The Ugly Duckling

Chapter Five: Graffiti

Felix lets out a deep yawn as he shuffles over to his locker. He doesn't need to look into a mirror to know that there are heavy bags under his eyes. He stops when he sees a small group of curious onlookers crowding around a locker. It isn't until he gets closer that he realizes it's his locker that they are looking at. Spray painted in bold letters on his locker door are words like "Twink", "Faggot", "Cuntboy" and so on. He shoves his way through the crowd and feels his face grow red at the sight. A snicker from across the hall confirms what he already knows. Who else would bother to do such a thing? He can feel the stares of people in the hallway as he opens his locker. People finally start to disperse when a teacher comes by. At the sight of his locker, the teacher gasps and demands that the responsible party step forward. Of course, no one does. Without any proof, the school can't do anything about it. So, Felix runs through another mundane school day. The only difference is, now, he can feel multiple stares at him no matter where he goes. Some of the stares are full of disgust, while others are full of pity. It doesn't matter the reason. Felix hates the attention.

He can still feel their stares at lunch, but his sister tells him not to pay them any mind. Just when he thinks his day can't get any worse, Chase comes up to him and asks if he can sit with him. Felix feels his heart flutter as he manages to nod his head. Felix feels like the day is a little better until he realizes that there are even more people staring at him now. Some of them, most notably the female students, are now staring daggers into his back. Chase doesn't seem to notice and starts a casual conversation with Alice. Lunch flies by and in the midst of it, Felix seems to recall agreeing to hang out with Chase after school. It takes him a moment to process this, but when he does he feels the tips of his ears get really warm. On the bright side, he has something to look forward to after school.

Time flies by and soon Felix is hanging out with Chase. Felix gets so comfortable around Chase that he ends up blurting out one of his stupid thoughts. How could someone as handsome as Chase, hang out with someone as ugly as himself? Chase looks at him with a frown. He says that he doesn't think that Felix is ugly at all. In fact, he tells Felix that he is jealous of his silky, black hair, because his wavy hair is so hard to tame in the morning. He also mentions that he thinks Felix's eyes are very pretty. When the sun hits them, they take on the shade of a deep amber. Felix dismisses his words and thinks he is just trying to make him feel better. Chase sighs in exasperation but continues the conversation. They end up enjoying themselves so much that Felix nearly loses track of the time. Apparently, his oldest brother, Peter, is coming to visit. Felix wants to be there when he arrives, so he says goodbye to Chase. Before he leaves, Chase recommends that Felix enter some of his artwork in an upcoming contest. Felix says that he'll think about it and heads home.