A Physics Prodigy From Ukraine
13.
“Hey! Ryan!”
I looked up from the pavement.
My fingers tightened around the strap on my bag as I spotted Brendon at the end of the street.
He was waving.
He was also wearing glasses.
And standing with ‘friends’.
I vaguely recognised a couple of them.
I hesitated at the bus stop and stared at my shoes.
Brendon took a step forward.
He looked back at the other people.
His ‘friends’.
He smiled.
“Ryan, this is Patrick - Patrick, this is Ryan, who I was telling you about?”
I couldn’t see Patrick’s face behind his mop of fluffy ginger hair.
I didn’t want to.
They had spoken about me.
I could hear him though.
“Hi Ryan.”
He was smiling.
I kept my eyes to the ground.
I could feel someone else about to say more, but the bus pulled up.
I got on.
Everyone stared.
Brendon sat down behind Patrick and beckoned to me to sit beside him.
He was acting like nothing had ever happened.
I was glad.
I didn’t want to be alone at this school.
The bus had just pulled out of the stop and I felt myself descending into an internal frenzy.
I pulled a strip of Sertraline from my bag, and a bottle of lemonade.
Brendon frowned.
“That’d better not be valium.”
Oh, so he did remember.
Things were awkward.
I shook my head.
It couldn’t be valium anyway.
Jon had taken that too.
I was left with Sertraline and antibiotics.
And a stupid place at this stupid school.
It wasn’t even the start of term.
We had three months until the summer holidays.
Someone tapped my shoulder.
“What, you a junkie now too, fag?”
I froze, the pills between my teeth.
They wouldn’t dissolve if I didn’t swallow the.
They tasted fucking nasty.
I heard Patrick twist in his seat.
“Jared, shut the fuck up.”
Jared, or who ever he was, guffawed.
He grabbed my arm.
“Aw, Ryan, diddums. Did you think I’d just forget?”
Forgotten what?
I certainly had.
I looked up from the pavement.
My fingers tightened around the strap on my bag as I spotted Brendon at the end of the street.
He was waving.
He was also wearing glasses.
And standing with ‘friends’.
I vaguely recognised a couple of them.
I hesitated at the bus stop and stared at my shoes.
Brendon took a step forward.
He looked back at the other people.
His ‘friends’.
He smiled.
“Ryan, this is Patrick - Patrick, this is Ryan, who I was telling you about?”
I couldn’t see Patrick’s face behind his mop of fluffy ginger hair.
I didn’t want to.
They had spoken about me.
I could hear him though.
“Hi Ryan.”
He was smiling.
I kept my eyes to the ground.
I could feel someone else about to say more, but the bus pulled up.
I got on.
Everyone stared.
Brendon sat down behind Patrick and beckoned to me to sit beside him.
He was acting like nothing had ever happened.
I was glad.
I didn’t want to be alone at this school.
The bus had just pulled out of the stop and I felt myself descending into an internal frenzy.
I pulled a strip of Sertraline from my bag, and a bottle of lemonade.
Brendon frowned.
“That’d better not be valium.”
Oh, so he did remember.
Things were awkward.
I shook my head.
It couldn’t be valium anyway.
Jon had taken that too.
I was left with Sertraline and antibiotics.
And a stupid place at this stupid school.
It wasn’t even the start of term.
We had three months until the summer holidays.
Someone tapped my shoulder.
“What, you a junkie now too, fag?”
I froze, the pills between my teeth.
They wouldn’t dissolve if I didn’t swallow the.
They tasted fucking nasty.
I heard Patrick twist in his seat.
“Jared, shut the fuck up.”
Jared, or who ever he was, guffawed.
He grabbed my arm.
“Aw, Ryan, diddums. Did you think I’d just forget?”
Forgotten what?
I certainly had.