The Leaf

The Bathroom

I quickly turned out of the classroom and down the hall to my locker. I usually put my math binder in my locker and grabbed my English papers for after lunch. I was trying not to get caught again by more bullies. I was at a loss when I saw a group huddled at the end of the hall, probably waiting for me after what happened today in class. Fuck. Shit. Of course. Great. I didn't need to get abused again, so I dipped into the bathroom to my left. Guess I have to spend my lunch in here. I walked in front of the mirror and took a good look at myself.
"Maybe I am a loser.." I placed a hand on my chin and glanced at my face. Dark brown, almost black hair that was obnoxiously curled in all the wrong places, a thin face with a lot of angles, a weird shade of green for eyes, and oddly pale skin that made his upper cheeks tinted red. He wasn't attractive, that's all he could really say. He wasn't approachable either, apparently.
Jeremy Lichen. 16 year old junior attending Casken High school. Friend count: big zero. Unless you counted a few of his teachers. Like, the ones that actually like him? But, to be honest, that isn't many... At lunch, he sat at a long table. At one end sat other loners like him, but they were friends. He sat at the other end, actually alone. Always humiliated. People like targeting the lesser people in the grade just because they can. It doesn't even have to be the popular people; even losers like him insult him sometimes.
"Stupid..." he muttered. I didn't really know why everyone hated him; he just wasn't great at socializing which made it easy for him to not get friends. Sitting alone at lunch though didn't faze him much, he didn't mind it. The less people he talked to the less amount of drama he was in for. Of course, except the drama caused by numerous bullies. This was normal for him. It has been for the past 4 years. He was just going through school just to make it out, not looking for any connections or friendships, just wanted a decent education to get him to college. Not that anything interested him.
I turned on the faucet and splashed some water in my face, wiping it dry with my sleeve. I took one last look at myself and turned to walk out of the bathroom, hoping the kids weren't at the end of the hall still. I poked my head through the doorway to see that they weren't there anymore. Relieved, I walked outside and continued to my locker. I spun the combination, placed my binder on the shelf and grabbed my English folder. Glancing around again, I began walking to lunch.

The lunch room was packed, and the lunch line was empty, but he could see that there wasn't anything good that day. Today, he decided, that he was just going to get a bag of chips and a water, better than nothing, right? He walked through the line and made his way to his seat, only to be surprised by someone actually sitting there? They were sitting opposite to where he would sit, and it felt odd to see someone there. I hesitantly took a seat where I normally sat and awkwardly opened my bag of chips.
"Hey, sorry for what happened in class." They said after a few minutes.
"What?"