Claustrophobia (Boy x Boy) ✔

6) NOT MY PROBLEM

*Ian Romero's POV

I had a nice weekend. Saturday I had a kickboxing practice and afterwards I meandered around the centre and some nearby parks listening to music. On Sunday I went jogging with Ade and had a nice dinner with my mom. 

More importantly I didn't have to see or think about Cody Walker the entire time. Or well, maybe I thought about him a bit, but the point is that I got a much needed break from his scowling face and snarky attitude. 

Sadly I couldn't spend the entire weekend without being bugged by someone I didn't dislike as much as Cody but didn't exactly like either.

After my mom got tired of getting calls from my dad about me not answering his calls, she coaxed me to call him. Which was fine in the end, since as I said I do not dislike my dad. Things are simply a little complicated between me and him.

Then I was already sitting in the classroom. I had woken up early, so I was the first one there. Tardily my classmates started to flow in the room. Most of them appeared from the door when it was like 7.58 am, but at least they made it before the teacher. 

I noticed two things, while I looked around in the classroom. First of all, Bryce, Jeremy and Kaleb all seemed abnormally quiet. Secondly, Cody hasn't showed up. He was usually on time, so after half an hour I was starting to suspect he wasn't going to come today. 

The truth is, both of those things made me feel relieved. I really wasn't in the mood of seeing Cody and sometimes listening to those three being noisy was hitting a nerve. 

So, there was a small smile on my lips during the rest of the class. Sometimes I talked quietly with Ade, sometimes I browsed my phone and most of the time listened to the teaching and made notes. One could say I was having a good day.

"Hey. Excuse me." Me and Ade were walking towards the cafeteria, when someone started talking to me. I turned and noticed it was the same girl that had been with Cody.

"Do you know where Cody is?" She asked.

"No, I haven't seen him since Friday." I just said, not really seeing why any of that was my problem.

"I saw you talking in the hallway, so I just thought maybe you'd know where he is.. He hasn't been answering my calls and he missed practice on Friday." She continued. 

"We're not exactly friends." I told her bluntly.

"If you see Cody, could you tell him that the coach said he shouldn't skip practices without notifying about it and that he should give the coach a call?" She continued, ignoring my remark entirely.

"Yeah, sure." I complied, although I was annoyed by the fact I should help Cody. I didn't like the guy and he has been a dickhead to me, but somehow I was the one who should wait for him to come back and tell him the news. 

Apparently Cody knew how to be a total nuisance even when he wasn't around. 

Anyway, I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit worried. The Cody I knew when we were younger was really conscientious about school and his responsibilities. Maybe he was different now, but it was a bit unnerving to think he had skipped practices and school and wasn't answering his phone.

And again I thought: why is any of this my problem?

***

On Tuesday morning I saw Cody again. He was wearing a black hoodie and the hood and his hair covered his face when he slouched to his desk. He was hanging his head, giving away an impression that was even bleaker than usual.

I was about to walk to him, but that was when the teacher walked in the classroom and began his lecture. During the class I stole glances at Cody, who kept looking away. He seemed.. woeful. 

I turned my eyes back to the projection and continued writing notes, since Cody was not my problem. He could be absent and he could be as woeful as he wanted to be, but it had nothing to do with me. 

It felt like the class lasted an eternity. At first I made notes, then I doodled in my notebook and then I just browsed my phone, because I couldn't concentrate on the teaching no matter how hard I tried.

After the class was finally over, I told Ade to wait for me in the hallway and walked to Cody. He wasn't hurrying when he put his books and pencils in his backpack.

"Hey, I was —" I began indifferently, but I forgot what I was about to say as soon as Cody lifted his head to look at me. 

"Woah." Was all I could get out of my mouth as I took in what I saw. Cody had a black eye that had already started to turn yellow-ish. His lips and the bridge of his nose had cuts on them and there were dark yellow-ish bruises on his chin and around his lips.

"What happened?" I asked, completely forgetting the fact I was supposed to seem indifferent. 

"Nothing." Cody muttered and stood up. "Did you have something to say?"

"I.. Your friend Oat wanted me to tell you to talk to the coach and that you cannot skip practices without notifying the coach." I said, still staring at the brutal condition of Cody's face. He just nodded, already starting to walk away. 

"And she also said you should answer her calls." I added.

"It's not she, it's they." Cody halted and looked at me.

"What?" I had no idea what he meant by that.

"Oat's pronouns are they/them, not she/her." Cody said and then he walked out of the classroom. I followed soon after.

"Okay. But seriously, what happened?" I asked again, but either Cody didn't hear me or didn't feel like answering. He just walked away and left me there to wonder what the hell was going on.

♡♡♡

Question of the day:
What talent would you want to possess if you could?

(Me: I'd like to be able to use all the languages. I'm a language geek and I'm currently studying Spanish. 🇪🇦)