Marcel

Chapter 3

Marcel's POV

“Hey, Marcel!” Cami says when we get to class.

“Hi. I-I'm sorry you had detention, it's my fault.”

She puts her hand on my arm, “It's not your fault, don't worry about it.”

“Thank you again for yesterday.”

“No problem,” she says smiling.

I've tried to stay away from Ethan today, but I haven't seen him. I wonder where he is. Maybe he's sick. I hope he's not too sick. Maybe he skipped. He probably skipped.

The loud speaker turns on, breaking up my thoughts, “Marcel Styles, down to the office.”

Everyone turns their head to look at me. I look down at the ground and start walking to the front of the class.

“Nerd.”

“Loser.”

“Mars.”

People whisper and cough things as I walk out the classroom. I never did understand why they call me Mars. Mars is a really cool planet, actually. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimo, did you know that? Sorry, my nerd is showing...

I shakily walk through the halls to the office. Am I in trouble? I've never been in trouble before. Do I have detention too? My hands are shaking and my breathing is increasing. I get to the office and slowly walk inside.

“Marcel, there you are,” Mrs. A says.

“H-Hi.”

“You're probably wondering why you're here. Sit down,” she's smiling and has an overly nice tone in her voice.

I play with the collar of my shirt, it's suddenly really hot in here.

“Yesterday at lunch, what happened?” she asks.

I sit quietly.

“It's okay, Marcel, you can tell me.”

I shake my head no, “H-He'll beat me up if I do,” I mutter.

“Who, Marcel? Who will beat you up?”

“What? Uh, no one.”

“So he bullies you?”

“Everyone does,” I whisper.

“Everyone? I'm sure not everyone does.”

“They all do. C-Can I go now?” I twiddle my thumbs and don't look her in the eyes.

She looks down sympathetically, “Yes, you may go now. I know all that I need to know. And Marcel, Ethan will be suspended for three days.”

“Please don't tell him you talked to me.”

“I won't. Have a nice day, Marcel.”

“You too, Mrs. A.”

I walk back to class in a daze. I keep thinking someone is going to jump out and hurt me, but the halls are empty. I shouldn't have said anything to Mrs. A, but she's the only teacher who has ever asked about what happens to me. I don't think she believed me though when I said everyone bullies me. No one ever tries to stop it from happening or help me. They're all just bystanders or bullies...

*

"C'mon. Open up. Open up!" I say, twisting the door knob. Finally, someone opens up the door and I run outside the school trying to catch the bus. Someone locked my in the Janitor's Closet the last class and I just got out. Once I'm outside, all the buses are gone. Just my luck. It's pouring too.

I start the long walk to my house. Within minutes, I'm soaked. I wish my jacket had a hood, but it doesn't. I can barely see because my glasses are covered in water droplets.

All of a sudden, a car goes whizzing through a puddle beside me. I get drenched in muddy water. A bunch of teenage girls are laughing and one screams out the window, “Oops! Sorry Mars! Actually, no it's funny!”

I hang my head down as more rain falls. My hair is sticking to my forehead and my shoes are sloshing with every step. I'm also covered in muddy water. Great...

I decide to walk to the nearest place, which is a book store. Fantastic! I can read while I wait for the rain to stop! I walk inside and look around. The book shelves are small and dusty, and the store smells heavily of old books. Strangely, it makes me feel comfortable and safe.

I’ve always liked to read. Books are a place where I can escape, and it’s like the characters are my friends when I’m lonely. Or when life gets hard, I can get lost in a fantasy land and forget about my problems. Every book is just a mix of 26 letters, but they’re all unique. I guess people are like that too. We’re all made of the same parts, but not quite alike. Sometimes I wish we were all the same. Maybe I wouldn’t be bullied if life was like that.

I search for the bathroom, which thank goodness is a single stall. I try my best to dry off my wet clothes with the hand dryer, but it doesn't help very much. My hair has started to poof, so I try my best to comb it down. Once I look partially dry, I head back into the bookstore. I search for a book I haven't read, which is somewhat hard for me. I come across one that seems interesting, Thirteen Reasons Why. I buy the book and a hot chocolate and sit in a cozy couch. I let my mind slip away into the story I'm reading.

“You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.”

I feel tears slipping down my cheeks, but don't bother to wipe them away. I've highlighted so many lines in the book. I love it so much. I can really connect to it in many ways.

“Marcel?” I hear someone ask.

I quickly wipe away the tears and look up to see Cami.

“Are you okay?” she asks concerned.

“What? Yeah, it's a sad book... Uh, what time is it?”

“5:00.”

I've been here for over an hour. I check my phone and my mom has called three times.

“I-I've gotta get home. I'll see you around.”

“Marcel, it's pouring out. Let me drive you home.”

“I'm fine, really.”

“C'mon. Where do you live?”

I give in and let her drive me.

Nothing can go wrong, right?

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all like it! And omg it's almost up to 300 reads!! Exciting!! I also didn't expect so many votes! I love you all so much!! I'll update when this chapter gets 7 votes. Thank you for commenting and voting and reading! <3 And shoutout to @swagarooo because she gave good advice in her comment! :)