Lea had always viewed school as optional, just one of the many paths he may choose to take for the day. Sure, it was the path he chose the least, but he still went twice a week, and that was better than never going. He was smart, despite his lack of proper education, smart enough to know he had no real future ahead of him, and no need to pander to such impossible notions. He spent a lot of his time outside, unafraid of being caught and sent back to the superfluous institution. School wasn't that bad; he did pick it voluntarily and not out of necessity on many occasions. He had a crowd of friends there who always eagerly awaited his return. A couple of them would even skip with him sometimes. If there was anything the other students could glean from Lea the time that he was present, was that he was the life of the party. He was crazy and spontaneous and didn't concern himself with what others thought. You either loved him, or you hated him. He was too extreme to be anything in the middle.
Of course, teachers always picked the latter. He was always a disruption in class, never minded his elders, or adhered to the rules. There was a reason no one really tried to find him when he skipped. All of the faculty at Radiant High knew the redheaded freshman was a lost cause from gossip that his middle school teachers were more than happy to share. All of the faculty, save for Mrs. Leterna.
Mrs. Leterna was an elderly English teacher, who was on the brink of retiring. She should've years ago, as all her fellow educators keep reminding her, but she has a granddaughter to take care of and she could never do that on a fixed income. She liked Lea for some reason no one could trace the origins of, and had a funny way of showing her affection. Instead of hugs, he got extra homework, none of which he had any intention of completing. Instead of pats on the back, he received detention. Instead of grandmotherly advice, he was given afterschool tutoring every Tuesday. And he attended those faithfully, because Mrs. Leterna had figured out of the two days that he came a week, one of those was always a Tuesday. He believed he owed it to her for figuring out his ruse, and he never did like going home on Tuesday. He was running out of things to do to pass the time, so that was a plus. The only thing he hated about the arrangement was the guy tutoring him.
Isa.
When the bell rang and kids began flooding the hallways, he was shot sympathizing looks as he sat there, eyes transfixed on his pencil. Most complained loudly about Isa on his behalf as they marched down the hall. His tutor was none too happy about it. As the room was fully cleared besides the two of them, Isa slammed the door.
"Would it kill you to keep your posse of driveling galoots under control for the time it takes to cross the five feet of this linoleum floor to leave the classroom?" he snapped, left eye twitching dangerously, his teeth bared and face contorted into something feral as he swung his arms feverishly in frustration.
"Would it kill you," Lea countered coolly, leaning back in his seat so the front legs wouldn't touch the floor, "to down a whole medicine cabinet of chill pills?"
"Would it kill you to jump off a building?"
"Hypothetically speaking? Yes." He tucks his arms behind his head and kicks his feet up on an adjacent desk, "But as tempting as that sounds, I think we're here for tutoring, not suicide pacts."
"No, you're here for tutoring. I'm here as punishment for some horrible crime I'm going to commit in the near future, or one I've already committed unknowingly."
"Yo, what's up with you today? I haven't seen you this riled up since Leon put that frog in your locker."
It was odd Isa was being this passionate about something. Normally the guy was like ice, with only one condescending expression, and would only say sarcastic things if provoked thoroughly.
"Oh, you've noticed? Well, nice Isa isn't here today. In fact, he may never come back. So you better learn the material before I stuff this English book down your throat!" The blunette was inching dangerously close, with a finger pointed in his face. His Mediterranean eyes narrowed and flashed with a spark of unbridled animosity.
"Wow. Which side of the bed did you topple off of?" he inquired, taking his feet down from the desk and politely escorting Isa's threatening finger from his face, "I bet it was the wrong one."
"You have no idea." He breathed.
"Oh?"
"No." he jumped back from Lea as if he had been hit, "Nuh-uh. No way I'm telling you. You know where the books are. Read chapters seven through fourteen and try not to bother me."
"Oh, come on, Isa. Not even if I say the magic word?"
"The m—"
"Please?"
"Wha— no! I told you your assignment. Do it before I start giving out demerits."
"You can't do that."
"I can."
Begrudgingly, Lea gets up with a flamboyant groan and walks to the bookshelf. He takes his sweet time looking through the selection, though it's clear the fire truck-red books neatly assembled together are the only ones he can lay a hand on. He hums to himself.
"What are you doing?" Isa asks exasperatedly.
"Getting a book. What are you doing?"
"Baby-sitting a complete fool."
"Ouch. You're breaking my heart here, Isa."
"That's not the only thing I'm going to break if you don't sit down and stay quiet."
He tucked the book under his arm and slipped back into his seat.
"So 'how come' isn't proper English?" he asked after a few pages of reading.
"Maybe in the slums you're from it is."
"How come?"
"I believe the word you're searching for is why."
There was a peaceful silence before Lea spoke up.
"Sometimes I tell my neighborhood's squirrels about my day."
"What." Isa deadpans, "How is that even remotely relevant to anything you're reading—"
"I'm just sayin', if something's eating at you it's better to tell someone, no matter how low the creature, than to keep it bottled up inside." Lea shrugged, only a small amount of sarcasm lacing his words.
Isa stares at him for a moment, his eyes un-narrowing, and for the first time since he's known the guy, Isa doesn't look suspicious. He looks younger, far closer to his own age than he's looked in the longest time. The blunette gets up from his stool and walks over to Lea. Still with a frozen expression, he sits in the desk next to him, his hair bouncing upward as he lands.
Then he breaks out into tears, his chest convulsing uncontrollably.