The alarm rang out in the dark room. Travis rolled over in his bed, his head throbbing. Not now. He thought to himself. It felt as though his arms and legs were weighted down by heavy lead blocks. He couldn’t bring himself to even sit up. He stared at the cold white ceiling. Should I even go? Is it even worth it? The room was very quiet. He had already been awake for a few hours. The sky was void of any light. 5 minutes passed, then 10. After 30 solid minutes of contemplation, he finally sat up. He stretched his arms and yawned loudly. His head still pounding and aching. A heavy, unexplainable feeling of sadness filled him. He didn’t feel like crying. He just couldn’t right now. He shuffled toward his bathroom and flicked on the bright lights. The light colored tiles were cold. He noticed the blue undertones of them in the darkness. The mirror was dirty and scratched, and the shower curtain looked worn down and old. Dark purple circles underlined his eyes. The freckles on his face were lost due to the odd lighting of the bathroom. His mind was blank. Everything felt desaturated and empty.

Travis shuffled down the stairs. He saw his dad in the old dusty recliner asleep or unconscious, he couldn’t really tell. Beer bottles were sprawled across the floor. The ashtray filled with leftover rolled paper bits and something that couldn’t have been from cigarettes. Travis’ entire being buzzed with anger. He grabbed his money from the counter and slammed the door to the house. The cold winter air hit him like a train. It was crisp and made the tips of his nose and ears hurt. He hopped on his bike and began peddling. He thought about home. He thought about school. None of this pain made any sense. Why did it have to be happening to him? His feet and hands were numb, everything felt clouded, confusing and cold.

He opened the doors and was greeted by warmth. Groups of people were chatting and laughing. The weighted feeling in each of his limbs came back. Overwhelming emotions flooded his head. The image of his father at home was all he could see. His shoulders sank and he put his hands in his hoodie pockets, dark thoughts swirled around in his head. The loud bustle of the hallways seemed distant. Like everything he was experiencing was underwater, while others remained in a normal state. He slowly approached his locker and got his notebooks. He awkwardly situated them in his bag and sighed. He looked down the hallway and saw all the other students talking eagerly to each other. Couples were warmly embracing each other, guys were wrestling and laughing while cliques of girls were whispering to each other, telling one another things that probably shouldn't be told. Within the crowd, he spotted his close friend. She had been there for him since the beginning. He felt his heart start racing as he quickly looked from his locker back to her. They made quick eye contact and she smiled at him happily. He tried to smile back, but looked as though he had just fallen down a flight of stairs and tried to brush it off. She resumed her conversation with her large cluster of friends, half of which he had never even seen before. The small glimmer of hope in Travis faded, right as the loud bell rang.

“Good morning students.” The teacher exclaimed happily. Groups of friends mingled amongst themselves. Nobody responded.

“Alright then, get to your seats.” She said less cheerfully.

“Get out last night’s homework please, we are going over it.”

Some of the students unzipped their backpacks quickly to retrieve their work, while others looked around in desperation with no completed assignment. Travis was one of them. He had completely forgotten. He didn’t even have time to do it either. What am I supposed to say? He rifled through his bag, looking for an assignment he didn’t even have. He pulled out the blank assignment sheet and set it down on his desk. The teacher scanned the room. She finally paused and made direct eye contact with him.

“Travis. Please explain your reasoning for number one.”

He looked helplessly at his paper, which she could clearly tell was void of any answers.

“I don’t have an answer.” Travis murmured quietly.

“Excuse me, please speak up.” He could see the sadistic pleasure in the teacher.

“I. Don’t. Have it.” Travis said loudly.  

The bustle and noise of the students quieted. All eyes were on him. The teacher scoffed.

“Travis, this is what, the seventh time you’ve forgotten your assignment in my class? That is truly unacceptable.”

He fidgeted in his seat, but didn’t break eye contact.

“I am extremely disappointed in you. I’m afraid I don’t have a choice, but I’m going to have to give you detention.” She said sarcastically, pretending to feel bad for him.

Travis sank in his seat. The quiet classroom was now dead silent. The teacher turned back around confidently.

“You really expect a lot from us though.” Travis said flatly

“Excuse me?”

“Not everybody has a perfect environment to work in. You realize that right?”

Students looked at each other bewildered. Travis normally never contributed to the classroom environment.

“I expect each of my students to complete assignments as told to do so Travis. You are being very disrespectful.”

“You just lecture us, make us memorize stuff, and then expect us to learn a lot of work on our own at home. Not everybody can do that for themselves. Not every kid learns that way. Not everybody has a good home to go to.”

The teacher stood bewildered.

“I will see you in the hallway. Pack your things up Travis.”

He grabbed his bag and slammed the door to the classroom.

“Travis. You do not talk to a teacher like that. I don’t know what is going on with you but you have to come to my class to learn, and can’t even do that. I’m writing you up.”

He stood fuming

“You don’t listen to your students! You should be inspiring them to love learning and don’t even try to do that. They bring their problems to school and you should at least try to help.”

“Travis”

“It’s the truth!”

“Go to the office. Now.”

Travis looked to the door, to see students holding their phones up to the window of the door. He angrily spun on his heels and stormed toward the office.

He sat waiting in the quiet office. Monotone ringing came from telephones and printers whirred and clicked. From the all-glass doors and windows he saw his dad hobbling down towards the office. He swung the door open and looked at him with a stone cold expression. Travis was so hyped on adrenaline he looked firmly back at him.

“Mr. Dyer, please sign here to take Travis out.” The office manager lady said in her nasal voice, holding out a pen for him to sign. She had thick rimmed glasses that made her eyes look twice their size. She had a long pointed nose and a girthy double chin. He grunted and messily signed the paper on the clipboard. His dad slowly turned around and looked at him fixedly.

“Let me go pull my truck up. Wait for me outside.”

Travis nodded and stood up. His dad angrily slammed the door to the office. Travis glanced back and saw the manager’s face. She gave him an apologetic look that almost told him, “good luck.”

He stepped out into the empty hallway. Classes let out two hours ago, and the sun was starting to set. He leaned against the wall and looked through his phone. He saw on people’s Instagram and Snapchat stories videos of him telling the teacher off. He looked as though he were going to hit her. No wonder she was so scared of me, he thought to himself. He must not have realized it in the moment.

“Travis?”

He spun around and saw her. Color filled his face as he tripped over his words.

“Woah hey Amy. Why are you here?”

“I just got done with basketball practice. Why are you here?”

“Detention.”

“No way!” She laughed, “What did you do?” He smiled and looked at his feet

“I told off Ms. Simpson.” Her eyes brightened up.

“Oh I heard! Good for you.”

“Thanks.” He murmured.

“Do you have a ride? I think my mom could take you home.”

Travis’ heart sank once more.

“Kaleb is taking me.”

He saw the emotion in her eyes turn to pity.

“Are you sure you want him to take you home?”

He nodded.

“I’ll wait with you.”

The small glimmer of hope came back in Travis.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I feel bad for everything that has happened to you lately.”