Irreplaceable

The New Kid

I sat up and glared at the wall.

It was that dreaded day once more. The first day of school.

"Crystal, come down and eat breakfast," my mom said, sounding more like she was begging me to eat. It had been five weeks since the incident. I had barely eaten anything, only drinking water every now and again with an occasional granola bar or two. My once slightly tanned skin had become pale, my eyes darker, my eyes left with no light, and lips that once constantly formed a smile had now slightly curved down, leaving my face empty, showing no emotion other than despair.

I dragged myself downstairs, took five bites out of my food, and walked away. It seemed to satisfy my mom that I had taken two more bites than usual. It was a miracle she could handle the stress of her job, her son's depression, and the deaths of two people close to her. I guess moms really are superheroes.

After my standard morning routine of a shower, brushing my teeth, and packing my things into my bag, I put on black skinny jeans, a black band tee, and a black hoodie, also opting to put on a pair of dull black Converse.

I walked the short distance to the bus stop, getting into the bus when it arrived. I noticed everyone's stares and heard all their whispers. I heard his best friend and his brother died. He looks so different. Emo fag. The last one, despite being the most offensive, didn't bother me as much as the first comment. It had been five weeks and the news was already circulating, even in groups Xander and I hadn't belonged to. Why people felt the need to gossip, I never figured out; and probably never will.

I remembered when Xander and I would sit in our usual spots and laugh at our own corny jokes and stupid puns. But without Xander, there was nothing to do but listen to my music. As soon as my earbuds were in, the entire bus filled with noise. They had assumed I couldn't hear them, but they were wrong. I heard every suspicious question and every malicious comment.

The bus quieted down again, to the point of complete silence, when a new kid with long, dull orange hair, extending past his shoulders, and a face with defined cheekbones walked in and dared to sit down next to me. This was how I could tell he was new. I sent him a glare, which he didn't catch as he put in his own pair of earphones. I sighed and turned the volume up, wanting nothing but to escape from the world around me, and watched as rain drops started falling from the grey clouds above and onto the window, trailing down like tears from a person's eyes.

**********

A finger tapped on my shoulder as the bus came to a stop. Frowning, turned to see the new kid looking at me, his face giving away his need to ask a question.

"Yeah?" I asked, sounding more pissed off than necessary. He paid no mind to it.

"Is it okay if I ask you to help me around the school today?" He asked. I noticed that his voice sounded like a girl's. I shrugged, seeing nothing wrong with helping a new kid. He smiled at me brightly and said thank you, but in Korean. Weird.

I led him to the attendance office, which is where he got his schedule. Looking through it quickly, I saw that we had all the same classes, even for second semester.

"Well, you're stuck with me for the entire year," I said, my voice lacking any kind of emotion. He didn't seem to mind my lack of enthusiasm, and simply let me lead him to our first class.

"Ah Mr Crystal Godriel, would you like to explain why you're late?" The teacher asked, or rather, demanded. I sighed and stepped aside, revealing the shorter new kid behind me. The teacher's face eased up and nodded, asking if the new kid, whose name turned out to be Levi, wanted to introduce himself to the class. He politely shook his head and took the only vacant seat in the class, the one right next to mine.