Circus Boy

Fluorescent lights swam down the hallways of Elderwood Secondary making the dreary day outside seem even more agonizing. Locker doors slammed against metal as squeaky shoes screeched through the walkway irritating everyone's ears. Carter flinched from the noise already feeling tremendously anxious for the class ahead. It's door was swung open except she felt anything but welcome. The thought of presenting to around twenty people seemed horrifying. The stares they would give her, the murmurs that would travel across the room like wildfire, and the intimidating squinted eyes of old Ms. Perkin who still wore crocs to school everyday.

As Carter walked through the entrance to the room she felt the world stare at her. She jumped as her heart escaped out of her chest but she quickly pushed it back by breathing heavily. Three people spoke loudly at a table group as Carter took the last chair. They roared with laughter and amusement neglecting her presence.

"Kevin slow down, You sound like my little brother when he's on a sugar high" a girl spoke.

"You sure he wasn't high on something else Carla?" a boy jokes.

"Ajax, do me a favour and shut the hell up"

"No promises," he replied smirking while Carla jabbed him in the shoulder. Carter smiled as she brought out her textbooks and presentation papers preparing for the inevitable. As the other three continued to chatter she noticed how calm and relaxed they seemed, just talking to each other.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" she asked as a smile of hope spread across her face. The two boys, Ajax and Kevin only gave her a subtle nod and Carla spray painted a fake smile onto her face. Without even answering her question the three then just continued to laugh and yell. Carter sighed, making the smile of hope disappear as she realized how much they belonged in their own special group, but it was clear they weren't looking for new members. No matter what, she still felt she needed to be a part of that type of thing, whether it was with them or the  math geeks who ate in the computer lab. She didn't care, anything was better than being alone.

The doorknob suddenly grabbed her attention as it was turned forcefully then flung open. A boy walked in behind it wearing sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt. Realizing he had caught everyone's attention he did a little dance and took a dramatic bow. Murmurs of insults followed by expletives traveled throughout the room; he acknowledged them with a simple shrug, smirking as he went to take his seat. Carter was baffled, each day this boy would walk in and drag everybody's attention in the worst way and yet it seemed as if he enjoyed it.

When the bell went, Ms. Perkin brushed by the strange circus youth heading to the front of the room.

"So class, I presume you all have prepared for today's presentation. If not, figure it out." The history teacher always seemed to be on edge, fed up with the way the new generation was or something like that, Carter could never really remember. The elderly woman soon started calling up student after student to speak. With each one Carter's heart seemed to beat just a little faster. Her mind boggled when Circus Boy was up, the way he strode up to the front so confidently and his confident smile. He had nothing prepared, no cue cards or textbooks. Just himself and his brain. His way of speaking was merely like having a conversation with himself, thinking it up as he went. He waited for a response. The room was silent yet he seemed satisfied.

When Carter's name was sounded throughout the room she could feel her hands start to tremble. Her papers were filled with info on Julius Caesar, she faced what seemed to be the coliseum where she was the gladiator. Except instead of one lion there were twenty, each of them staring her down like prey. 

"Julius Caesar, was born on the thirteenth of July in 100 BC" she started looking straight down at her notes. "And not to be confused with the salad, Caesar was a roman dictator who-" there it was, the wildfire words hitting her ears as she froze on the spot. Her eyes scanned across the room as she saw mouths opening and closing spewing out what she could only see as hurtful words. The lions were attacking her and she had no weapon to fight back. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity desperately trying to pour words out of her mouth but the glass was empty. She couldn't think. Luckily to everyone's relief, the bell sounded, releasing Carter from the lion den and back into reality. Ms. Perkin simply told her that she would finish the presentation the next day, but how was she to prepare for a lion fight?