Chapter 59: What A Mess
I put my phone face down on the bench. Didn’t want to look at it anymore.
My eyes drifted back over to the girl on the grass. The more I looked, the more I noticed. Her uniform wasn’t just dirty from the fight, it was... old. The collar was frayed, and one of her shoes had a little bit of the sole peeling away at the toe. Her hair was a mess, too, but not just from getting grabbed. It just looked like no one had bothered to take care of it.
I don’t know why, but that pissed me off. Like, really pissed me off. It wasn’t just about the fight anymore. It was the whole damn picture.
’What the hell are her parents even doing?’ I thought. The anger felt weird, sitting there in my chest next to all the other crap I was feeling.
She finally pushed herself up, her movements slow and stiff. She wiped her face with her sleeve, sniffled one last time, and just started walking toward the school exit.
’Hm? She’s going home?’ It made sense. I wouldn’t want to stick around after that either.
I was done with my sandwich. I should probably just head back inside. Break was almost over. I stood up, ready to just... forget about it. Let it go. It wasn’t my problem.
But I stopped. I looked in the direction she went.
People in that state... you’re not supposed to just leave them alone, right?
The bell was going to ring any second. I had to get back to class. Go back to my desk. Go back to being the quiet kid who minds his own business.
"Fuck it," I muttered to the empty air.