Sweet Creature - G.D. (On hold/ under rewrite)

3

One day at lunch, the word about what happened to Grayson during class spread like there was no tomorrow.

No one was really making fun of him, and being rude about it, but no one would drop the topic. All that was heard in class was others asking if they heard what happened, like it was some sort shock to all the students.

Sometimes, people tend to talk about something nonstop, without knowing what the problem is. Or sometimes, we don't know how to react to someone's struggles, so we may end up gossiping about it, rather than learning about it.

People at school really never shared their struggles, and I'll never know why. It's like it was some sort of burden for someone to share what they were dealing with. Everyone feared that they'd seem weak if they told others about their personal problems, and they could've possibly thought it seemed lame too. No one wanted to be known as the kid who dealt with problems, so as result everyone kept things secret.

I think that's part of the reason why everyone talked about Grayson so much that day. Obviously, there was other reasons why, such as people talking about what happened to him because they had nothing better to do, but there was more behind it. No one knew that Grayson struggled in such a way. They simply just always saw him as the quiet boy.

I sat with my friends during lunch, as always, as we talked about all sorts of things.  As one of my friends spoke, my gaze shifted away from my friends, and to Grayson instead.

He sat all alone at a table in the corner, no one to talk to, no one to keep him company. No twin, no friends. His backpack sat next to him, and he read a book, quietly keeping to himself as he blocked out everyone else.

His hair was lazily styled, floppily laying on his head. He wasn't wearing his glasses, allowing me to see more of his face. His hand rested under his chin as he read a book, looking so content, so peaceful, and so engulfed in what he reading.

"Hey, did you guys hear about Grayson yesterday?" One of my friends then asked.

I mentally rolled my eyes, wondering how many more times I'd hear about this topic. "I'm sure everyone in school has heard. That's literally everyone is talking about," I replied.

"Did he really run out of class?"

"Someone said he couldn't even speak. And then Ethan had to go calm him down after he ran out."

"He didn't run out, you guys," I said, "Some people just struggle with certain things more than others."

As they carried on their conversations, I slowly began to zone out, and thought to myself. My gaze continued to shift back towards Grayson, unable to quit looking at him. An idea then popped up into my head, and I debated on whether I wanted to go through with it before making a decision.

I stood up from the table filled with my friends, then grabbed my backpack and phone.

"Where are you going, McKenna?" One friend asked.

"To sit with Grayson. He's by himself," I responded.

"Is he even going to talk to you? The only person I've ever seen him talk to is Ethan," another friend spoke up.

"I hope so, since I'm gonna talk to him, but I just want to keep him company. I'll see you guys later," I said before leaving the table, and walking towards Grayson.