Blurring The Lines [boyxboy]

Blurring The Lines {8}

                I struggled to sleep that night, and by morning, I was exhausted and anxious for the day. The term "social punishment" kept spinning through my head.

                Clearly this school had made the Blues feel superior and set them loose on the Maroons. But this whole thing was dangerous. Someone was going to get hurt along the way.

                I showered and dressed, hurrying out of the room while Jordan was still in the shower. I didn't want to walk to class with him. Hell, I wanted to avoid him no matter what.

                I reached the academic building early and sat on one of the benches in the hallway. There were a few students moving around despite how early it was. Some teachers talked with each other outside classrooms, calling out greetings to students.

                I spotted Isaac helping a teacher carry some textbooks down the hallway. Isaac had the cheerful smile on his face, talking away as the teacher smiled and nodded along. The two disappeared down a hallway together.

                There were only a few Maroons here this early, and they huddled together, keeping their distance from the Blues and the teachers. I didn't recognize any of them, and I had no desire to. It seemed like the fewer people I got involved with here, the better.

                "Kai?"

                I looked up. Mr. Townsend was standing in front of me. He had a stack of papers in his hands.

                "Oh, hi," I said. "I wasn't really looking to talk to anyone."

                "Well, since you're here early, would you mind helping me in the classroom?" he asked.

                "I do mind, actually," I said.

                He was patient, though. "I could always have you take that quiz..."

                "I have a speech problem. I meant to say I absolutely don't mind at all," I said, standing up.

                I followed him down the hall and into his classroom. He set the stack of papers on his desk, shifting through them.

                I looked at his desk, nodding at a picture on it. "Wow, those your kids? They sure look happy to be next to each other."

                It was a picture of two boys standing near each other. One looked annoyed to have his picture taken. The other smiled, but he clearly didn't like being so close to the younger one.

                "Those are my sons," Mr. Townsend said, looking at the picture. "They...don't always get along."

                "Couldn't tell," I said.

                He handed me half the stack. "Please set one of those on each desk. These papers got all mixed up in my office. I have to sort through them."

                I leaned my cane against his desk and limped my way to the desks slowly, setting the papers down. Mr. Townsend continued separating the papers into different stacks.

                "You remind me a bit of my younger son," he said.

                "Yea, not something I want to hear," I said.

                "He liked to push people away," Mr. Townsend said. "Beckett was always angry."

                "Thank you for the wonderful comparison," I said.