“Nerd!” someone shouts from the crowd as everyone starts laughing. “He’s never been absent before,” someone else adds, followed by another round of the laughter. Again and again in a never ending cycle of torment. All the faces staring at him, the laughter that is mean and harsh, cutting him off from society and creating a barrier between him and others.
A social outcast, he thinks to himself. He tries to run away and hide, escape from the torture and pain of society. People are calling him names, taking photos. He tries to prevent the tears from coming but they come anyway. Someone snatches his book and throws it away.
I wanted to get away from all that, Anton realizes. “So, I pretended to be someone I am not, sporty, athletic, the cliche cool person of society.” he says, shaking his head. “But is it really worth it?” Anton asks himself. “Is being popular worth it?”
“Anton,” someone whispers, a tone of emergency in the voice that came from behind the table.
Anton quickly turns around, hastily composing himself as he wipes the last remnants of tears in his eyes, stopping the dreadfully loud sniffing that had accompanied it.
“Rob?” Anton exclaims, his voice cracking, sounding strained and tired.
“Shh,” Rob says, his voice barely above a whisper, looking around to make sure nobody sees them, scanning the teacher's desk in the front, the other students at the back, the entrances, located at either side of the classroom.
“What is it?” Anton asks, his breathing layered and heavy as his eyes stare down at the ground.
“I saw what happened to your painting and I’m sorry,” Rob says, staring out of the window at the dark storm clouds gathering, Anton's eyes. Silence ensues as Rob feels the air around him, thick and heavy.
Anton feels his face heat up, blood boiling through his veins. He lets out all the emotions he realizes have been pent up inside him, hidden under a mask of numbness.
“Shut up and go away!” Anton shouts, much louder than he intended. BOOM. The sound of thunder, fills the class, drowning out Anton’s voice. “Just go away,” he mutters, letting his hands fall to his side, pain and exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him. “Please just go.”
“Why do you hang out with them?” Rob asks, trying once again to reach through to the person that sits in front of him, the one with his head in his hands, silent now.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Anton croaks. “I just want to lie down and sleep. To forget about all this.” Rob leans in and tries to pat Anton on the back, to be able to offer some comfort to the broken person he sees in front of him. He fumbles with his glasses, unsure of what to do or say. Rob looks around, feeling awkward and uncomfortable about the series of events that have taken place.
“What to do...What to do?” he asks himself, tapping his foot on the floor trying to figure out how to handle this situation and help Anton. As he turns around, he sees Thomas and Eddie. They always are mean to me and now look at what they have done, he thinks. He feels the blood in his veins boil, and, glowering in anger. He stares at them, laughing and messing around, oblivious to what they have just done, and Rob realises what he has to do next.
Almost immediately, Rob is standing in front of their table, staring at them. His eyes reflecting his annoyance and anger. They are on their laptops watching youtube videos as they laugh, oblivious to Rob’s presence. Their canvases are a mess, where one colour dominates the others, having no real order in them.
He acts in a menacing manner, baring his chest out and cracking his knuckles while gnashing his teeth, trying to intimidate them. “You guys are jerks!” he shouts, unable to conceal his anger, stepping forward, inches away from Thomas and Eddie. “Why are you always so mean and unfair to everyone?” he adds, his face white, absolutely livid with rage.
“Really?” Thomas says coolly, looking elsewhere as though he is focused on other things. His face is relaxed, free of tension as he turns and looks at Rob, a smirk plastered on his face. “To whom?”
“For starters me!” Rob shouts, breaking into a sweat. His throat feels dry and he is conscious of the entire class's attention on him.
“So?” Thomas replies. He shrugs his shoulders and adds, “Nobody cares about you, but everyone likes me.” He shrugs, turns away, and starts talking to Eddie, ignoring Rob . Everyone around him shifts their attention away once more, starting up their conversations again.
“HEY!’ Rob shouts, trying to arouse people's attention again as he waves his arms in quick succession. “I can name people who don’t … don’t like you.” he says sighing as he throws his hands down, annoyed at the class. He does one more sweep, and his eyes settle right at Thomas and the cool attitude on his face.
Thomas turns towards Rob once again. Calling his bluff, Thomas asks him
“Like who?” as he shakes his head in a disapproving way.
Rob starts playing with his glasses, his eyes wide open. Anton can see confusion in Rob’s eyes as he desperately scans the room for someone who can support his claim. From the exit of the classroom, his focus travels from the sink, to the teacher's desk, all the way to the other end of the class, to Anton. His face is red, and he is sweating profusely despite the chilled air of the art room.
