Beep! Beep! Beep!
"UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH." Dan groaned under the faded,hole-covered blankets
. He yawned and shifted in a way to where he was now facing the source of the obnoxious sound: the alarm clock. After forcing his eyes open and groggily making himself sit up, he flipped the switch to 'OFF' to make the annoying noise cease. Once he was done stretching out his arms and legs, Dan made his way across the trash heap he called his room. The young boy pulled up the blinds on his window. He shielded his eyes, in preparation for the glaring sunlight that he thought would surely stream in…Instead, he heard the heavy pitter-patter of rain pouring from the gray, dreary sky above.
"...Great…...Just what I need." he mumbled to himself while rummaging through a pile of laundry on his floor for an outfit to wear for the day.
He threw on a wrinkled T-shirt and a pair of jeans with grass stains all over them. Now all that he needed to do was to do something about the tangled mess that was his hair. Typically, he would not have cared to go to such lengths as to comb it or lather it in gel...but...but today was...different.
Ten minutes passed and Dan emerged from the bathroom, hair spiffed up and looking neat. He sauntered over to his old backpack with missing zippers. After cramming in a few pieces of homework, he exited his bedroom. He made his way down the seemingly endless hallway. The walls were covered with mold and picture frames were uneven. The carpet below was an ugly yellow sort of color with stains of who-knows-what all over. This was nothing new to Dan. This is the kind of surrounding he's always known.
After what seemed to be eternity, he finally made it to the end of the long, narrow corridor and was now in the front room. With calm, emotionless eyes he took it all in. The shattered bottles of beer, the television stuck on the channel of static, papers and clothing lying on the floor. He also noted that the air smelled heavily of cigarette smoke and alcohol…...Nothing new here. He huffed and staggered over to the couch of which is mother laid sprawled upon, snoring loudly. Her hair was in tangles and her pajamas were shabby. In her right hand was a half empty flask of whiskey. Nothing new here either.
"Hey...hey, mom. Wake up." The sixth grader nudged his parental guardian.
Nothing.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mom. Get up. I have school to get to."
The woman groaned and opened one eye to look at her son. A scowl formed on her face.
"The hell did you wake me up for?"
"I need to get to school, mom." Dan huffed.
"Pfft, you have two feet, don't ya? Get there yourself and stop fucking bothering me, you little brat." she grumbled, placing her head back on the pillow.
"But I'll be late AGAIN if I have to walk there….AGAIN." he pointed out, crossing his arms.
The response he got was a hard, slap across the face. He fell to the cluttered floor and cupped the side of his face impacted by the hit. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to prevent tears from rising. A pained hiss escaped his mouth. Slowly, he then looked up at his attacker who had risen to her feet. She gave him a cold, unapologetic glare. With a quick swipe, she snatched her son's shirt by the collar and looked him right in the eye.
"Listen, kid and listen good: Do NOT sass me. I'm the one in charge here. If I say "jump", you say "How high?". DON'T talk back. Got it?" she growled menacingly.
Dan, still slightly in shock, said and did nothing.
His mother sharply shook him by the collar. "GOT IT?!"
This time, the boy gave a slow, single nod. He kept his eyes cast downward.
"Good." she smirked. "Maybe you ain't so stupid after all." After releasing her tight grip on Dan's shirt, she got back on the couch.
The tween sat up, hesitantly and dusted himself off. After he rose to his feet, he turned his head towards his parental unit.
"...Don't you even know what today is?" he mumbled softly. There was a tad of emotional hurt in his voice.
The woman just shrugged. "Yeah, it's Tuesday. Duh. Now go on. Get outta here. Sheesh, how damn hard is it to get some peace and quiet?" She turned herself around, obviously going back to sleep.
Dan sighed and slowly made his way out the door. The heavy rain poured on him as he tried run towards Van Nuys Elementary. Lightning flashed across the dreary sky and thunder boomed loudly. A harsh, chill wind blew strongly against Dan as he dashed down sidewalks and around curbs. He zig-zagged around bystanders on the streets as quickly as he could, clinging onto the false hope that he would somehow not be tardy. His face still stung from the blow received by his mother. Her cruel words still words still rang in his ears. This wasn't a first. He lost count of the number of times he's been physically and emotionally abused by his parent. But did she have to be so cruel TODAY? Doesn't she know that it's more than just another Tuesday? Didn't she realize that this day was-
BRRRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGG!
