His light at the end of the tunnel

Chapter 1

If Eric's room looked like anything, it was a pig sty. Garbage bags lay around each corner, peeking out of them were cans, empty noodle cups, and whatever a teenager needed gone. The only thing that lit up his room were bulbs and the sun rays passing through the glass. He opens his front door, looking at the mess in front of him. If only there was a reason he could clean it and since he still found none, there wasn't a reason to care.

*Eric's POV*

I walked in, the room in front of me spinning. My evenings always spun, tiredness surging through me; a reminder that I needed to rest. I plummeted into my bed like a log, but my teacher's concerns lurked in my mind, keeping me awake. I rolled over to my side, desperate to quell the constant questions and my growling stomach. The latter got the best of me however and I searched my kitchen for food. Unexpectedly, cups of noodles sat in my fridge, like it had awaited my presence.

"Guess I'm having instant noodles... again," I said. Maybe someone had heard me and stocked my fridge with something delicious. I moped around until the kettle's furious hissing brought me to reality, and I prepared my dinner. It was my cycle of life: rest in best, eat, and sleep till the sun reclaimed its throne in the sky. And sleep I did as I collapsed in my bed afterwards, not even caring that I still had my school uniform on me.

•••

The sun teased me through the curtains, my light blue eyes lit by the sun's rays. I dragged myself to the bathroom despite being half-awake and feeling as sluggish as ever. First was to brush my teeth and while brushing them, my eyes latched onto my reflection.

"Great. The bags under my eyes seemed to have gotten worse over night," I sighed. I was terribly unkempt too. It was a wonder child protection services hadn't rang my doorbell; it wasn't like they were going to visit me anytime soon anyway. My blond hair was shaggy and the blue in my eyes were almost grey from gloom.

"Whatever," I pushed the thought aside, "No one would care anyway."

But I couldn't shake the feeling off but just buried it somewhere and proceeded with my day. I couldn't even make my cereal warm, the cold milk numbed my tongue. After throwing some random books into my bag and wearing the first things I saw in my closet, I headed to school. I rode on my bike, the sky above me as clear as a spring morning could be. The wind was a betrayer, stealing the warmth from my ears and playing with my hair. What people enjoyed about spring was beyond me. It was worse as I walked through the school hallways, where whispers and snickers were branded with my name.

"Look at those bags under his eyes. He must be on drugs"

"His uniform is so untidy... like what happened to him?"

"Yeah, I mean... he went from looking like a role model to a homeless man"

"I can't imagine how he screwed up his life"

All I could hear was my schoolmates jeering at me, their faces full of total contempt. Old news. Too tired to care, I walked to my desk and rested my head on the table. I wished I could rest but their words made me feel sick to the stomach. Junior year really is hell.

Sitting down in silence made me question things about my miserable life. What was the point of getting my grades up if no one notices them? Why do I have to face this alone? If only I have a parent figure... or a friend. Heck, even having a companion is fine with me. But I knew it's never gonna happen.

The school bell rang and stopped my train of thoughts. In strode my maths teacher and began an hour of what I defined as utter gibberish or him just yapping absolute nonsense. But did he really have to keep rambling on and on about some boring math joke? How could he not tell that he's making his students' ears bleed immensely and die of boredom?

"I'm sorry I'm late," a voice apologized which woke me up from the day's monotony.

My eyes followed to where the sound came from. It was a stunning girl, her eyebrows furrowed which made her facial expression look dominant. Her hazel hair flowed down her back, her eyes standing out like the harsh sun on a summer morning.

"Since it's your first day, I'll let it slide but this shouldn't repeat itself," my teacher, Mr Johnson said, arranging his glasses. For some reason, he had always thought of himself as a genius since he graduated with the highest grades. How ironic for a teacher on minimum wage.

My teacher's gaze wandered the class, "I could set you up with a seatmate since not all your new classmates have one."

The girl scanned the room, her gaze locked on the empty seat beside me.

"I'll like that seat," she said, and the only thing it did was leave me in shock. My doubt practically sprung into a frenzy as I fiddled with my fingers underneath my table.

"Does she seriously want to sit with a low-life like him?"

"Can't she notice he looks like a beggar?"

"If I were her, I wouldn't even look at a hopeless soul like his"

She sat next to me, and unpacked her bag like she couldn't hear almost everyone's rant about her choice. Up close, her mocha-colored eyes stunned me even more as I had never seen them before. Sitting at the far left of the class, my mind wandered to the window next to me and I soon ignored my teacher's monologue. What a tiring day it already is.

•••

The school bell rang, signalling lunch and the end of my nap. The school decided to adjust lunch times to much later in the evening, which was terribly inconvenient for my scheduled school naps. Someone tapped my shoulder and I frighteningly jumped; almost jumping out of my seat. It was the new girl, her hands placed on her hips.

"You slept the whole period. Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes softening.

"Yeah... I'm fine," I answered, my voice a hoarse whisper. "And what are you doing here? It's lunch break."

"Before I tell you, my name's Helen. Helen Wyatt," she said, taking my hand and shaking it. This girl literally just violated my personal space more than anyone in school ever has. "And the reason I'm here is... to join you for lunch!"

"What?" I asked. Why me of all people? Is this a joke? This didn't feel right.

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