Trashed [A Short Story]

Part 1

Terry yawned, covering it with his hand. There was a snicker further back in the classroom, coming from where the 'Cool' guys were. He glanced behind him to see most of them smirking, sneering, or silently laughing at him. At what? Terry wondered. Then, when he shifted back, he felt something against his back, and reached back, peeling off a sheet of paper taped to it.

He glanced at the paper, skimming over the words, 'I just lost my virginity.' Below it, something else was scrawled in thick black ink; It was hard to read it, but resembled something along the lines of, 'Ew, who'd wanna have sex with you?'

Terry sighed, then crumpled up the paper before tossing it into the recycling bin poised nearby. He was used to these everyday jabs and insults. He glanced down at his old, slightly tattered sweater. It was part of the reason why he had been deemed an outcast, after his father was fired, and his family started losing their old wealth.

The teacher was finishing writing down their homework for the day, and Terry quickly scribbled down the rest.

Then the bell rang, and it was every student for themselves as everyone jostled and shoved to reach the door. Terry made it outside after a tough struggle with some of the guys on the football team, and was immediately swept away with the swarm of students crowding the hall. 

All were trying to reach the two big double doors at the entrance of the school, but Terry turned against the tide and pushed himself towards the back door, where it would be much less crowded, and easier to get home from.

After about ten minutes, he burst out of the school into the freezing winter wind, and shivered, pulling his thin jacket closed. 

He didn't notice the door opening again, over the howling wind, as more students came out; If he had, it would've saved him. But alas, he did not.

Terry trudged through the thick snow, heading towards the bus stop, when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind.

The movement was so sudden, he had no time to do anything by the time the person had pinned his arms to his torso. He tried to call for help, but then stopped when it was clear no one was left in the school that would hear him. It wasn't as if anybody would come to his aid, anyways.

Then more people came out from behind him, and Terry realized that they were guys from the 'Cool kid' gang. 

Wordlessly, they dragged him over to one of the dumpsters lining the wall nearby. One of them opened the lid, and Terry suddenly understood what they were going to do.

He struggled to break free, kicking and wiggling. But it didn't do much, and another one grabbed his legs, immobilizing him.

Then the two of them tossed him into the dumpster, and slammed the lid closed. He could hear them laughing and snickering at each other, and could just imagine the looks on their faces.

A while later, once Terry was sure they were gone, he tried to pry open the lid, but it held fast, and he realized they had locked it.

"Shit." He cursed quietly, then resorted to yelling for help.

Each time, his shout would bounce around the dumpster, echoing in is ears and making things worse, but he didn't stop until his throat was sore and felt raw.

He couldn't hear anybody outside, and sat back down on a trash bag, sighing. He suddenly caught the scent of the dumpster, and realized how much it stunk in there. He tightened his grip on his jacket, trying hard to only breathe in with his mouth.

A few more minutes passed, and Terry started to get cold. He shivered, and his teeth started to chatter as he curled up in the corner of the dumpster. Someone's bound to come... Right? He thought about everyone at the school; There wasn't anyone there he would even consider anything close to a buddy, much less anyone who would help him.

He felt his pockets for his phone and took it out; 59% battery left. He sighed in relief and scrolled through his contacts, but hesitated. Who should he call? His dad was most likely at a job interview, and couldn't be disrupted. His mom was at home, taking care of his little sister, and his older brother would be at his hockey practice by this time.

Terry sighed, then put back the phone in his pocket.

He sighed and leaned back against the dumpster, teeth clacking together and his entire body shivering.

A little under an hour later, Terry was curled up even tighter in a small ball, breathing heavily in the cold, frigid air. Thankfully, there were a few small gaps where the lid met the dumpster, or else he'd have run out of oxygen by now.

He heard footsteps crunch through the snow outside, and tried to let the person out there know he was stuck inside, but he was too cold and exhausted to even lift his head, much less call for help.

And so, the footsteps passed by without stopping, and Terry was left trapped inside a dumpster, in the cold winter temperature. 

About half an hour later, and it was already getting dark outside. Meaning it would soon get colder. 

Terry tried to get up and try to get out before it would get too frigid in the dumpster, but suddenly it seemed as if he couldn't move.

He stayed there, sitting against the side of the dumpster, knees pulled up to his chin. He had long ago lost track of time, and didn't have the energy to pull out his phone and check.

The 'Cool' guys were probably somewhere warm, still laughing about him, or some other poor student they targeted.

He sighed, then closed his eyes, feeling tired. But then, right before he could dose off, Terry coughed, the action making his throat hurt. Then he coughed again, and again, each cough making his throat feel worse than the one before.

After that bout of coughing, he could finally rest a little, and he did, closing his eyes.

Then opening them immediately right after, with a panicked thought. If I fall asleep, no one will know I'm in here... And I may never wake again... And resolved not to close his eyes for more than a split-second.

But then, a few more minutes after, he felt his eyelids drooping again. He sighed, and reluctantly let his eyes get a few minutes of rest, with the promise of waking up again right after.

But he didn't, and Terry stayed asleep.

Long enough for the sun to rise again.

Long enough for him to have caught hypothermia.

Long enough for him to never wake again.