Supernovas & Escapism

Chapter Four

     My eyes flickered back towards the other boys for a moment as they were called into an office. Before they went inside, both shot the meanest looks they could give. If this was what the kid had to deal with every day, then I was truly trying my best to be help to him.

     "I'm sure lying in the fetal position was all part of your big plan then," I remarked, heels digging into the floor slightly. My eyebrows were furrowed, ready to tap into this restless pool of anger. I'd done my best to keep it at bay for so long for the sake of those around me. For my friends, and for my family. But now here was this kid throwing back my assistance as if I was trash. Well who was he to say anything.

     I couldn't exactly see his face, but the way his entire body shifted was enough to tell me that he was more than a little shaken by this whole experience. His leg jutted like nothing I've ever seen, forcing the rest of his body to be rocked by the shockwaves. Dark hair bounced all around his face, exposing hardly more than trails of red against his tanned skin.

     The other boy scoffed. Finally, he lifted his head, eyes burning into mine. "Don't pretend that you know shit about me, because you don't." There was a brief pause. Honestly, I was just a little shocked. Like before, dark lines seemed to cross over his lashes, making them more predominant. "Don't pretend that you did that for me, because we both know you just did it for yourself."

     "Now who's pretending they know shit about who?" my voice came in an instant. Eyebrows cocked as my arms folded themselves in tighter than before. Even from this distance, it was hard to see past anything. All these walls he'd obviously built up felt eerily familiar. Was this what I had been doing for the past few months?

     "Oh please," he managed, his tone not daring to raise itself. "You're an ex-jock looking for a way to bring some sort of validation into his life."

     I laughed. He did not.

     "I didn't think anyone could get something so wrong." There was truth and lies to that. Sure, he had an idea of what I'd been going through. But the honest to god truth was that it ran far deeper than me looking for some ego-trip.

     "Keep telling yourself that."

     "Whatever dude."

     "Yeah, way to be a dismissive asshole," he said, dropping his head to looking back down at the floor.

     Arrogance was fuel right now. It was the one thing that prevented me from backing down. Getting the last word in was of vital importance, even if it meant keeping the conversation going. Dad always said this was my problem; that I couldn't let anyone else win. Of course he had said this knowing full well that this was one of the few traits I had inherited from him. It was this prominent display of manhood that often made us butt heads at every turn.

     "You know the least you could do is say thanks." Perhaps any other set of words would have been better, but in my head, in that moment, those just felt like the right words to say.

     He scoffed at me. I knew he didn't owe me anything. I'd carelessly rushed in because of my own reasons. I'd lost my temper, and probably would have regardless to what was going down that day. The only plus was that I'd managed to put my anger towards something slightly useful.