His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the final bell. He looked up and saw that his school was about a block away. Dan exhaled heavily and picked up speed.
Great. He was going to be late...once more. This morning was starting off fabulously.
He burst through the main entrance and zoomed down the halls. Making a sharp left turn, he sped up the stairs as fast as he could, not wanting to be any more tardy than he already was. As soon as he reached the second floor, a tall, middle-aged woman with violet suit and maroon glasses stepped in front of the tween. Uh oh. Principal alert. She took off her glasses and polished them.
"And just where do you think you are going, young man?" she asked coldly, her foot tapping against the tile floor.
Dan shifted uncomfortably. "Um, to my first class?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, now?"
"Uh...yeah…"
The principal crossed her arms. "Hmmmm...I believe that first hour started ten minutes ago. Any reason why you are just now going there?"
Dan bit his lip and looked downward. "Er, I…..uh...I...overslept?"
"Is that so?" the woman queried.
"Y-yes, ma'am." he mumbled, fidgeting with his backpack.
The principal sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Dan, do you have any idea how many tardies you have? I'm afraid I'm going to have send you to detention after school this afternoon."
"W-what?!" the boy exclaimed. "But that's not fair!"
The woman glared at him. "How so? You can't just be late all the time and receive no punishment. Sorry, Dan. Maybe now you'll learn to be more punctual. Now, run off to your class."
"Hmph. Fine." he huffed while trudging down the long corridor. Great. Just flippin' great. First, the rain. Then, his asshole mother. After that, his run to school in the freakin' downpour. And now a detention!
This could NOT get any worse. he thought to himself as he entered the class only to receive a disapproving glare from his teacher, Mrs. Burswell. Life sure likes to prove me wrong, doesn't it?
"Well, well. Look who FINALLY decided to arrive. Class, how many times has this young man been late so far?" she quizzed.
Little Suzie Sue raiser her hand. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Burswell. I lost count after 22."
"Last I checked it was...33!" Benny piped up.
"Nuh uh! It was 34!" retorted Mike.
The teacher raised both her hands, signaling for silence. "Alright, alright, students. The point has been made." She craned her head over to Dan who was blushing from humiliation. "YOU may go take a seat." The young boy did as he was told and slowly made his way to his desk, many pairs of eyes glaring at him.
The woman cleared her throat. "Okay, class. Get with your groups and start discussing your projects."
What the heck is she saying? What projects? I don't remember being assigned anything!
Dan raised his hand sheepishly. "Uh, ….what...projects? And, er, what group am I in...exactly?"
"Ah, well, if you made it to class on time, perhaps you would already know." She scowled at him for a minute, though it felt like an hour. She rolled her eyes and groaned. "You are in group number 2, Dan. Your fellow group members will tell you what the project is."
"Okay...where's group 2 at?" he asked, averting her eyes.
Mrs. Burswell sucked in her cheeks and sighed. "Over in back corner."
"Thanks." he grumbled while going over.
As he joined the group, the other kids just stuck their noses in the air and pretended that he was not even there. They ignored his questions and left him in the dark. Dan wasn't really too surprised by this mistreatment. He's not exactly well-liked by anyone at school. Classmates would taunt and tease him. They'd make fun of his worn out clothes, his dirty hair, the fact that he basically had to walk to school everyday, his lack of friends, and so on. The teachers did not take notice or if they did, they most certainly did not care in the slightest. In fact, they may have even enjoyed it. Was it humorous to see a student with a record for bad behavior get picked on? Did anyone ever wonder why he wore the clothes he had or acted the way he did?
Did anyone notice the scars?
While so deep in thought, Dan unconsciously brought a hand to rub the side of his face of which was hit earlier by his mother. The action caused a stinging sensation and he quickly pulled his hand away. A sharp, pained hiss escaped his mouth. This caused a few children in the group to look over at him with puzzled expressions. One girl noticed the slightly red side of his face.
"Hey." she pointed. "What happened to your cheek?"
Dan crossed his arms and looked down. He knew she was asking just out of curiosity and not of concern. Whatever. It's not like he expected anybody in the whole stinkin' school to give two cents about him. Heck, he didn't expect anyone in the entire world to care about his well being in the slightest.
(End of Part One)