Desolation Row [MxM]

Chapter 03

“So, how'd the first day go? Any problems?”

“It was fine.”

Charlie was driving me to school again, and I wasn't looking forward to it. If yesterday was anything to go by, it'd be a very long year. I didn't want to elaborate and tell Charlie how I felt about it. I knew all this was hard for him too, he'd never had any kids or anything. He looked like he wanted to ask me more questions, but right as we pulled up to the school I quickly exited the car, giving a small wave behind myself to him.

As I turned back around, I walked right into someone's side, jerking back. It was a white guy, several inches taller than me with a beanie covering his black hair and a dark gray hoodie. His blue eyes looked down and he raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, sorry,” I apologized quietly, and he only snorted before he started walking away.

Off to a great start today, Victor.

I headed for math, getting into my seat and keeping my head down for the class again. I didn't want to participate, I just wanted to be left alone so I could take notes and get out of there as soon as possible.

My notes quickly turned into scribbling as I zoned out, drawing lazy circles repeatedly on the paper. At one point I stopped drawing and lifted my pen up, but when I was met with complete silence in the room, I glanced up. The teacher was looking at me with an expectant expression.

“...What?” I asked. A few other students snickered, and I couldn't help but notice that one of them was the same guy I'd run into earlier. The teacher seemed a little annoyed, and sighed.

“Simplify the square root of thirty-two,” she told me. I hesitated for a second before clearing my throat a little.

“Four and the square root of two.”

“Good job, robot,” someone from the front muttered, making me sigh quietly and duck my head again.

When I was in the hall between classes, heading for my locker, a few bigger guys passing by roughly bumped into me, making me hit the lockers and drop my books. I didn't even get a chance to look and see who it was, because they were swallowed up by the crowd of people. So I bent down to pick my books back up, ignoring the pain in my arm and the shoes that stepped dangerously close to me.

The bell rang, making everyone in the hall scatter as I tried to hurry. The attempt only made me take longer, and as a result, I was late to my next class.

By lunch, I'd already decided that I'd hide out in one of the bathrooms. It was easier than trying to fight my way through lines and find a table. I was luckily able to get out of lunch on my first day by having to take some sort of pre-course exam.

I wandered into one of the bathrooms and went straight to one of the stalls, locking the door behind me and sitting on the toilet. I was tired, and I wanted nothing more than to go home and wrap myself up in my little nest and shut the world out. The only good part was that by the time I got home, Charlie would be gone. I wouldn't have someone trying to talk to me or asking why there was a large bruise on my arm.

I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees, covering my face with my hands. I'd never had to change schools. I'd lived in Lakeview for my entire life, at the same school district. I was only two days into Arbor Heights and I already hated it.

Maybe if I hadn't moved, Alex wouldn't've broken up with me. I'd still be getting perfect grades, going out on Fridays with my friends, on the way to being valedictorian for my class. Then college, after that, to become a teacher. I had all of this planned out.

But now I didn't know what would happen. I was single, for the first time in a long time, my parents weren't there to help me anymore, I had no friends at this school, someone else was probably already valedictorian. Now it seemed my only hope was college.