Chapter 38: School Days and Birthday Planning
The fluorescent lights made everything look sick. Javier stood at his locker, fumbling with the combination lock while kids walked past in clusters. The stitches above his eyebrow felt like they were glowing under the harsh lighting.
He could feel eyes on him. Quick glances, then whispers. The kind of attention that made his skin crawl.
"Damn, what happened to your face?" Sylvi, short for Sylvester, stopped right in front of him, backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Nothing serious." Javier grabbed his English book and slammed the locker shut. The metal clang echoed down the hallway.
"That doesn’t look like nothing, man. You get jumped or something?"
More kids were slowing down now, pretending to check their phones while they listened. Javier touched the stitches without thinking, then dropped his hand.
"Just an accident," he said, walking away.
Marcus called after him. "Whatever you say, bro."
**************
First period English felt like sitting under a spotlight. Ms. Peterson was halfway through explaining symbolism in Of Mice and Men when her eyes found Javier’s face. Her mouth stopped moving mid-sentence.
"Javier," she said, voice going soft. "What happened to you?"
Twenty-eight heads turned toward him. The room went quiet except for the broken air conditioning unit rattling in the corner.