The Final Dreamer

Loneliness

Before I knew it, it was already lunchtime. I had managed to breeze my way through the first half of the day. I had no idea where the cafeteria was, so I nonchalantly followed a group of unsuspecting students. When I arrived at the cafeteria, I sat down at a random table and pulled my lunch out of my backpack. It was a basic sandwich contained in a small brown paper bag; nothing special.

As I took my first bite, I looked around the bustling cafeteria and realized that every table except mine had at least two students. This realization triggered something in my mind, and I suddenly felt a wave of negative emotion overwhelming me. I shed a few tears as I fondly remembered all of the friends that I used to sit with in my previous school's cafeteria.

I knew that I should've kept my expectations low since it was only my first day, but I couldn't help it. I had never experienced this kind of loneliness before; My hometown was pretty small and there weren't many schools, so I was able to keep the same group of friends throughout elementary, middle, and the first year of high school. I simply wasn't used to sitting by myself.

I wiped away my tears and continued eating my sandwich. A few minutes later, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see the friendly boy from homeroom. "Hey dude. Wanna sit with us?" the boy said with a sincere smile on his face. I thought for a moment. Part of me wanted to remain here so I that I could be at one with my thoughts, but I also knew that the first step to shaking away the lonely feeling was to agree to the boy's offer. "Uh... sure." I said. I stood up and followed the boy to his table, which only had one other person on it.

"This guy is James. He's been my best friend since we were in second grade. He's pretty chill." The boy said as he pointed towards the other boy. James looked at me and waved his hand in a friendly manner. Suddenly, I realized something. "You... never told me your name." The boy instantly stopped and stared at me, as if he was startled by those words. "You're right! My bad." The boy said before letting out a hearty chuckle. He extended his hand outward. "My name is Tony." He said as I briefly shook his hand.

As I took a seat across from James, I couldn't help but notice that he looked kind of... sad. He had a neutral expression on his face, but the dull look in his eyes, the slight droopiness of his skin, and his abnormally slow movements indicated that he was... hiding something. "I just met this guy. I shouldn't assume things..." I mentally said to myself as I attempted to shift my attention away from James's dreary face.

. . .

When the school day ended, I decided to explore the school. As I was leaving my final class of the day, I texted my dad to let him know that I would be home a little late. I then began roaming the school and familiarizing myself with its various hallways. Eventually, I found myself in the outskirts of the school. It was a very isolated and wooded area. Something told me that I wasn't supposed to be there, but I continued walking around anyway. As I ventured deeper, the number of trees and bushes continued to increase. At this point, it honestly felt like I was traversing a lush forest rather than the outskirts of a high school.

Suddenly, I heard a faint noise. It sounded like the voice of someone... crying for help. I curiously followed the noise, and I ended up in a very secluded and dark area of the school's outskirts. "I hope I don't get in trouble..." I muttered to myself as I looked around. I heard the noise again, and it sounded much louder and clearer this time. I continued following the noise until I finally found the source; A girl who was seemingly being terrorized by a rough-looking boy. I instantly recognized the girl, as she was one of the girls who called me cute in homeroom.

"You should've never broken up with me." The boy said in a gentle but aggressive tone as he pinned the helpless girl against a tree. I quickly hid behind a nearby bush as I continued witnessing this bizarre situation. "Have you forgotten that you only belong to me?" The boy asked in a condescending tone as he moved his lips closer to the girl's. The girl tried but unfortunately failed to resist the boy's advances.

The situation eventually reached its filthy climax when the boy began to slowly move his hand into the girl's skirt. The girl cried for help once again, and that's when I realized that I had to do something. I quickly emerged from my hiding spot and approached the boy. He stopped what he was doing and turned towards me. "Huh? I thought nobody would find us here!" He said as he quickly backed off. Despite the boy's tough appearance, I was still slightly taller than him, and I used that fact to my advantage.

After a few awkward seconds, the boy finally succumbed to the intimidation and ran away. Meanwhile, the girl just stared at me with widened eyes as if I was her knight in shining armor. "Sebastian!" The girl exclaimed. I was somewhat surprised that she actually remembered my name. "Thank you..." she quietly said as she suddenly hugged me quite tightly. Completely unsure of what to do, I just awkwardly stood there as she embraced me. 

Suddenly, she moved her face towards mine, as if she wanted to kiss me, but she quickly stopped herself. She let go of me and slowly backed away with a somewhat embarrassed expression on her face. She swiftly pulled out a pen and a small notepad from her backpack, which had been lying on the ground, and began writing something down. When she finished writing, she ripped out the page and handed it to me. "Text me." She said before walking away.

I glanced at the note. It was... a phone number.