Oscar Glyde Won't Heal Your Pride

24: List of Faggots

Chapter 24: List of Faggots

[Canteen, Atenamal Regional High, 12:13 PM, ▽]

(Basil's voice slowly rings in clear)

BASIL: "Oscar? Oscar. Hey, nutsack. Parasite."

OSCAR: (coming into focus) "What?"

BASIL: (nods to the counter) "We've got a customer."

OSCAR: (looks forward and starts when he sees Fender standing so close; grasps the counter as he breathes deeply) "Shit."

FENDER: "Hello to you too."

OSCAR: "Um..."

FENDER: "I'll take the vegan sub."

OSCAR: "The... ? Oh. Wow. Okay. Nobody ever takes the vegan sub."

BASIL: "Trying to save your siblings, Fender?"

FENDER: "Funny stuff, Basil." (to himself) "I'm trying to impress somebody." (flicks his eyes up from his wallet to look at Oscar briefly)

OSCAR: (out of breath) "Fuck."

(Fender hands Oscar ten dollars)

OSCAR: "But it's - it's only four dollars - Fender - "

(Fender walks away)

BASIL: "I'd check up on him, if I were you. He's getting more dark and mysterious by the day."

OSCAR: (cocks his head to the side) "Is he?"

BASIL: "Yeah." (...) 

[Enter Elsie]

OSCAR: "Hey Elsie."

ELSIE: "Hi. Can I have a chocolate muffin?"

OSCAR: "Two dollars." (takes Elsie's money) "Are you... bleeding?"

ELSIE: "What?"

OSCAR: "Your hand. It's bleeding."

ELSIE: "Oh! Oh, no. That was just - well - something happened to Charity just now. I was there."

OSCAR: "What happened to Charity?"

ELSIE: "She got beat up. No one knows who did it. She was behind the portables so no one saw. I only went behind there to get my softball back. There she was, covered in blood."

OSCAR: "Who would want to beat up Charity?"

ELSIE: "Beats me. When the teachers asked her who did it she wouldn't say. It's like, she's terrified, or something. Can I have my muffin now?"

(Oscar hands her the muffin; he and Basil share a look)

...

[Forest path, A Ways Away From Atenamal Regional High, 12:15 PM, ▽]

ABDUL: "I heard something crazy went down this morning."

KHASHAR: "Where were you, man?"

ABDUL: "Just helping my mom with something. So what happened?"

RONNY: (wrapping his knuckles with bandages absent-mindedly) "I checked Charity off my list."

ABDUL: (heart stops) "You... what?"

JAKOB: "We beat up Charity behind the portables. It was brutal."