Danny Clark is a Nobody

Chapter Seventeen

Danny's P.O.V

It's been 9 days since that horrible first day of school. Ever since then, I've been having nightmares every night. Each time, remembering one of the foster homes I've been in. I thought it was bound to end on the 10th day, since I hadn't been in 10 foster homes. I was wrong.

Waking up in cold sweat, I sat upright, panting. I was so sick of the nightmares. I wanted them to end. I had no idea what was causing them; I wasn't unhappy, I wasn't hurt in any way, I had friends, I wasn't in a stressful environment.

At least I had not had a public panic attack since then.

School was alright. Lily stopped pestering me for answers as to why I was upset, which was relieving. Mr. Patel was as kind as ever, and thought I had a great future with physics. Mrs. Henderson loved my essay, and gave me another book: Emma by Jane Austen.

My grades were at the top of my class, after doing the exams I had missed. I surpassed even Lily, who was rather upset that I had beaten her. She wasn't rude or mean, just surprised. Apparently, she wanted to be "academic rivals" now. Whatever that means.

Will hasn't been weird about the whole panic attack thing. In fact, he never once mentioned it. I was grateful for that. Sam acted as my personal bodyguard. He and his friends 'escorted' me to classes. They mostly used it as an excuse to goof off and get to class late. But it was appreciated.

I had a reputation in the school. Coming in to my first class covered in blood made people think I was dangerous. In Will's words, "a bad boy." I hated this part the most. Whenever I walked in the hallways, people moved aside, as if I were deranged and would beat up whoever came near me. I wasn't some wild, uncontrolled bull, seeing red.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Reluctantly, I packed some gym clothes that used to be Sam's. Apparently, they didn't have any in my size anymore. Sam's was the closest, even if the sweatshirt and sweatpants were slightly baggy. I had P.E. today, which I despised. I wore the uniform, and as it was rather cold this morning, I wore the sweater vest. I combed my hair to the best of my abilities, grabbed my heavy backpack, and then made my way downstairs. It was around 6:00 a.m. and Michael was already sitting in the kitchen, reading his book and drinking coffee.

At my entrance, he smiled and greeted me. "Good morning." I muttered a quick "g'morning" before pouring myself a cup of coffee. I sat down across from Michael, and grabbed my own book. This has become a sort of tradition of ours; sitting early in the morning, drinking coffee and reading.

Since Freddie didn't have any exams tomorrow, he decided to sleep in the house last night. He said he missed us and was getting bored of college life. I wondered why James and Freddie didn't move out when they went to college, but I guess they were too closely knit a family to separate so soon.

Freddie walked downstairs in his pyjamas. He rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly. "Morning." He rasped, his voice coated with sleep. He sat down next to dad and leaned his head against his shoulder tiredly and dramatically. "Morning, Freddie." Michael said. "Good morning," I replied. I gulped down my coffee, and resisted the urge to go get another cup. I blame this addiction on Michael.

Sam came down a bit later, wearing only his pants. He looked around frantically. "Has anyone seen my shirt?" He asked, panicked. Freddie rolled his eyes at his brother and Michael said, "it's freezing, Sammy. Go put something on. I'll find your shirt." He sighed and got up. He disappeared upstairs and Sam sat down in his place. "I'm fucking freezing my nuts off." He muttered, rubbing his hands over his exposed arms. "Would you like to wear my blazer until Michael finds your clothes?" I asked him. He shook his head but I took off my blazer anyway. I handed it to him, and he took it gratefully. It was kind of tight on him, but he didn't seem to care.