One Ribbon

I. ZACH

Let's just say, I did not want to be here, not one bit.

Eyes following me, the smell of sweaty teenage bodies surrounding me. Nothing I could do but accept that this is my fate. I hated it here, and I think everyone else did too.

Welcome to Pinefelt High. I'm not one to judge, but as someone who no one looks twice at, as someone who talks to no one — I'm still able to tell that this school fucking . . . sucks.

But It's only going to get worse.

It was still dark out, the air cold, branches waving outside the window in Zach's bedroom. Zach awoke miserably to the piercing sound of an alarm, still ringing in his ears long after he turned it off. His eyes half shut from the sleep residue, he reached for the glass of water beside his bed.

All he wanted to do was lay his head down on his pillow and pass out, forget about everything going on, every little distraction in his life. Just disappear into thin air. The taste of his own breathe stuck to the roof of his mouth even after sipping the room temperature — which felt icy cold at the time — cup of water.

He thought about just not going, or at least skipping a couple of classes, but when it's the first day back after a couple months off, you get kinda sick of the isolation, so this time he'd rather go then do nothing, alone in his bedroom.

Zach let out a groan and pushed the gray duvet that was already falling off his bed, off of him. He rubbed his eyes, stretched his arms out and got himself ready for the first — possibly exciting — day at school.

"hey bud—" His dad, Carlos said, interrupting himself, "Jeez, someone have a bad morning? Cause you look like shit."
He said with a grin on his face, a glass of water in one hand.

Zach let out a sigh, "Fuck you. . . ."
His speech slurred, he was barely even able to open his eyes.

"What, What 'you say?" Carlos replied sarcastically, scanning him with his dull, green eyes.

"You're a dick, you know that right."

Carlos isn't the perfect image of a father, compared to the Evans he can barely even be called 'father'. A 'father' is a figure in someones life who looks after them, sees them as their own, a guardian. Carlos was more of a friend, or a roommate. Atleast, thats what Zach thought.

Carlos gave him a nod and walked off, going back to do whatever it was he was doing before.
Zach, standing outside the front door — gripping the straps of his bag — took a deep breathe in, preparing himself for what he knew wasn't going to be a good day. It never was, never is.

You can do this.
Its just a couple of hours,
just a couple of fucking hours.

One foot in front of the other, he walked past the cars racing down the street, the crowded buildings and strangers bumping into him, carrying bags or notebooks or whatever people carried at 6:30am. There was nothing at a Pinefelt high, no friends, no people. The only reason he even got out of bed was because he had to. It was just Zach and whatever Carlos gave him for lunch, probably old movie popcorn from a few nights ago.