Oscar Glyde Won't Heal Your Pride

43: The Trolls of Atenamal High

Chapter 43: The Trolls of Atenamal High

[Cafeteria, Atenamal Regional High, 12:05 PM]

(Oscar sits at a table alone; his salad turns to tough gum in his mouth; he's shrunken in his seat at his round, empty table, surrounded by bustling, loud students)

[Boys' bathroom, Atenamal Regional High, 12:12 PM]

(Oscar crouches in front of the toilet heaving; sweating, flushed and feeling miserable he flushes and swings open the stall door; Jakob is standing in the middle of the bathroom, staring at him; Oscar gives him a look as he walks to the sink and turns on the tap)

[English classroom, Atenamal Regional High, 1:36 PM]

MS OVAL: "Oscar?"

(Oscar looks up slowly from his notebook, face placid)

MS OVAL: "What was I talking about, just now?"

(Oscar takes a while to process what she's saying)

OSCAR: (voice drawling and uninterested) "You were... I don't know."

MS OVAL: "So if you paid attention, you would get your money's worth out of this lesson. We have five terms on the whiteboard. Juxtaposition, allusion, antecedent, indefinite pronoun, and indirect object. Why don't you come up to the board and write the definition for one of these?"

(again, Oscar takes a moment to process; then he stands and walks up to the board; takes marker from Ms Oval; he looks at the options; he writes an 's' at the end of 'indefinite pronoun' and beneath it writes 'murderers')

(the class starts murmuring; Ms Oval is exclaiming something at Oscar but he's walking out of class)

...

[Mr Goering's office, Atenamal Regional High, 3:27 PM]

(Oscar walks into Goering's office; Goering is just packing his satchel)

MR GOERING: (in a rush) "Sorry, Oscar, I've got a meeting to catch."

OSCAR: (standing in the doorway) "Didn't you hear about what happened?"

(...)

(Goering speeds past Oscar and out the door; Oscar follows him out of the office and into the hallways)

OSCAR: "What's wrong with you? The one time you need to do your job and you run away..."

(Oscar follows him out into the parking lot)

OSCAR: "What do you have to run from, Goering?!"

MR GOERING: (turning around in a swish of cardigans and ties) "From failure, Oscar. That's what I have to run from. So if you'd just let me - " (continues speeding to the staff parking lot)

OSCAR: (yelling after him; hopeless and with a flat voice) "I never thought you were weak."

(Goering stops in his tracks; doesn't turn around; continues and starts unlocking his car; Oscar marches over)

OSCAR: "Goering - " (opens and closes his mouth a few times; his voice is small and hopeless) "I don't know what to do."

(...)

(Goering has one knee in the car)

MR GOERING: (snappy) "You need to pull yourself together and remember what I told you, about not letting other peoples' misfortunes bring you down with them." (gets in car, closes door, starts engine)