Teardrops

1

I glower at the sun, trying to match its intense glare with my own. Too engrossed in my competition I do not notice the basketball flying towards me. It hits my temple and bounces off my forehead. Seething, I pick up the ball and angrily hurl it back at the owner.

"Sorry," he mumbles before going back to his friends.

I walk around aimlessly, before finally deciding to stand by the outside of the school, leaning on the brick wall. As I fall deeper into the despair and tragedy that is my mind, the once clear sky clouds over, as though channeling my inner thoughts and emotions. Water falls freely from the sky mocking my tears, that refuse to make themselves known to the other kids. My eyes burn as they block the tears from cascading down my already wet cheeks. My mind dams the water in my eyes; furiously fighting to get out. It tries to protect me from the harsh things that will come from my peers if they fall again. If I blame the water on the rain, the red and puffy eyes on my nonexistent allergies, no one will believe me. They will know exactly what had happened. The children will whisper and point; the teachers will try to fend them off, thinking they are helping. However, all they will accomplish is generating more misery for me.

Teachers call for their students to go inside, but I remain, the one immobile object in the continuous flow of ever moving people. I am the only one outside now. I see my teacher's lips moving, her face flushed red. Frantically, she gestures with her hand towards herself in aggressive motion Small heads belonging to the other sixth graders poke out from behind the adults, wanting to see what the commotion is about, before ducking back into the gray interior of the school to whisper with their friends. I cannot hear anything they say, it is a murmur in the distance, too far away for me to care.

Slowly, I fade away into a land much better than this. A place full of happy thoughts, that I can only see from the void called my mind. One I can barely reach, just before I slip away into oblivion.

I hear murmured whispers from somewhere far away. They are talking in hushed tones, as if sharing a secret. To me every noise sounds muted as if a pillow covers my ears. I try to lift my hands but they refuse to move, almost as if restrained by something. As the darkness fades, a bright light emerges, causing me to blink furiously to become accustomed to the change.