Please don't be too mean! I just wanted to write about something and I figured I might as well share it with the ever kind people of the internet. Feel free to leave some feedback! Again, first story. First anything. I just thought it'd be fun to give it a try.

As I walk into the first day of sophomore year, I'm almost shaking with nerves. Freshman year wasn't the greatest and I'm not expecting much from this year either. My classes are full of people who either hate me for no reason or don't know me but hate me all the same. Whatever. I'm just going to sit in the back and ignore everything. Before I even sit down, the teacher comes in and starts going over the same generic spiel about the same shit as every other teacher does. Is there any getting away from it? Probably not.

I pull out my notebook and begin writing about whatever comes to mind.

Well, here we are again. I'm still trying to figure out why I don't ask mom and dad if I can transfer schools so I can get away from this shitty place. Maybe I'd actually make some friends that don't just want me to do their homework. Or I could find a class I actually want to take instead of being told I have to take the ridiculous classes I'm in now. I don't even care about any of them. I'm just here because I'm forced to. If I had it my way, I'd be roaming the country by myself.

I look out the window and think about what I just wrote. I really do want to go around the world. Travelling is all I've ever wanted to do. But I'm stuck here till I turn 18. After that, I'm leaving. I've been saving as much as I can for it since I decided when I was 8 that it was what I'm going to do. As of today, between birthday money and the extra cash I make from doing jobs around the neighborhood, I have about $1,000 saved so far. I'm hoping to get a job so I can get more money.

I turn back to my notebook and start drawing. I'm not sure what exactly it is I'm drawing but I let my hand go. It's better than paying attention to all the shit about papers we'll be doing and group projects we'll be working on. Heh, yeah right. I'm not working with any of these people. Especially if we have to work on it outside of class. No way I'm risking my life for a grade.

Luckily, classes usually go by quickly when you sleep or take your mind off the boredom. It felt like an hour went by when it was time for lunch. Surprised, I looked up at the clock and saw I'd been drawing the same thing for almost 3 hours. I get up and walk quickly past everyone heading toward the cafeteria. I push the heavy doors open and start walking faster so I lessen the risk of anyone seeing me go to my secret spot. I want to spend the hour for lunch there so I can finally be alone for a little while. If anyone saw where I'm going, they'd surely follow me. Then another hiding spot would be taken over by tons of people.

I made it and I don't think anyone saw me. Good. I always love coming here. I've had this spot for about 3 months and so far, no one else knows about it. I found it last year after my previous spot had been discovered and there were now tons of people in it. I like my new one though. It's a lot better. It's down by the edge of the school grounds. About a 2 minute fast paced walk, down a steep incline. If you aren't prepared, you'll fall flat on your face but I just consider that extra security as well as an alarm system. What better way to stop people from sneaking up on you than to listen for the sound of someone falling?

I climb up a tree so I can have a bit of a view. There's a small pond nearby, just off the school grounds. I like watching the little birds play in the water. It's pretty peaceful and makes for a relaxing break from all the monotonous scurrying of people all day long. I pull out my notebook and start writing about whatever comes to mind. I probably should do the homework assignment so I don't have to worry about it tonight but right now, I just want to hang out. I look down at the pond and sigh, leaning against the tree. "I wish everything could be this peaceful. Maybe then I'd actually want to go do stuff outside instead of just sitting in my room." I mumble to myself, opening up to the page I had been drawing on.

I sat there for the whole hour and let my mind wander. When I heard the 10 minute warning for class, I put my notebook back in my bag and made my way down from the tree. I turned and looked at the pond one last time for the day then started heading back to the school. When I walked up to the doors, I heard a group of people laughing behind me. I felt a chill run down my spine. The day had actually been going quite good until now. I almost thought this year would be different from all the rest. I guess I was mistaken.

I opened the door and walked in, making my way toward the classrooms so I could at least have a little protection from the teachers and their everlasting vigilance for bullying or lewd behavior. Unfortunately, there aren't many people in the hall yet. And none of the few are teachers. Mostly, they're freshmen trying to be early to their classes so they can get good seats and look like good little pupils. This doesn't help my situation, though. Suddenly, I feel someone grab my arm and pull me backward. I thought I was going to slam against a locker but instead, I found the floor.

"Oh, no! You okay, little fag boy?" Adam mused, laughing with his posse of giggly, strung out 'bros'.

"Thanks for the concern, but I think I can manage just fine on my own." I usually try a calm approach that doesn't end in me being shoved around. It doesn't ever work, but I keep hoping one day it will. "I guess you guys can just go back to the stoner corner and pop some more pills."

"Ouch, that wasn't very nice!" Jordan said, holding his chest as though I had actually offended him in some way. I felt a subtle fear start to rise in me when I realized they had slowly moved around me in a way that allowed no escape.

"Are you guys really going to start the year out like this? Can't you at least give me the day?" I only earned a few chuckles as Adam kicked the arm holding me up. I feel my heart jump as I hit the floor with a thud. They laugh and Davis, another of the group, picks me up by my shirt and throws me against the lockers. I wince in pain and they watch as I hold the lockers to keep balanced. I hadn't eaten anything for a few days and this was making me more light headed than I already was.

