Greg Matthews.
A nobody to many, even himself, not that he cares. Actually he prefers it. Greedy housewives, abusers, gang leaders, rapists, molesters, careless parents, they all have something in common and Greg sees them all the same.
He sees the...
That morning started like all the others. Greg got out of bed, got changed, and by the time he got downstairs, his father had already gotten ready for the day and was watching the news.
"Police found DNA evidence at the scene, directing them to a member of a local street gang. If you have any information that could lead authorities to Darnell Jackson, please call immediately..."
"We're gonna get this guy for what he did to that poor girl," Jack said, getting up and retrieving his keys.
'Another heroic crusade that will end in disappointment,' Greg thought, promptly leaving for school.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
School also started like all the other days.
First period, Mr. Smith walked in looking like a mess from breaking up another fight, nonchalantly taking attendance.
"Terra Louis."
"Here..." a small voice timidly replied, and even Greg was surprised to hear it, him and some classmates slowly peering over to see if their ears were playing tricks.
"Ah, Miss Louis, glad you could join us today. Just in time for our test," Mr. Smith spoke with a subtly, condescending tone to the snickers of the class.
Throughout class, Greg could feel Terra's eyes on him, but he didn't react. Instead, he focused on the janitor he spotted from his window seat, the man tending to the football field.
The janitor seemed carefree, but their was still a car parked close by, most likely members protecting their leader.
'The Latino gangs focus has been put on their missing leader. Soon you will see that the coast is clear and feel safe being alone again,' Greg thought, reading his psychology book for the remainder of class.
Second and third period also went by as usual, and before he knew it, it was time for lunch. He pulled out his sandwich after finding an empty table in the library, and munched away while continuing to turn the pages of his book.
"Hey... Is this seat taken?"
Greg instantly looked towards the voice to see Terra standing there.
"I guess not..." he muttered back, unsure of what to really say.
Terra didn't hesitate to take a seat, pulling out her own book to bury her nose in.
Neither of them said anything, awkwardly sitting there in silence until Greg finished his sandwich and pretended to still be reading his book he had finished as well.
"I hate math," Terra randomly said, finally breaking the silence. "I can pass all my other classes by taking the book home, but math is pretty hard."
Greg remained silent, but looked up at her, his gaze calculating everything about this strange girl.
'She already knows we don't care, so why is she pretending we do?' he thought, deciding to play along.
"It's not hard, the answers are already there. You just have to do more work to find them."
"Oh, yeah," she chuckled softly. "I guess that is true. I just wish I was better at finding those answers."
Greg picked up on something strange about what she said, but figured he was grabbing at straws, writing out the basic steps for Terra's homework.
"See, that's what you did wrong," he said, pointing to his paper and then her's. "It's a common mistake."
Wanting this interaction to end, Greg looked around to find another section of library to wander off to, venturing off to the automotives section and scanning the books before realizing Terra had followed him.
"Maybe you could help me with math?"
Greg blinked before peering over in confusion.
"I have to watch the store again after school," he said immediately, clearly wanting nothing to do with this proposition.
"Th-That's okay. I can help you and you can help me," she shamelessly continued, though her entire body seemed to be trembling.
"We may not get much studying done though," Greg said, even more confused by her reaction.
"Oh! I-I didn't mean... I mean we shouldn't..."
"I mean we are due for some customers, so we might be pretty busy," he rushed to confirm, slightly annoyed at not finding a subtle way out of this.
Terra's head popped up after having dropped her eyes to the ground, her face alive with enthusiasm and her smile brighter than Greg had ever seen it.
"That's okay! I need all the help I can get!" she exclaimed loudly just to get angrily shushed by the librarian in the background. "I'll meet you after school!"
Greg was left blankly staring after this weird girl as she literally skipped away, leaving him clutching some random book and completely disgruntled as the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch
