He Left Sparkles in his Wake

First Day Drama

Richard woke up early, not having slept for longer than an hour, and grabbed everything he could possibly need to take a shower. After cleaning himself and dressing, he brushed his teeth and packed his book bag. Today was just one of those days; the type where you could feel that something was going to go wrong.

"I love waking up depressed on the first day of school." Richard exclaimed with sarcasm to the empty room. He picked up his plush of a panda bear holding a lemon and buried his face into it. Sad thoughts clung to his mind like spider webs on an old abandoned house. He glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed and reread the numbers over and over again. 3:12 am. Richard groaned and shoved his face into the white fur that made up the back of the bear's head. After a number of minutes spent sitting like this, Richard stood and began the tedious task of untangling his headphone cables. He plugged in his generic music player and started a random playlist as he sat down at the desk by the window. He opened the brand-spankin'-new notebook and snagged the pencil before it rolled off the desk. Richard huffed a sigh as the song Feel Love the way You Can from Steven Galaxy started; tears pricked his eyes as his hand moved swiftly across the page to document his thoughts.

People like me are so easily misjudged and mislabeled

I appear cold and heartless, but want nothing more than select human interaction

someone to provide acknowledgment and advice, while a pen and paper can only do so much

I am like a pane of frosted glass

what you see on one side is different from the other

on the outside I seem calm and at ease, while inside I am a tsunami of emotional turmoil

memories of people lost, mistakes made, lies told, thoughts of myself and others filter through my mind constantly

yet no one knows my sins and how they plague me

no one knows the nights where I lay awake wishing I didn't exist

we all carry our own burdens, but mine appear so heavy

for a moment, just a moment, happiness will blossom along with love and friendship

the cold and harsh jaws of reality will consume them before long

nothing in my life lasts in such a cheery manner

the irony to all this is that I will continue to appear distant and merciless while pouring every ounce of emotion possible into a notebook

but like me, one day it will be forgotten and eventually no longer exist

Richard finished writing and wiped the tears away from his eyes. He stopped the music and packed his bag for the impending school day. He stuffed his key into his pocket and glanced up at his reflection in the mirror.

"Why do I expect people to respect me? I'm perfect bullying material: fat, ugly, short, gay, a nerd, antisocial, a transfer student, I have no friends, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera..." He trailed off as his voice waivered from sadness. He grabbed his bag and walked out the door. The air was cool and helped clear his mind for a moment; the school was quiet with it only being five in the morning. Richard walked up the stairs and into his classroom. Supposedly, if he sat in the back of the room he would be able to hear Miss. Shizuka complain about her love life, or lack there of, to her students. He shook his head.

"It's not right to make fun of people. Let alone if they may have romance trouble." He stated to himself. Richard unpacked his bag at the first table by the door. As he sighed contently with everything being organized, he pulled a sketchbook from the top of the pile of books and flipped to a clean page. Richard was no artist in his opinion; everyone said 'practice makes perfect' but to Richard, practice makes a fool of oneself. He opted to draw the only thing he thought he was good at, an eye. Time passed as he drew an outline, traced it in pen, shaded, and detailed. Students began walking in, so he closed his book and decided to think himself into daydreaming to pass the time. He couldn't daydream, but he couldn't hear if anyone made fun of him, so that was a plus in his book. Also, no one decided to sit next to him. Bonus points! Mr. Wecht walked in and eyed Richard.

"Okay class," he started. Richard's eyes widened in fear of being forced to introduce himself. "For those who didn't read the paper they received, my name is Mr. Wecht. Although I would prefer if you call me Professor Wecht. Because unlike any other teacher he, I have a PhD. Maybe, though unlikely, some on you will strive to get a PhD in college. Now, turn in your physics book to page seven." The professor spoke and then began writing on the board. Richard sighed in relief and did as Mr. Wecht said. Class passed by fairly quickly as the bell cut off Mr. Wecht as he mocked the intelligence of a student.

"Class dismissed. Don't be late for class." He stated dryly before walking out. As the students push out of the room, one boy knocked over Richard's stack of books. The group of students laughed with him as Richard dropped to the ground under the table to retrieve his supplies.

"What a loser!" One of the girls exclaimed as they walked out. Richard had no intent on leaving the classroom, but certainty not anymore. He reorganized everything before slamming his head on the desk. Besides the incident with his books, the rest of the day was fine for Richard, that is, except for when he went to leave. As he went to leave the building, people threw paper wads and paper airplanes at him. On guy even threw an orange at him. Richard ran past people who made comments about him to get to the dorm. He didn't care what they were saying or who they were; he just wanted to cry.