Days Like These

It was Monday when both boys went back to school. On their way there, they did not talk. Kellin was in too much pain and Vic was too confused. They still walked to each other to the lockers, just no jokes or words were exchanged. This is the one thing Kellin wanted to prevent. He didn’t like the awkwardness but Vic now knew. When they got to class, Vic plopped himself in his seat while Kellin slowly sank down.

“Kellin,” Vic began. “Are you ok?” all he got in response was a nod. With a sigh, he wrapped an arm around him and leans on him. Kellin tensed up a bit, but slowly relaxed into Vic’s hold. “If you ever need someone, I’m here. Ok?” with a small sniffle, he nodded again.

Kellin was called to the principal’s office during their class. Vic turned to look at him. His face paled and body frozen. With a sigh, he got up carefully as everyone caused a bit of commotion while he walked out the door.

When he got to the office, the secretary looked at him with sorrow-filled eyes. She signaled him to the principal’s office. He knocked hesitantly on the door as he stood in the doorway. The principle looked up, his greying hair and mustache makes him appear older than he was.

“Please, sit. Get as comfortable as you need. I think we might be here a while.” Kellin sat on the cushioned chair, internally sighing as he felt pressure being taken off his rear end. The principle, whose name on the plaque said Mr. Hobbes, stood and closed the door. At this action, Kellin tensed a bit. Noticing his shoulders were hunched, Mr. Hobbs said. “Relax, you’re safe here. I’m not here to hurt you.” The sincerity in his eyes and voice let Kellin cautiously lean back. “By law, I am forced to talk to you after the nurse, Ms. Higgins, explained what had happened last Wednesday. I genuinely care about your wellbeing Kellin. Do not think of me as someone who is snooping around in your personal life. Now, I want to get to know you better. Tell me a little bit about yourself.”

“I …” where could he begin? What should he hide and what should he not hide?

“There’s no pressure. Tell me what you want to tell me.” That made it a lot easier on the
scared boy.

“I’m, um, sixteen and I like to listen and write music I guess.” He whispered. This was weird to him. Before he moved here, not a lot of people asked him things about himself.

“That’s good. What kind of music do you like?”

“Indie, rock, a bit of pop and I think that’s it.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be a singer or a song writer; maybe a photographer? I think I want to be a little bit of three.”

“I think you can do it. Just put your mind to it.” That’s how it went for the rest of the period. Kellin and Mr. Hobbs were talking like old friends but the toughest part for the principle has yet come. When the bell for third period rang, he knew he didn’t have enough time. Not wanting to keep him from his studies, he asked. “How are things at home Kellin?”

“Um, there good.” Kellin saw this coming but he was at least grateful that the principle attempted to get to know him before asking.

“How’s the relationship with your parents?” both males could feel the air tense.

“My mom, um, left when I was four.”

“And how about with your dad?” he asked in a calm, slow manner.

“It’s good.”

“Does your dad talk about your mom?”

“No, he used to get upset when I asked about her.”

“What would he do when he got upset?”

“Lock himself in his room.”

“How old were you at the time?”

“I was five or six.”

“Do you ever wish to leave?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“We’re all each other have.”

“Does he abuse you in any way, shape or form?”

“No.”

“Then why was he aggressive with the nurse? Why did he threaten to hurt a student?” Mr. Hobbs
asked calmly.

“My dad doesn’t want anyone to take me away from him.”

“Why?”

“Can I please leave? I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Kellin began to feel uncomfortable, tears forming at the edges of his eyes

“Please, just answer this question.”

“I look too much like my mom for him to let them take me. He’s not a bad person, he just has bad pain.”

-

The day seemed to drag on forever. By the time it was lunch, Kellin was tired. He slowly sat on the chair before placing his head against his arms. Everyone at the table noticed his odd behavior. Vic, who sat next to Kellin, rubbed his hand through his hair, catching everyone’s questioning stare. He simply shrugged, causing the teens to worry more.

“Kellin are you ok?” questioned Tay. She received a thumb up. No one else touched the subject after that. A few minutes later, Vic rested his head against his arm, facing Kellin.

“Babe.” Vic whispered. Kellin turned his head and stared at him. “Are you hungry?” Kellin shook his head no. “Did you eat at all today?” the younger boy nodded. “What do you eat?” he turned his head back. With a sigh, Vic let it go, not wanting to make Kellin anymore uncomfortable. “Ok, wanna go to the library right now? We can stay there for until the end of the day.” Kellin nodded, dropping his hand to pick up his backpack. “Leave it; I’ll get it for you.”

They both got up, Kellin slower than Vic, and all eyes were on them.

“Where ya’ going?” Austin asked.

“Library. If Mr. Way asks, tell him I took Kellin home because he wasn’t feeling good.” With that, the boys slowly walked out the cafeteria and to the library.

When they got there, Vic threw himself on the floor while Kellin stood there; looking at the ground like it was a complex math problem. A few seconds later, Vic noticed that Kellin was lying next to him, so he quickly got up.

Instead of asking why, he simply asked, “Do you need help?” Kellin nodded, grateful that Vic was just letting him be. Once they were settled, and Kellin was comfortable, Vic turned to look at Kellin much like he did in the cafeteria, and smiled. The younger boy sent a pitiful smile in return. “I’m here when you need me ok? I may not understand what’s going on but when you need someone, I want to be the first person you think of.”

“I’ll be fine Vic but thanks.”

“On Friday, there’s no school. Wanna come over to mine in the morning?”

“Won’t your parents mind?” Kellin asked softly.

“No. Himes and Tone are staying overnight on Thursday.”

“What time should I be there?”

“Whatever time you want.”

“Can I get there at like seven thirty?”

“Of course.” Vic replied.

The questions were in the air. Vic wanted so badly to ask what had happened in the principal’s office; wanted to know what was wrong and how he could help. He felt helpless. Kellin wanted to answer his questions. He wanted to tell Vic that nothing was ok and he wasn’t fine. He felt bad. They both had so much to say but were too scared to say anything.