Our Hill Of Stars

twenty one

SEBASTIAN LITTLER

I woke up in a sea of butterflies this morning.

It was Monday. I hadn't spoken to Wren nor Lacey since last Friday night at Wren's house.

When I left, it was 2 o'clock in the morning. And I itched to hold her again. She fit so perfectly in my arms as she cried but I felt my heartstrings tug at the memory. The sound of her crying and the look on her face.

I didn't want to tell her Lacey called the cops because I knew she'd feel betrayed. And I was right.

Although I had tried to call her, her phone was either off or she didn't answer. 

My Mom had talked to me about Wren, how much of a sweet girl she is and I agreed with her. We talked for almost an hour. I told her how guilty I felt and how stupid I was for choosing popularity over my best friend.

Mom told me I was an idiot and I just agreed.

As I pulled up to the school, my nerves were heightened as I stepped out of the car, the crisp morning air indicating it was getting closer to winter as the semester was ending.

One week to go.

I sighed, seeing my breath in front of me as I tugged on my backpack straps, taking the steps two at a time as I entered the school.

Billy looked at me from his locker, a bright purple bruise on his left as I flexed my knuckle.

Lets just say that he shouldn't have been hanging around my house begging for our friendship back after I'd been comforting the girl he nearly took advantage off. 

He knew he was wrong. 

I gave him a dirty glare as I walked past, tension filled the air thickly as I rounded the corner to my class, stopping abruptly in my tracks as I saw Wren at her locker.

She was wearing black leggings and a grey hoodie, her famous converse on her feet as always. Its the outfit she was wearing on Friday. I felt dread fill me as I caught a glimpse of her face. Red eyes, puffy lips and her hair was tied in a messy bun.

She grabbed books from her locker and I watched her shaky hands try to place her lock back on.

I saw Jasper round the corner. He pounded me on the back before nodding to Wren, to then which he slapped her books to the ground, startling her because she jumped.

"Hey Jasper." I said.

"Yeah bro?" He smirked.

I lifted my fist and raised it to his face, landing a blow to his the left side of his face as he fell to the floor, scrambling to get up as he glared at me, "What the fuck dude?" He hissed, cupping his now bleeding nose.

"Don't be a fucking bully." I hissed, nudging his shoulder as I walked past, helping Wren pick up her books.

She thanked me briefly before running to her class.

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"Okay, so you all know your project was to write about a topic that interested you. Or to write about something that you feel should be talked about more."

Our creative writing teacher was listing off names on the roll, calling Wren next to speak. I watched her grip her notecards in-between her fingers before facing my eyes to the front.

She stood up, walking slowly over to the podium. 

"Hi. I'm Wren Thomas and- my topic is bullying." She stuttered, taking a deep breath.

A few kids laughed and I was annoyed, trying to hear what she was saying.

"Okay, when you're ready." The teacher said, hitting the record button on the camera.

"Bullying is a topic that everyone talks about." She started, looking more confident with time, "But my topic is different kind of bullying."

"It starts off in the playground. You have friends, the nerds, the popular kids, the jocks, the teachers pets and then the gifted kids." 

"Each person is significant in way that if they really put their mind to it, they could achieve something great. Like, a cure for cancer. Or they could become the next president of the United States."

People laughed at that.

"But then there's people who are... the social outcasts. Who have friends but are belittled. We call them, the freaks. The freaks are bullied. For being too fat or too thin. They get bullied for wearing glasses, having braces, being too smart or too dumb. There is no way to win." 

She paused for a second, taking a shaky breath as she looked at me, "Because even your own friends can turn on you. And bullying in school needs to be stopped before someone gets seriously hurt." She said, putting emphasis on the 'hurt'.

I leaned my head on my palms, her words sinking into my brain.

She continued on with her speech, but I wasn't really listening. I couldn't concentrate.

"... If we're being honest, there really are no happy endings." 

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