Griffin
Nothing had worked, nothing would work. I stared at myself in the grubby school bathroom mirror and felt the anger bubble in me. I was always scared. Always. The footsteps, the chatter, the creaking of doors, it all scared me. Someone could walk in right now and see me. Me, a monster.
I had become distant at school, not wanting to say anything that would expose me. And none of my friends had really noticed. They are the kind of people that like to talk about themselves. Nothing else. They are the popular people. And I guess I could be classified as one too, but I don’t pay much attention to being ‘popular’ anymore. I don’t really pay much attention to anyone. Some days I wish I was the old me. The one with not a care in the world. The person who hated people who were not ‘normal’. People like Magicks. Sometimes I wish I was just like everyone else, I wish I was normal.
The door burst open and a tall, pale skinned kid wearing a black suit and a top hat, strode into the room. I glanced across at the kid, Claude. We used to be friends, we were inseparable, until the fight. Then we stopped talking, we stopped noticing each other. It hurt me. He didn’t even seem to care. The last thing he said was he wanted me dead. And he meant it.
I stared into his black eyes, those beautiful, beautiful eyes, they had always reminded me of the galaxy. As we stared at each other I felt our worlds collide once again. I tried to say something, to say sorry, but the words just lodged in my throat, making it hard to breathe. But he said it first.
“I’m sorry, Griffin,” He said, his voice calmed me, made me feel safe, feel warm inside. But he looked so sad, so broken, and it was all because of me.
I heard the door open again, and there was Miles, my friend, the one that ruined everything. I glanced at Claude, he was trembling, eyes wide. Miles stared at me, saw the shock on my face and lunged, planting his fist into Claude's stomach. I heard Claude call out in pain. In fear. He fell to the ground, wincing.
I heard Miles laugh, his horrible hollow laugh, but it seemed so far off. It felt like I was floating further and further away. Then I heard it, the horrible crack as Mile’s foot slammed into Claude’s back. Again and again. I heard Claude's screams, the screams that made me shiver, that made me go cold. And I was just standing there. Again.
“Griffin,” Claude whispered, his voice cracking, eyes filling with tears. “Go. P-please,”
I stared into his eyes, the galaxy surrounding me, enveloping me. I wanted to help. But like last time I was stuck, it felt like I was stuck in space, unable to move, unable to breathe. I wanted to reach out. Wanted to stop Miles, to save Claude.
“Fag!” Miles yelled, his voice getting louder, more aggressive, “Pathetic little fag!”
Miles kept going. Over and over again like waves, and each time Claude tried to get up he got pushed down again by another wave. Another reckless wave. And there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing I did, do about it. Miles had started drawing attention to the bathroom, crowds gathered at the door, cheering him on. ‘What is wrong with this world?’ the thought engulfed me, and I slipped further away from the scene, it seemed like a movie, but so real. Too real.
Suddenly I felt angry, so angry. Everything I had been trying to ignore, all my sadness, my regret. It all came spilling out, crashing over me. I was shaking, trembling, every inch of my body felt like it was on fire. I was breaking free, breaking free from a cage that had been getting smaller and smaller, a cage that had held me captive for years.
And then everything went blue, a bright, bright blue. Like the sky. All the sounds, the shouting, the laughing, the taunts, they all merged into one piercing high pitched sound. I grabbed onto Claude's hand and pulled him away. Away from Miles, from the cruelty. It felt like I was flying, I was finally free. Free from regret.
And then we were gone, me and Claude. We were gone, floating on a cloud.
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