“Anton.” he counters, his voice high pitched.
The words come tumbling out there, so easy to say, impossible to take back. By now everyone's attention is back on us, looking eagerly about what going to come.
“You...You ruined his painting,” Robs says, stuttering slightly, taking a slight step back.
Thomas laughs, rolling his eyes in amusement, he turns and stares at Rob, his gaze demanding, undeniable like a hurricane that won’t stop until it destroys everything in it’s path.
“Anton doesn’t care about any of that. He thinks I’m cool too. Right Anton?” Thomas asks in a tone that seems innocent enough, but has an underlined threat in it.
The room turns deathly silent as everyone turns towards the top of the classroom where Anton sits, trembling. Sharp quick panic rises up in him, an aching pain that rises up in his throat. The abyss that he had been tethering on the edge of, loomed closer than ever, threatening to ensue him into an eternity of emptiness and pain. Everyone leans forward, eagerly awaiting his answer. Blind terror rises through him as he considers the looming prospects of being a social outcast. He see’s Thomas cold, lifeless stare, as he waits for the answer that will decide it all for Anton. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Mr Paul walking down the corridor at a slow place.
“Hurry up and answer the question...or else!” Thomas exclaims, not trying to hide the threat anymore. He walks up towards Anton, cracking his knuckles and smirking again, in that horrible twisted sense. Anton shudders at that sound, wincing as he imagines that coming in contact with his stomach, the pain and agony, the humiliation.
I just want to be able to express myself freely and have friends, Anton says to himself. But if I agree with Rob, I will become a social outcast, and could get hurt real bad, he adds, feeling his knees shaking at the thought. He thinks back to Rob, the only one who tried to comfort him. Thomas and Eddie keep treating me like somebody who can be discarded at will. I am the only one who makes sacrifices for them.
The blood rushes to his face as he thinks about all the times, he has had to lie for them. The terror is gone as anger rushes through him, replacing the fear and doubt he had. He thinks about Rob. He gets teased all the time, yet he never gives up and is always his own master. I wanted control of my life, but I was too scared to take it.
As he sees Mr Paul approaching the classroom door, he knows it’s now or never. He stares straight at Thomas, sizing him up, taking on that hard stare and accepting the challenge that has been issued… His face shows no trace of hesitation, as his speech rings through the cold silence clearly.
"Rob’s...Rob’s right.” he says. He looks at all the people around him taking the information in, the shock and astonishment all too plainly written on their faces. Some people even have their mouth open while others whisper to their friends about those two words.
Two words that change everything, Anton thinks. Reflexively, he ducks under, as something hurtles over him, where his head was just a moment ago . “You guys are jerks,” Anton continues, determined to finish saying all of it, no matter what the consequences of it might be. “When I was your friend, I had to change my personality just to maintain my friendship.” Anton’s face feels hot as the whole embarrassing truth comes out. “I wanted to be cool and popular so I idolized you guys,” Anton can sense everyone staring at him, taking in this information. “I actually like school, especially art and math,” Anton, almost stops, afraid that the faces around him will break into laughter. “I lied though, to remain ‘cool’. But today, I finally realized that you guys aren't worth it. You destroyed our friendship, like it was nothing to you.”
Thomas’s fist comes down again, barely missing Anton. Thomas’ face was white with rage, lit up with deathly fire.
Anton stares blankly at Thomas, before grabbing a glass of water. “You did this to my painting, now let’s see how you like it!” He hurls the water all over them, and throws down the glass, finally free from the cage he had been trapped in, able to be who he truly wants to be at last.
Thomas is livid, soaked from head to toe in water. His nostrils are flared and his fists are ready to come down on him again in a furious onslaught. He glances out and find Mr Paul is outside, talking to another teacher. He turns and grins, ready to make mincemeat of the person who defied him today. The room turns deathly silent, as everyone stares at them, as though they were boxers about to fight till one is unconcious. “I really hope it doesn’t come to that” Anton says, biting his nail. The grin turns into a glare as Thomas continues looking at him. He sizes him up. He can feel his body tense as he got ready for what is about to come.
Thomas walks away, calm. His shoulders are relaxed, As Anton slowly loosens up and stands to his full extent, he opens his mouth in surprise.
“Nerd!” someone shouts from the crowd as everyone starts laughing. “He’s never been absent before,” someone else adds, followed by another round of the laughter. Again and again in a never ending cycle of torment. All the faces staring at him, the laughter that is mean and harsh, cutting him off from society and creating a barrier between him and others.
