The Despairing Tribulations of a Doomed Boy

Chapter 6

Thursday

The next day started out a little better. Otto's bruising wasn't as sensitive or noticeable. People didn't bother to ask him a lot of questions about the robbery. The story was old news. When Lancret offered her nose-button at the beginning of first period, Otto declined. "Thanks, Lancret, but I think today will be better." The optimism pleased her. She smiled brightly and then took her seat.

His optimism began to shift between first and second period. Before he stepped inside his second period class, a classmate grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey," he said, "What happened yesterday between you and Lancret?"

The sensation of falling ran through Otto. This was not a question he had anticipated—ever. "What do you mean?" he managed.

"I'm just wondering." The kid shrugged the conversation off as if he never cared to start it and headed into the classroom in front of Otto.

Inside was a pack of four boys talking about what had happened the music hall. They looked like sophomores and juniors. Otto couldn't identify them by name. They all looked at him when he walked in, but never addressed him directly.

Pushing other people's nose-buttons wasn't that unusual at school, but apparently Otto had made quite the scene doing it. Two of the boys were reenacting his performance—exaggerating his awkwardness for all it's worth. They used a plastic cup as a substitute for his nose casing.

The feeling of embarrassment that Otto felt was very familiar. It was like middle school all over again. And here he was getting ready to graduate into adulthood. Maybe he was bound to this treatment for the rest of his life. Otto sighed and slid into his desk. The jesters were no longer making jokes about him and Lancret. They were now passing the plastic cup around to make jokes about his breathing, his eating, and in general, him. They didn't stop when the late bell rang. It took the teacher's threats to silence them.

The same kids followed him to lunch. They were no longer teasing him, but began asking him questions about the nose casing. "When did you get it?" "How did you get it?" "When will it come off?" "Do you take it off to shower?" "Are you related to Daela Renoir?"

Otto hadn't had to deal with these questions in a long time. He had a series of tightly woven lies prepared for this situation. But this pack of boys was not worth his energy. Otto refused to say anything to them. At least not until one of them barred his way and said, "So what happens if I push it?"

This question terrified Otto. No one had ever asked that before. He was afraid that if his answer wasn't strong enough, he might try it out.

"It'll hurt like hell," he said.

That didn't seem to get the right response. The boys still looked at him too curiously, like they were thinking about trying it out.

"My doctor has warned me never to push it. It could prevent it from ever healing."

Still not strong enough of a reason.

"It's considered assault if you push it!" This had an effect.

"How is that assault?" Asked the boy standing in front of him.

"Because it hurts and can do serious damage! That's the definition of assault!" Otto was starting to feel cornered. The boys were standing very close to him. Everything seemed very close to him. Without another word, Otto pushed through the circle they were forming and walked as fast as he could to the cafeteria. He was shaky and breathing heavily when he got there.

"Woah, what happened? You look like you're going to pass out," Ruskin said when Otto met him at the door.

"Nothing. Let's just go." Otto grabbed Ruskin's arm and dragged him inside.