Airplanes | Spruceworth 6.1 | Wattys2019

Chapter 5: Unexpected Comfort

Chapter 5: Unexpected Comfort

       It was almost like my past was coming to haunt me and there was nothing I could do to escape it. Everywhere I went, everything I did, was just a reminder of how I lost the greatest opportunity of my life.

       Everything was my fault. I knew it was but I still didn't want to be reminded of what I did. I didn't want to hate myself more than I already did.

       The orchestra from the school I was supposed to attend decided that they should go to a school in the middle of nowhere to perform. Out of all the places, they just had to come to Spruceworth.

       They were going to be performing during third period, which made things a lot worse for me. If I went to school, I would feel worse than I already did. If I didn't, I would get in a lot of trouble from Dad.

       My dilemma was deciding which one I would rather endure.

       I already knew. I already had my answer as soon as it was announced the orchestra from the LM Conservatory of Music, I knew I wasn't going to go. I'd rather face my dad getting mad at me for skipping.

       I didn't even want to stay at home while I was skipping and after walking around the village for a bit, I found the perfect place. There was a walkway high above the ground near the outskirts of Spruceworth, a medium height stone wall on the side of the outskirts and a wooden fence on the side of the village.

       I noticed not too many people came up here during the day so it was the perfect place for me to stay. Even though there were a few benches on the walkway, I decided to sit on the ground by the wooden fence. 

       Shortly after the time class started, I received a few missed calls and texts from Dad so I just turned off my cell phone as to not be bothered by them.

       So many negative feelings were coursing inside of me; dejection, shame, failure. My whole life was falling apart from the seams and there was nothing I could do to fix it permanently.

       But at least there was a temporary solution. A solution I knew I shouldn't turn to but I did anyway. I couldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried.

       I wasn't a fool enough to drink openly in public without disguising the bottle I drank from. That was the easiest thing to do. I just had to grab a normal water bottle and pour the drink in there. Nobody would pay attention to a teenager simply drinking out of a water bottle.

       After taking a few sips, I sighed and rested my head back against the fence, closing my eyes. I could slowly sense the negative feelings fading, but for the most part it was still there. I knew it wasn't going to fade completely but at least enough for me to ignore everything.

       Well, almost everything.

       I heard someone walk over and sit down beside me so I sighed and said, "Please, go away. I want to be alone."

       "If you want to be alone, then it might not be the best idea sitting on the walkway. Especially during school hours. Speaking of, shouldn't you be there right now?"

       As soon as I heard the voice, I opened my eyes and looked over. "Shouldn't you?"

       "Come on, you really think I'd want to sit through an orchestra, watching them play songs like The Five Seasons and The Magic Flute?" Grant asked. "Boring."

       I snorted. "Sounds to me you're a huge fan of classical music. Why are you here anyway?"

       "Don't you listen?" Grant asked. "I just said I don't want to sit through an orchestra. That, and Hennessy is worried about you. She saw you earlier but then you didn't show up for science class. And she's too scared to skip to find you so I did it because I, again, didn't want to see the orchestra."