"Dude!"

"Bro"

Middle school au >•<
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      I slammed my locker door shut as hard as I could. The loud Bang! resonated  in my ears. It was a much better sound than the taunting behind me.

      "Just look at him, he's upset!" A deeper voice sneered. Luke. World class pain in the podex ever since I ratted him out for drug dealing a few years ago. It wasn't so much of a problem except that they were my medication for my ADHD. They weren't for other kids to pop and zone out to study. They were for me. Long story short, Luke hates my guts and anyone who is a friend of Luke or got deals from Luke hates me too. Hmmmm so about 3/4 of the school population.

"Are you going to visit your mom in the morgue today? Oh wait, she's not dead and you always dress that way, " Clarisse snorted.

"Don't talk about my mom," I growled. I shouldered my backpack and tried wading through the mass of onlookers. They were like crows, all of them. Waiting for the hyena to finish off its meal and leave the rest to them. Luke was the hyena and they fed off my humiliation and shared the rumors amongst each other.

Clarisse pantomimed hurt. Her ugly pig eyes were hiding a laugh behind them. "Don't use that tone of voice with me, Prissy, you might hurt someone's feelings."

Some laughed. I gritted my teeth and marched on.

Jesus where are the teachers in this place?

"Hey," a hand grabbed my shoulder and I stiffened. I was just a few feet from the door.

I turned slowly and faced the one blue and one Hazel eye of Luke. He leaned closer to my face and dug his nails in.

"You know, you could've done so much better. You know the authorities in this place don't care unless you give them something to care about. What makes you think they care about you?" He whispered. His voice menacing, like a knife scraping skin. Cold and unforgiving.

       "You didn't have to say a word about me. You could've been with me, happy, respected. But now," Luke shook his head and laughed. He put his mouth to my ear. "You deserve every bit of what they say to you." He shoved me roughly and I stumbled through the doorway.

"Don't forget to show your mommy your C in English. Such an improvement," a few people snickered. My face burned.

Ethan Nakumura snorted. "What are you? Stupid?"

I felt my stomach boil and my hands clench tight. My face and ears heated up and before I knew it I was slipping off my backpack and walking towards Ethan.

"I'm dyslexic," I spat.

"Ooo look Percy is angry." Ethan laughed but it was almost nervous. He stepped back slightly. "Look at his eyes! They're watering!"

I hated that. Everytime I got extremely angry or overwhelmed, my eyes watered and my voice began to crack. Gabe always thought that was hilarious to point out. Men don't cry.

"Go cry to your mommy Percy, if you've got anyone left to cry to."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP. DONT TALK ABOUT MY MOM SHES NOT DEAD SHUT UP!" I aimed my fist towards Ethan's face and couldn't hear anything but my steady heartbeat in my ear drums. I couldn't feel anything except the heat on my face.

Not the grit on the school floor. Not the cold of the lockers when Ethan and I rolled into them. Not the crack of my collarbone when Ethan elbowed it with all his might. And definitely not his blood on my hands.