A social outcast, he thinks to himself. He tries to run away and hide, escape from the torture and pain of society. People are calling him names, taking photos. He tries to prevent the tears from coming but they come anyway. Someone snatches his book and throws it away.
I wanted to get away from all that, Anton realizes. “So, I pretended to be someone I am not, sporty, athletic, the cliche cool person of society.” he says, shaking his head. “But is it really worth it?” Anton asks himself. “Is being popular worth it?”
“Anton,” someone whispers, a tone of emergency in the voice that came from behind the table.
Anton quickly turns around, hastily composing himself as he wipes the last remnants of tears in his eyes, stopping the dreadfully loud sniffing that had accompanied it.
“Rob?” Anton exclaims, his voice cracking, sounding strained and tired.
“Shh,” Rob says, his voice barely above a whisper, looking around to make sure nobody sees them, scanning the teacher's desk in the front, the other students at the back, the entrances, located at either side of the classroom.
“What is it?” Anton asks, his breathing layered and heavy as his eyes stare down at the ground.
“I saw what happened to your painting and I’m sorry,” Rob says, staring out of the window at the dark storm clouds gathering, Anton's eyes. Silence ensues as Rob feels the air around him, thick and heavy.
Anton feels his face heat up, blood boiling through his veins. He lets out all the emotions he realizes have been pent up inside him, hidden under a mask of numbness.
“Shut up and go away!” Anton shouts, much louder than he intended. BOOM. The sound of thunder, fills the class, drowning out Anton’s voice. “Just go away,” he mutters, letting his hands fall to his side, pain and exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him. “Please just go.”
“Why do you hang out with them?” Rob asks, trying once again to reach through to the person that sits in front of him, the one with his head in his hands, silent now.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Anton croaks. “I just want to lie down and sleep. To forget about all this.” Rob leans in and tries to pat Anton on the back, to be able to offer some comfort to the broken person he sees in front of him. He fumbles with his glasses, unsure of what to do or say. Rob looks around, feeling awkward and uncomfortable about the series of events that have taken place.
“What to do...What to do?” he asks himself, tapping his foot on the floor trying to figure out how to handle this situation and help Anton. As he turns around, he sees Thomas and Eddie. They always are mean to me and now look at what they have done, he thinks. He feels the blood in his veins boil, and, glowering in anger. He stares at them, laughing and messing around, oblivious to what they have just done, and Rob realises what he has to do next.
Almost immediately, Rob is standing in front of their table, staring at them. His eyes reflecting his annoyance and anger. They are on their laptops watching youtube videos as they laugh, oblivious to Rob’s presence. Their canvases are a mess, where one colour dominates the others, having no real order in them.
He acts in a menacing manner, baring his chest out and cracking his knuckles while gnashing his teeth, trying to intimidate them. “You guys are jerks!” he shouts, unable to conceal his anger, stepping forward, inches away from Thomas and Eddie. “Why are you always so mean and unfair to everyone?” he adds, his face white, absolutely livid with rage.
“Really?” Thomas says coolly, looking elsewhere as though he is focused on other things. His face is relaxed, free of tension as he turns and looks at Rob, a smirk plastered on his face. “To whom?”
“For starters me!” Rob shouts, breaking into a sweat. His throat feels dry and he is conscious of the entire class's attention on him.
“So?” Thomas replies. He shrugs his shoulders and adds, “Nobody cares about you, but everyone likes me.” He shrugs, turns away, and starts talking to Eddie, ignoring Rob . Everyone around him shifts their attention away once more, starting up their conversations again.
“HEY!’ Rob shouts, trying to arouse people's attention again as he waves his arms in quick succession. “I can name people who don’t … don’t like you.” he says sighing as he throws his hands down, annoyed at the class. He does one more sweep, and his eyes settle right at Thomas and the cool attitude on his face.
Thomas turns towards Rob once again. Calling his bluff, Thomas asks him
“Like who?” as he shakes his head in a disapproving way.
Rob starts playing with his glasses, his eyes wide open. Anton can see confusion in Rob’s eyes as he desperately scans the room for someone who can support his claim. From the exit of the classroom, his focus travels from the sink, to the teacher's desk, all the way to the other end of the class, to Anton. His face is red, and he is sweating profusely despite the chilled air of the art room.
“Anton.” he counters, his voice high pitched.
The words come tumbling out there, so easy to say, impossible to take back. By now everyone's attention is back on us, looking eagerly about what going to come.
