Things that i wish would happen but never do

Wish #12

Wish #12

  (True story, I thought would show)

He was only in grade 7, a casual fall day in grade 7. We were learning about history when our class got the call. My teacher had picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello who's speaking?" She asked nonchalently. The person on the other end spoke some unreadable words and my teachers face instantly fell. "Uh, yes I understand, I'll get him on the phone." She said with a tint of worry. Being kids we all watched her as she spoke on the phone. Putting the phone to her shoulder she called over one of the popular boys. I rememeber this vividly as when she called his name everyone "OOOOOOO'd" Not the smartest thing now that I think about it, more cruel than foolish. He striked over to the teacher his shoulders high and walking with sass. Like how most popular kids acted, in which I wasnt popular. He got to the the teacher and she handed him the phone with a look of pity. Something had happened and a sense of dread crawled into my gut. He put the phone to his ear and said hello. As the class watched him speak on the phone we all saw his cocky smile turn into a straight face, then into a frown. His shoulders were now not so broad and he looked a lot smaller and vunerable than what he ususally was. Something in my heart could tell he was about to cry, put the popular boy figure down for a second and cry. The cool popular grade 7 now looked like a baby about to cry, and no one knew why.

After that the teacher herded him out the door all the way to the principal office. She came back without him and didn't say anything about that phone call afterwards.

In till the very next day when other popular kids in my class came to school with red, bagged, puffy eyes. I was now very worried about this, what was happening? So I went over to one of the boys and asked if they were okay. He looked at me sadly and nodded I then procedded to ask why they were sad. With simple yet dying words one of the boys spoke.

"His dad died." He answered.

That hit me like a train, that was why the popular boy yesterday looked as if he had to cry. That was why he was brought to the office. That's why he looked like he was going to crack.

His dad had died at a young age, for a parent of course, in his sleep. His wife had woken up to a motionless body beside her apperently.So the popular boy had to go home early from school because his dad had died.

So we waited for him to come back, in hopes we could comfort him when he did.

Only he didn't come the next day,

Or the next,

Soon one week turned into two,

Than three. 

The mood from the once cheerful class turned into tension and worry. Even a butcher's knife couldn't cut through this. Than one day, he walked through the door, everyone's eyes instantly whipped towards him. Instead of his happy, cocky grin it was replaced with a straight emotionless face. Ever step looked like 100 pounds on him as he trudged to his empty desk. Everyone kept their eyes on him in silence not daring to say something that could break the fragile boy.

With the start of that day he didn't talk as much as he had did before. Sure in about three weeks his goofy grin came back and people thought he was fine but I knew better. I could see the faltering of that grin when he thought no one was looking, I kept my eye on him watching his movement and how he acted in front of this friends. People thought he was fine and better but that wasn't true, I could still see the broken boy inside all alone desperately wanting to talk to someone about his feelings.

Now that I think about it I really do wish I had talk to him earlier and asked him what was on his mind, but alas I was very shy and awkward to be around so I didn't.

In till a random day in grade 8. I was sitting alone at my table eating my peanut butter sandwhich when he suddenly took a seat beside me. I was both frightened and confused at why he was sitting beside me. His friends were on the other side of the classroom laughing about some random thing on the internet.

"Do you pity me?" He asked me. I swallowed the bread in my mouth and looked at him in surprise. Why the heck was he talking to me? He had friends over THERE not here. I was awkward he wasn't.

Without really thinking I blurted out, "I might not look sad thinking about the topic, but I am. I just don't want you to start getting sad because then I'm going to be sad for you."

He nodded and looked down at my half eaten sandwhich, in a slight trance not for the food but for the memory of this dad. We stayed silent for a minute only hearing the loud laughter of  his friends across the class.

"I miss him." He said suddenly.

"I know." I replied.

He looked up at me in slight surprise.

"I've known always, how your smile dims when people aren't looking. When people talk about their dad and you suddenly become quiet. I know not like other people who wave it off- I understand." I whispered in a hushed tone.

It almost looked like he was about to cry, but he held his ground and looked across his shoulder at his friends. Trying to maintain the cocky, popular figure of course.

"I'm hear to talk , you know." I said, he looked back at me with a tinted smile. "Seriously, you need to talk to anyone I'm hear." Smiling back at him he nodded and quietly whispered a thank you. Getting up from the chair I stopped him suddenly before he could go.

"Wait." I blurted. "Why me?"

He smiled kindly and warmly at me. "Something in my gut told me you would be the one to listen and have my back."

With that he turned around and walked to his friends, leaving me with a tiny growing smile.

And now that we are in grade 9 and we don't have any classes together, we will still see each other in the halls and make sudden eyecontact. He will still looked at me, remembering our conversation and I will too.

Because he knows I have his back and he has mine.