i sat down in my seat at the lunch table after witnessing a random boy shout at someone and tell them to fuck off for no apparent reason. everyone was staring at this new kid, who had just had a go at another student for seemingly just wanting to sit with them. they all looked away when he shot them a menacing glare however.
"what's the deal with that new kid? he hasn't even been here a day and he's already causing trouble." my best friend mark asked to the group sat at my table. my friendship group consisted of my friends mark, ken, bob, wade and ethan.
"well i heard he got manage moved here, so of course he's gonna be trouble." bob responded. someone replied by asking what that meant, so he elaborated.
"basically his old school didn't want him anymore because he was a pain in the ass so they shoved him in this dump." everyone nodded slowly. i looked down at my food and started eating, listening in on the conversation going on between my friends.
"one of us should go up to him." wade suggested.
"and say what?" mark asked, sounding slightly annoyed but also intrigued.
"i dunno, ask him if he's alright." wade replied.
"do you actually care about his wellbeing or do you just wanna see how he reacts?" mark inquired.
"bit of both. mainly the latter." i rolled my eyes and remained silent. i didn't like to talk whilst i was eating. i considered it rude table manners. that's when everybody exchanged looks and then began staring at me, and i couldn't ignore it anymore.
"what?" i asked in irritation. they all smirked before ken spoke.
"do it." i gazed at them in bewilderment, knowing exactly what they meant.
"no. i'm not talking to him."
"why not?!" everyone asked.
"because i don't wanna get yelled at and possibly beaten up. one of you guys do it if you want to talk to him so badly." i continued to eat my food.
"but out of all of us you have the friendliest demeanour." i ignored them at first but they wouldn't shut up. they just kept egging me on and on until eventually i gave in to their demands.
"fine. but you all owe me a dollar once i'm done." they all nodded, agreeing that it was a fair trade. i looked over at the boy, who was now very calmly eating a sandwich, and groaned. i really didn't want to do this. honestly i was quite scared. he didn't seem all too friendly like i was. i took a deep breath before standing up and walking over to him, leaving the safety of my own table.
i wasn't even that close to his table when he noticed me making my way towards him. he just stared at me whilst very slowly nibbling on his sandwich. he didn't look too mad.
yet.
finally i was by his table, and standing relatively close to him. i didn't want to stand right next to him incase i disrespected his boundaries. i smiled at him out of kindness and to show him i was only there to be nice. he didn't smile back. he just stared at me with a cold look and didn't say a word.
"hey...my name is felix." i started, thinking he might engage in conversation with me and share his name with me.
"okay." was all he said. that instantly made things even more awkward than they already were.
"what's your name?" i asked as kindly as possible so i didn't set him off.
"seán. but my friends call me jack. well, they would if i had any friends." i nodded slowly, not really knowing what to say. i was about to ask him how he was, but he spoke before i could.
"are you talking to me because you genuinely want to be my friend or because if you talk to me you feel like you're doing a good deed and therefore you'll get a kick out of it and feel better about yourself as a human being? either way, i'm not interested." this guy was certainly on a whole new level of lonely. but he seemed to be perfectly fine with that. in fact, he seemed to prefer it that way.
"i uh...i just..." i was dumbfounded. i didn't know how to react. he stared at me patiently, waiting for me to finish.
"sorry for disturbing you. goodbye." i started to walk away when i heard his voice.
"what was your name again? felix, right?" i turned around slowly and nodded.
"usually i'd tell people like you to fuck off and go fuck themselves. but you're kinda hot, so i'm gonna let you off and just tell you very politely to please leave me alone and never speak to me again." if i wasn't lost for words before, i was completely and utterly speechless now.
"uh...i, uh...t-thank-"
"i said never speak to me again." he then flashed me a smile for the first time ever, but i knew it wasn't genuine. i then turned around without saying another word and made my way back to my table. it was when i got there and sat down that i fully processed what he'd said...he called me 'kinda hot'?
"what did he say?" mark asked when i sat down. i sighed and shrugged.
"he told me to leave him alone."
"is that it? boring." ken commented before they changed the subject entirely. as they talked to one another i looked back at the boy one last time to realise that he was staring at me. when our eyes locked he frowned and looked away, not looking back once. i turned away, not facing his direction again that entire lunch break. i was so intrigued by him. i wanted to get to know him, but he didn't want to get to know me. or anyone, for that matter.