Thankfully, I heard a door open and a teacher shouted. "What do you guys think you're doing?" When no one answered, she asked in an annoyed tone, "Heeeellllloooo? Can someone tell me what's going on here? Why are all of you standing about?" She walked toward us and the group started smiling and being as polite as their brains would let them.

"Oh, it's nothing, Mrs. Sylvette. We were just talking and comparing schedules." Adam replied, smiling with that well rehearsed smile that made him seem a bit too innocent.

"Yes, well, you're not fooling anyone, Adam. I want you all to go to your classes right now. If I see you out here again, I'll send you to the office for further discipline. Do I make myself clear?" Mrs. Sylvette scolded. Adam nodded, still smiling. "Yes, of course! We'll be sure to keep that in mind." Adam turned to walk away but before he did, he made sure to pull my bag off my shoulder so it spilled everywhere. I'm not too sure why it was unzipped but everything in my bag went all over the floor. They walked away laughing and waving at Mrs. Sylvette.

I slowly bent down to pick up my papers. Luckily there aren't many papers to begin with, considering it's the first day of school and I've only had two classes. As I'm picking up my things, I notice my notebook is gone. I check my bag but it's not there. I start panicking. "Where did it go?" I whisper to myself. I check the pile of paper but it's not there. I check smaller pocket of my bag but nothing. "I don't understand! I put it away, didn't I? Maybe I left it…" Then it clicks. "No…" One of them must've taken it when I wasn't looking.

I look up to see if maybe they're still nearby. They're long gone by now. Since we've been in a lot of the same classes, they know I always carry around my notebook. It's more than just a notebook to me, though. It has all of my drawings, songs that I've wrote, lyrics from songs of my favorite bands that, when taken out of context, sound very violent and almost threatening. That particular notebook has my experience of coming out to my parents as gay, something no one in this school knows. Or at least they weren't supposed to know. I'm sure they'll do something to embarrass me with the information written in that journal.

I stand up and turn toward the doors to leave. I can't handle any more of this day, so I'm going to go hang out in the park till it's an okay time for me to go home.

"And where do you think you're going? Don't you have classes to attend as well, Alex?" Mrs. Sylvette asks in a slightly less harsh voice than she used with Adam.

"I have to cut across the quad to get to it. I'll never make it in time if I go the long way." I lie as I start to turn toward the doors. "The quad doors are still open, aren't they? Class technically hasn't started yet." She nodded and turned back toward her classroom.

"Try not to cause too much trouble this year, young man. I won't always be right here to get you out of those situations you put yourself in." She walks back into her room and closes the door. I walk out of the doors quickly, feeling the welling of tears in my eyes. Why did I always get blamed for this? Why couldn't someone do something so I didn't have to get beat up every day? I sigh and walk through the quad, turning away from the doors and out toward the gates of the school. When I get through them, I feel the tears run down my cheek. "Shit!" I whisper harshly. "Now everyone will know. They'll have a whole new list of things to call me and more people will join in with the names…" I walk through the park and into the woods that surround it. I have a few hiding spots all over town and even in the nearby city. I make sure I always have somewhere to go. I even have a bit of money stashed away in some of them in case I ever need to get really far away. I buried it in small locked boxes in the ground or in a wall so now one would find them unless they were actually looking for them. I even had one in a small hole in a tree near the top.

I sit down at one of the park benches and pull out my phone. I plug in my headphones and turn on my music. I play a few games while waiting for time to pass. I just want to go home so this day can be over. While I'm playing a game, I feel my shoulder starting to throb where I was slammed against the floor and lockers. I pull the shoulder of my shirt down and see a huge bruise starting to form all over my upper arm. I sigh, readjusting my shirt and standing up. "I don't care if I get in trouble anymore. I just want to go home. I slowly make my way to my house. It's only a 15 minute walk so I don't want to run, especially if my parents are home. They hate it when I skip class. Thankfully, no one's home so I can slip inside. I go up to my room and lay down on my bed. I pull out my laptop and turn it on. Maybe checking facebook will bring some good news.

I log on and see I have a lot more notifications than I usually have. I click on them and it takes me to the school page. I read the posts and am horrified as to what they're about.

"Oh my god! I knew he was a freak!"

"That's just nasty! Why would anyone write about stuff like that?"

"He's the disgusting, quiet one, isn't he? I always knew there was something off about him but this?! Wow! No wonder he has no friends!"

I felt my heart skipping beats as I watched the comments get worse.

"This fucking freak should just kill himself! Seriously! I hope he reads this! Hey, you! Do the world a favor and cut your throat! Everyone would be a lot happier!"

"I'm going to punch this faggot in the face when I get the chance! What a goddamned freak!"

I feel my breathing getting erratic as I read all of the comments. "No…" I gasp when I get to a comment posted by Jordan. When I click it, a new tab pops open and the link is to something that should never have been posted.

They scanned and posted every page of my notebook.

So there you have it! The first chapter of the story! Again, please leave feedback! It'd mean a lot! I'm going to make it gradually pick up over time. I didn't want to start out with too much excitement. Saving that for the good bits!

Danke schön!