mom in about a year and his younger brother, Finn, in a little over two years now. Time has done nothing but humble and humiliate Beau and it seems as if he reaches new levels of misery year after year. Surely, his family would be less than impressed with him randomly showing up at their doorstep begging for help at this point.

He had stopped responding to his family's messages and tried his hardest to go off the grid a year ago. However, finding a decent paying job with no high school or college degree is virtually impossible to pull off at the moment. With his lack of education and minimal work experience, Beau jumped from job to job in various places around the state while avoiding Columbus like the plague.

Fast forward to present day, he now finds himself unemployed and catastrophically broke. It seems that he has no choice but to return back to his childhood home with his tail between his legs. His homecoming will most likely not be well received considering the radio silence that he enacted with his family over the last year or so.

To make matters worse, Beau had left his mom and brother during the time that they needed him most. His dad had been arrested and sentenced to serve five years in prison due to tax evasion two years ago.

The old man had been utterly delusional, kicking and screaming throughout the entire conviction process. He swore up and down that he would never do such a thing even when faced with clear undeniable evidence that he did in fact commit the crimes he was being accused of.

His sentencing was the final nail in the coffin for the Coleman family and what remained of their once golden reputation. As soon as his dad was taken out of the courthouse in handcuffs, Beau packed his bags and fled Columbus as quickly as he could. He had kept in contact with his mom for a bit out of guilt, but eventually stopped responding to her like he did the year prior with Finn.

The Greyhound was one stop away from reaching the Columbus bus station when Beau made the rash decision to stay in the middle of bumfuck nowhere while they were parked. He used the restroom at the gas station and then studied one of the free maps of Sinting—which must be the town that he has ended up in—that they had by the entrance to help figure out his next move.

He discreetly snags a small bag of peanuts on his way out of the building and practically dumps the contents into his mouth as he walks down the road. After scanning over the map of the incredibly bland town, he forms a plan to stop by the deli and see if he can beg for a job there.

It takes him a half hour to walk from the gas station to the deli. He is drenched in sweat and he feels hungrier than he has ever been when he walks through the front door of the quaint shop.

A bell dings above him, signaling that he has entered the building. The heavyset man who looks to be in his fifties or sixties greets him from where he stands behind the counter chopping meat. "How can I help you, son?"

"Hi, sir. I'm new in town and was wondering if there are any job openings that I can apply for?" Beau asks trying not to sound as desperate as he feels.

The man eyes him skeptically before wiping his hands on his apron and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, boy. You smell like Hell and look even worse. Where are you staying right now?" He questions with a raised eyebrow.

Beau looks down at his outfit self-consciously before replying, "I just arrived on a Greyhound and walked here from a gas station not too long ago. I don't have anywhere to stay right now and really need some food and money. I'm willing to do whatever job you need me to—I promise I'm a hard worker-"

"I don't need anymore employees. Why don't you visit the county jail or a nearby church and ask them for a place to stay? You're in no state to be applying for jobs right now," the man grunts out.

"Please, sir.... I can find a motel and clean up. I'm normally a lot more put together than this. I just need money-"

He is cut off again by the burly deli owner. "I suggest you leave my shop now before I call the cops. We don't need any extra employees at the moment."

Beau sees the man's hand reaching for the phone on the wall behind him and decides to follow his instructions. Exiting the deli, he somehow feels even more hopeless than he did on the bus.

Assessing his surroundings, he spots a dive bar in the distance and makes a split decision to drop in.