Bio hazard

It was in the field

I was out of breath when I reached the neighborhood bar. The crisp air had froze my face before I could reach any warmth, sometimes I wondered how other people in other towns felt, Heavensly was by far the warmest of them all. The neon lights twitched and buzzed slightly as I walked past the threshold. I glanced up at them as they crackled, it already felt like home.

I removed my green hood from my head shaking out my dark brown hair, I flashed a smile at the people who turned to look at me. They were all fairly friendly, you didn't meet many sketchy characters in this town let alone the bar.

"My favorite customer", someone said. A tall black man walked down the length of the bar toward me.

I sighed while relaxing into the hovering bar stool. "Hello Mr Howard."

The air smelled like alcohol and cigars which was the usual in a bar like this,; but everything else seemed out of place, like the spotless floors and up to date equipment, it was like two different worlds merging together. I had gotten used to it the more I came to the bar. No one seemed to mind that I was there anyway, I was one of the regulars.

He leaned against the counter, his bald head shined in the artificial lights above. "Why don't you hang out with your friends ? It isn't good for someone your age to be spending all his time at a bar."

That was very true but I had no friends to spend time with and I wasn't too elated with the idea of being around my mother Margaret, this was the only place I wanted to be. "I guess." I focused on the steel counter, watching Mr Howard's blurry reflection move away.

"Why don't you give him a break before you bombard him with questions ?" My brother opened the wooden door behind the bar, he raised an eyebrow. His brown hair was a bit messy and it didn't look like he had shaved in a few days.

"It was a simple question Benson", Mr Howard guffawed loudly. He threw the towel he was holding over his shoulder.

Benson folded his arms across his chest making his muscles bulge. "What are you doing here ?"

"I was bored and this was the only place I could think of," I answered.

He shrugged. "Well you have school tomorrow I'm assuming, you shouldn't be bored anymore." I opened my mouth to speak. "And yes you're going."

School was the worst place I could ever be. No matter how hard I tried to be friendly it blew up in my face. Maybe it was my age that allowed me to be so foolish. I wasn't likable no matter how many theories Margaret came up with or how I tried. It just wasn't worth it.

"I have no intentions of going Benson," I informed.

Benson snorted. "I will personally take you Alex and I'll make sure I'll hold your hand every step of the way."

I rolled my eyes not speaking any further. I stood up moving from the bar stool, it lifted slowly off the clear glass floors and vanished into thin air.

I said my goodbyes before swiftly leaving the bar.

##

After a much needed rest I was dreading my first day of high school. I knew it would be much different from junior high, a place where I had friends before I was considered a pariah. It was in my eighth grade year where I started to lose people, people who I thought cared.

I got up and followed through with my normal routine. Take a shower, brush my teeth, and put on that god awful blue jumpsuit, it wasn't any different from the prison uniforms that were a sickly gray, so I was basically a prisoner in all actuality.

I tightened my black boots and stood up. While glancing in the mirror I grimaced. With my warm brown and and inviting smile my appearance should have welcomed them but people still found a way to socially shun me.