New Yorks Finest

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴘᴛ. 2

Recap:

I keep replaying the night; the food, the laughter, Elias's smirk when I called him out. That laugh.

It's stupid how much it stuck with me.

I flip over, staring at the wall, paint chips showing the imperfections in it. I've only been here two weeks, but something about today felt different. Lighter.

I don't know if it means anything. Probably doesn't.
But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. For the first time in a while, I want to see what tomorrow looks like.

Even if I'm not sure what it brings.

Luca

Life in this new town wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Mostly. Yeah, people throw looks and make comments about how I dress or act, but when I'm with my friends, I don't care.

Until I'm not.

Today was textbook natural selection; only the strong survive, and the weak get picked off. Always the same story.

No one asked me about my orientation, but everyone assumed. And yeah, they were right, but that didn't stop them from mixing up style with being gay like it was some big joke.

It stung more than I wanted to admit, especially when I was alone in class.

"Fag," "sissy boy," every insult they had in the book.

"Please keep up with your assignments, everyone. This is high school, not kindergarten. I'm not chasing you," Mr. Hemms said, sliding into his seat.

The whole class groaned and started chatting.

I actually like math when it's just numbers, not those crazy letters and symbols. Sometimes I can't even tell an integer from a rational number.

As I dug into my homework, the same group started up again in the back.

"Yo, what's with white boy's shoes? Y'all peep those?"

Laughter broke out.

Usually, I wouldn't let it get to me, because Caroline or Benin were there to back me up. But without them, I felt stuck. Like I couldn't fight back.

"Fruit loop always wearing that weird shit," someone mocked.

I muttered under my breath, "You don't like 'em, but couldn't afford those shoes even if you wanted to."

The laughter cut off sharp.

"Ayo, 'Twon, he on your ass," said the girl behind me.

His face snapped into a scowl. That's why I keep quiet.

"I'll see about him later."

The class buzzed with whispers and low oohs. What does "see about him" even mean?

I shoved my headphones on, trying to drown it out.

The bell rang and I packed up fast, wanting to disappear.

"Why're you walking so dern fast, Luca? You're the tall one, not me," Lyndon called out.

I turned and relaxed seeing her.

"Got caught up in class, trying to keep my head down," I said.

"We'll talk later."

In band, I opened my trombone case and zoned out.