Being the quiet kid isn't easy. Sure, no one bothers you much, but when things inside of your head get so bad that they're about to come spilling out to anyone, it can be a risky game.
And I've been hiding something for too long now.
With no one to tell my feelings to, lacking trust in anybody that walks these godforsaken halls, I was about ready to implode.
I should probably introduce myself, considering you're here in my thoughts as my only friend and ally in this toying game that they call life.
My name is Salvatore Vulcano, but most people just call me Sal. I'm currently eighteen years of age and attend Monsignor Farrell High School for my final year of school before I pack up and leave for college. I have dark brown hair and green-tinted hazel eyes; a smile that my mother says is as beautiful as the bright blue skies.
I've always known that I was different. I've never really fitted in with anybody and stand here an outcast. I'm the kid that sits at the back of the class and doesn't say a word. I'm the kid that walks about the halls with my head down and eats lunch alone in the bathroom stall, just to be able to avoid people.
That's just the way I like it. No one else to bother me, no one who can hurt me.
On the opposite end of the scale, however, you have kids like Brian Quinn; who prefers to go by Q. He's popular, loved by everyone and throws the biggest parties known across Staten Island. Though, if you cross him...you're in for it.
With long dark brown hair that falls in curtains either side of his face and chocolate eyes to match; he was the epitome of what girls were after. His relationships never lasted longer than a week, to which Brian claims is because he wants to give every girl a shot before school is out for the summer. I tend to believe an alternative reasoning and that it's because he can't keep his hands to himself, especially at those parties of his.
He has a team of people, who I like to call his minions, whom do the dirty work for him. They beat up, mock and bully anyone who goes against Brian after school hours out on the field where no teacher bothers to check once school has kicked out for the day.
Luckily for me, my path has never crossed with his. I go unnoticed amongst the crowds and keep to myself. No connections equals no trouble in this school. I just feel sorry for the nerdy kids who particularly get picked on by his crew just by looking at one of them in the wrong way.
Heading home just like I always did, I pulled up on the driveway and parked my all-black 1991 Subaru SVX. Grabbing my backpack and exiting out of the car, I threw one strap over my shoulder and stepped up to the front door.
Once inside, I kicked my sneakers off into a messy pile of shoes by the front door and threw my hoodie lazily along one of the coat hooks. Taking a detour through the kitchen to pick up a slice of pizza from last night's leftovers, I headed straight upstairs and closed my bedroom door behind me.
I turned my speakers on to let Wu-Tang play out around my room, before reluctantly pulling out my homework from my backpack and throwing the books out onto my bed, sighing heavily to myself.
Working through the questions as best as I could, with the sun gradually setting outside, I soon heard the return of my mother from a day's work. If I were to consider anyone a friend on this planet, it would be her. I felt like I could tell her anything...well, almost anything.
"Sal, you home?" She called upstairs.
"Yeah, Ma." I answered, heaving my heavy bones off of the bed and making my way downstairs to greet her.
I found her in the kitchen as she turned to the sound of my footsteps. "Good day at work?"
"The usual." She shrugged. "How was school?"
"The usual." I mocked jokingly, wrapping my arm over her shoulders and pulling her into a side hug.
"Have you eaten?" She asked after pulling away.
"I had some pizza when I got home but not much else." I explained. "Want me to heat some up for you?"
"No, it's okay, Son." She smiled at me. "Go on, you can go back to doing your homework now."
"Maybe later we can watch a movie?" I suggested, raising a brow as my mother nodded her head, letting her hand run down the side of my face.
"I'd love that."
She really is my best friend. Compared to others, our house wasn't the biggest or the cleanest, but it was enough for her and I. My mom worked hard to raise me and I owed her a lot. She is the strongest person that I know.
**
Following a night of homework and watching our favourite movie together, I made my weary way to bed, begrudgingly setting my alarm for school the following morning.
I was just climbing into bed, when I heard hooting and hollering from outside of my window. Pulling the drapes back just enough to look out, I could see a pick-up truck speeding down the road. Four hooded figures sat in the back, throwing toilet rolls and god knows what else over branches of trees and aiming for house windows.
One rolled out across the front yard, unravelling down to the driveway, where the almost empty roll knocked into the wheel of my car. As I looked up to the truck, I could pick out one of the faces under the glowing of the streetlights.
It was Brian. He was smiling and laughing with his crew as they continued causing mayhem down my street. I sat and stared for a little while longer, until the truck turned off down into the adjacent road and they were out of sight.
Laying back down in bed, I sighed deeply in thought as I propped my arms behind my head and stared mindlessly at the ceiling. I was lost in my mind, wondering and trying to figure out what it was that made me so different.
I had never had a girlfriend in my eighteen years of life, unless you count my first-grade friend, Hailey. She was my best friend for years, until her family had to move states for her dad's job. Ever since, I had been a lone wolf when it came to school. I kept to myself and grew into the habit of just being the quiet one. People don't notice me and I'm okay with that.
Rolling over, I could see the illuminating red light of my alarm clock telling me that it had gone midnight. It was the start of a new day doing the same old routine; get up, get dressed and go to school. The joys of high school.
Something felt odd this time though. I felt like today was going to be the start of something new, but I couldn't quite work out what it was exactly. Let's see what the future brings my way.
YOU ARE READING
Die A Little
Fanfiction[Book One of Die A Little Series] Full story adaptation of the original 'Boy in the Bubble' one shot. Set in high school, Sal is the quiet kid at the back of the class with a weighing thought on his mind. He's always known that he was different, bu...
