When He Comes

Chapter 1

Parker woke up to the sound of an alarm that was just a little too close to his ear.

He winced as he pressed the off button and flopped back down with a huff.

" TIME TO GET UP, PARK." His mother yelled from down the hallway, the smell of some sort of food drifted in.

"O-o-okaaaaay." He said back, his voice muffled by his pillow.

He sat up and stretched, arching his back and relaxing when the satisfying pop could be heard.

It was hard getting up today.

He knew what would happen if he did.

He would go to school.

It was his first day back as a senior in high school and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Knowing that it was inevitable, he slowly got dressed and shuffled to the kitchen.

He found his mother there, cooking breakfast while watching the news from a tiny t.v. snuggled in the corner of the counter top.

"Hey sweety! I've got some eggs here for you." She smiled wide, proud of her accomplishment.

His mother was not a cook by any means.

"L-l-l-looks go-good, Mom." He praised, silently hoping that there was yogurt in the fridge.

He slid past her and opened the fridge.

No yogurt.

He sighed quietly as he shut the fridge door and slid into a chair at the table.

His mother placed a plate of burnt eggs in the shape of a smile and a glass of orange juice in front of him.

"I want you to know the principal has me on speed dial, okay? Ask her if you need anything. Anything at all, okay?"

He nodded, taking a cautious bite of the eggs.

Good thing he practiced keeping a straight face after eating something gross.

He had those snobs from school to thank for that.

"Tell her if you run into trouble. I mean it! We don't want what happened last time." She said, getting tearful.

She was referring to the last three years of brutal bullying that only came to light after an incident that left him in a hospital for a month.

He didn't want to think about that.

"I-i-it w-won't. I-i-i-i pro-promise." He said quietly, getting up from his seat to hug her.

"Glad we are on the same page then," She smiled, embracing him tighter. "Now get to school."

He nodded, picking up his backpack as he walked out the door.

++++

It was a chilly morning for the beginning of August.

Parker wrapped his sweater a bit more tightly around himself as he made his way to the bus stop.

A feeling of dread had established itself in the pit of his stomach as he drew closer.

He could see a group gathering a good distance away from him.

His breathing hitched, but he continued on.

He was determined not to show that it got to him.

He was about 20 feet away when the normally loud group had become hushed. 

He looked up tentatively and discovered that they were staring at him. 

Some of them made an attempt to be secretive, but it wasn't successful.

Deciding that his current spot was best, he dug his heels into the gravel below and stared at the ground hoping that the attention would steer somewhere else somehow.

Whispers could be heard now and Parker gritted his teeth, now staring down the street in hopes of the bus. 

It was a good 10 minutes before the bus actually arrived, but it felt like an eternity to Parker.

Kids filed in, pushing and shoving each other like savages.

He scoffed silently as he brought up the back, making it onto the bus last.

Fortunately there was an empty seat that he got all to himself, not like anybody would sit next to him anyways.

A loud screeching could be heard outside the bus.

Everyone except Parker, because he could care less, turned to look at whatever was making the awful sounds.

Apparently a guy about Parker's age had come close to missing the bus.

"Hey." The guy said as he stopped next to Parker's seat. 

Parker wasn't paying attention and missed his greeting.

"Hey!" He said a little louder, making Parker flinch. "Can I sit here?"

Parker nodded in surprise.

"I'm Harry!" He grinned, sticking his hand out.

"P-p-parker."