“You...You ruined his painting,” Robs says, stuttering slightly, taking a slight step back.
Thomas laughs, rolling his eyes in amusement, he turns and stares at Rob, his gaze demanding, undeniable like a hurricane that won’t stop until it destroys everything in it’s path.
“Anton doesn’t care about any of that. He thinks I’m cool too. Right Anton?” Thomas asks in a tone that seems innocent enough, but has an underlined threat in it.
The room turns deathly silent as everyone turns towards the top of the classroom where Anton sits, trembling. Sharp quick panic rises up in him, an aching pain that rises up in his throat. The abyss that he had been tethering on the edge of, loomed closer than ever, threatening to ensue him into an eternity of emptiness and pain. Everyone leans forward, eagerly awaiting his answer. Blind terror rises through him as he considers the looming prospects of being a social outcast. He see’s Thomas cold, lifeless stare, as he waits for the answer that will decide it all for Anton. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Mr Paul walking down the corridor at a slow place.
“Hurry up and answer the question...or else!” Thomas exclaims, not trying to hide the threat anymore. He walks up towards Anton, cracking his knuckles and smirking again, in that horrible twisted sense. Anton shudders at that sound, wincing as he imagines that coming in contact with his stomach, the pain and agony, the humiliation.
I just want to be able to express myself freely and have friends, Anton says to himself. But if I agree with Rob, I will become a social outcast, and could get hurt real bad, he adds, feeling his knees shaking at the thought. He thinks back to Rob, the only one who tried to comfort him. Thomas and Eddie keep treating me like somebody who can be discarded at will. I am the only one who makes sacrifices for them.
The blood rushes to his face as he thinks about all the times, he has had to lie for them. The terror is gone as anger rushes through him, replacing the fear and doubt he had. He thinks about Rob. He gets teased all the time, yet he never gives up and is always his own master. I wanted control of my life, but I was too scared to take it.
As he sees Mr Paul approaching the classroom door, he knows it’s now or never. He stares straight at Thomas, sizing him up, taking on that hard stare and accepting the challenge that has been issued… His face shows no trace of hesitation, as his speech rings through the cold silence clearly.
"Rob’s...Rob’s right.” he says. He looks at all the people around him taking the information in, the shock and astonishment all too plainly written on their faces. Some people even have their mouth open while others whisper to their friends about those two words.
Two words that change everything, Anton thinks. Reflexively, he ducks under, as something hurtles over him, where his head was just a moment ago . “You guys are jerks,” Anton continues, determined to finish saying all of it, no matter what the consequences of it might be. “When I was your friend, I had to change my personality just to maintain my friendship.” Anton’s face feels hot as the whole embarrassing truth comes out. “I wanted to be cool and popular so I idolized you guys,” Anton can sense everyone staring at him, taking in this information. “I actually like school, especially art and math,” Anton, almost stops, afraid that the faces around him will break into laughter. “I lied though, to remain ‘cool’. But today, I finally realized that you guys aren't worth it. You destroyed our friendship, like it was nothing to you.”
Thomas’s fist comes down again, barely missing Anton. Thomas’ face was white with rage, lit up with deathly fire.
Anton stares blankly at Thomas, before grabbing a glass of water. “You did this to my painting, now let’s see how you like it!” He hurls the water all over them, and throws down the glass, finally free from the cage he had been trapped in, able to be who he truly wants to be at last.
Thomas is livid, soaked from head to toe in water. His nostrils are flared and his fists are ready to come down on him again in a furious onslaught. He glances out and find Mr Paul is outside, talking to another teacher. He turns and grins, ready to make mincemeat of the person who defied him today. The room turns deathly silent, as everyone stares at them, as though they were boxers about to fight till one is unconcious. “I really hope it doesn’t come to that” Anton says, biting his nail. The grin turns into a glare as Thomas continues looking at him. He sizes him up. He can feel his body tense as he got ready for what is about to come.
Thomas walks away, calm. His shoulders are relaxed, As Anton slowly loosens up and stands to his full extent, he opens his mouth in surprise. “Okay Anton.” Thomas says in a calm and dignified manner, without any of the rage he had shown before. “If you don’t want our friendship then don’t be our friends. Yeah, you are not our friends anymore.”
- Akshat Jain
“Okay Anton.” Thomas says in a calm and dignified manner, without any of the rage he had shown before. “If you don’t want our friendship then don’t be our friends. Yeah, you are not our friend anymore.”
- Akshat Jain
No comments:
Post a Comment