End of the World

A short splash of high school hijinks

I had never seen him so angry. His mouth was stubbornly pulled into a frown and his eyes were fiery hot from anger and sleepiness. He gritted his teeth as he watched the school drama.

Now me personally? I don't really care for this stuff. It's just a bunch of kids on stage, yelling and shouting unbelievably in portentous costumes. But manoman, he loved this stuff. It probably just made his head swell with even more anger and sadness.

As I watched him instead of the play, he looked at me, his eyes almost watery from failure.

“What?” he said in a sad, sonorous voice.

“Are you...okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just perfect.” he said as he repulsively turned his head back to the production.

A teacher scolded us with a piercing stare. We only talked once, sheesh.

The high school stage went bright as the actors made inappropriate jokes. Laughter clamored throughout the auditorium. I laughed too. The jokes were actually kind of funny, especially for a school play.

But not him. He just sat next to me, wording profanities to himself, insulting the play. The girl, some random girl that he could've seen and been with, was the one that made the joke. I was reluctant to make him feel better; I was reluctant to calm him down. He was usually in chipper spirits, even in matters of crisis and controversy.

I hesitantly tapped him on the shoulder.

“What?” he asked.

“Hey, what's wrong?” I chose my words wisely, trying not to make him even more spiteful.

“I could've been up there. With her. But once again-” That same teacher cut him off with another stare. She was getting on my nerves.

I whispered a bit lower this time. “You'll get your chance, buddy. For now...maybe...” I pushed the words out through my lips. “...be happy for her?”

He stared at me, his lips trembling. “Maybe... I should.” An infinitesimal smile crept its way onto his face.

His face relaxed a bit. It seemed he realized it wasn't the end of the world.

Author's Note

No real notes for reviewers today, I'm afraid.

Reviews

[Xavier Lee]

This was very interesting. I don't need to know more, you gave me just enough to understand the situation and to entertain. I can't really think of any way to critique this. Excellent work.