Memento Mori (MikaYuu)

«6»

'Horrible' was a great example of a clear understatement as to how Yuu felt. Not only was he mortified, but guilty for being the cause of the pool evacuation for the day.

And the rest of the week.

At least he didn't have to stay back and help clean.

He sat in the nurse's office, blowing the remaining pool water out of his nose and coughing up the rest. He was rewarded with a expired lollipop and his uniform back.

Freshman year was much similar to this - the harassment, the inconveniences, the occasional homicidal thought. The last thing he wanted was to turn out like one of those crazy kids, however, so those thoughts stayed forbidden in a grim part of his mind.

As tempting as they often sounded.

The world's gone to shit and everyone around you is nuts. How could one not feel tempted to join the insanity?

Yuu's appetite was nonexistent when he arrived in the packed lunch room which reeked of over-buttered popcorn, sweat, and all kinds of mysterious greasy foods. Not only was the lunch food just downright putrid, but his mouth still burned with chlorine and that fishy aftertaste of vomit.

Maybe I'll just buy something to get the taste out of my mouth...

He nervously approached the ruckus of a line - which was honestly more like a crowd - and got on tiptoes to peer at what was being served.

Those disgusting, watery mashed potatoes... Yuu's stomach churned. They mind as well just serve a bowl of water with flour thrown in it! That's what it tasted like, anyways.

Then the French fries. Okay, those were pretty good, but half the batch was always burnt because they cooked it at a temperature that was too searing. Either that or they forgot they were in there.

Worth a shot.

As usual, five people cut Yuu in line, completely disregarding his tiny existence. He was stepped out of the way, nearly tripping over his own two feet. He looked up at the taller bodies, sighing deeply.

One day, he thought, I'll be taller than all of you.

But that day was too far away. Yuu was a late bloomer.

Finally arriving at the serving shelf, he picked out a prepared tray from up top the rack, making sure no loose hairs or any other body parts had wound up in it. As unappetizing as it appeared, he just kept his sights on those fries, luckily none too burnt.

Typically, he ate with the librarian in the sanctuary in his office; decked out hippie-style, mini water fountain decorations, beautifully long plants, and scented burning sticks all over the average sized room covered in cheesy quotes said by old fat dudes with big beards... Ah, yes, he could stay in there forever, sinking his toes into the fuzzy rugs and listening to the old man's life lessons and tales as water droplets splashed in the distance along with the sound of pages turning in books.

And that would've happened today - much needed as well - if the librarian wasn't absent. Yuu peered into the dim office window, not seeing a speck of light anywhere. And nowhere to be seen was his curly white head of hair.

He took a deep breath, returning to the cafeteria with his tray in both hands and a bad feeling in his core.

He passed many tables of the obnoxiously loud kids, looking for an abandoned spot somewhere in the corner. That's where he always was. Somewhere abandoned.

His green eyes targeted a dusty aged table in the far righthand end, a small spark of hope flickering in him. He made his way, eyeing down at his French fries with slight hunger now.