Oakleaf Academy For Boys

thirteen

Lucky was sat behind the outdoor equipment shed with his new best friend. The two had their backs leant up against the wooden wall, their legs sprawled out before them, absentmindedly ripping up pieces of grass. It was peaceful out here, away from the chaos of the school, merely the sound of birds and the faint grumble of shouts from the courtyard.

"That's really sweet, Lucky." Benji pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "But I should head home for half term. My Mum needs me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucky pried curiously.

"Y-You know, just that she misses me." He carefully replied. "Your parents probably do too. I don't want to intrude-"

"You're not intruding." He rolled his eyes. "I just don't want you putting yourself in danger for no reason other than you being too polite to accept an offer!"

Benji froze, the grass clasped in his hand slipping through his limp fingers. "P-Putting myself in danger?" He whispered.

Lucky sighed heavily, casting his grey eyes onto Benji's baby blue ones. "Save us both the time and don't bother denying it, yeah?" He said dryly. "I know you have a shitty home life. You're always jumping and giving me your food. You're generous, like you're trying to buy my kindness so I don't beat the shit out of you. You never even talk about your parents, Pup. Just admit it."

Benji was seconds away from opening his mouth and spilling a million different lies and excuses. But he stopped himself, knowing it would be futile. Lucky had already figured it out, and no matter what Benji said, Lucky would know the truth. He wasn't gullible enough to believe that Benji was fine. "Okay." He muttered.

"Okay?"

"Well, what d'you want me to say?"

"I don't know...something. Anything."

"There's nothing to say." Benji whispered. "My Dad likes to hurt his family, so what? It happens every day to a million different people all around the world. There's no use crying about it."

"But it's not right. You can't just accept that-"

"Look, maybe I deserve it, alright?"

Lucky froze, his lips parted, his brows twitching into a frown. "You're kidding...right?" He questioned uncertainly.

Benji sighed heavily and buried his chin between his knees, his freckled cheeks squishing in the process, "We're all screwups here. We've all fucked up."

"That's completely different."

"How?" Benji whispered softly. "I must have done something pretty shitty to end up here. So, maybe I deserve everything I get."

"That's not true. What could you have possibly done to-?"

"I almost killed him." He uttered in a voice so small, it was barely audible.

"Who?" Lucky's brows furrowed in confusion. "Your Dad?"

"I stabbed him."

He didn't try and defend his actions. He didn't give an explanation or a brief description of events. He left it as it was. Plain and simple. Benji Cooper stabbed his Father - that's all there was to it. Because at the end of the day, no one cares if it was self defence. No one cares if Mr Cooper deserved it for abusing his family. All anyone cared about was the fact that he was stabbed by his own son.

Lucky was silent. He leant back against the shed and tilted his head up to gaze at the sky. "I saw a baby bird this morning." He said, his eyes following a flock of crows gliding across the cloudy sky. "They're ugly lil' things, aren't they?"