Chapter 6: "Scream"

Theo walked down the hall on the first day of school with his sister at his side. The bus ride had been full of whispers. After a short while, people pulled the windows down and mocked them aloud.

Becca closed in next to him.

“Why are you so close?” Theo asked.

“So I can blame the stink on you, obviously. If I walk around on my own, they’ll know I stink, too.”

“They are going to know sooner or later. We aren’t in the same classes.”

Becca’s eyebrow’s furrowed. “I’ll go wear my gym clothes, those aren’t tainted.”

“The clothes might not be tainted, but it’s on your hair and your skin. Even with a shower, it’s not going to come off that easy.”

Becca’s friends turned the corner and saw her. She turned and stared at him. “What do I do?” The tears welled in her eyes.

He set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Just tell them the truth and if they’re your real friends, they’ll understand.”

She shot a glance at the approaching group of girls. “I don’t know if I’m ready to put that to the test.”

“Do you really want to hang out with a bunch of people that aren’t really your friends?”

Becca flicked her hand at him. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be a girl. Smell is a major component.”

Theo rolled his eyes. “Well, I can’t help you then.” He dashed off just as the girls reached them.

“Hey!” Becca called after him.

Theo didn’t look back. He darted between people in the halls as the crowd grew thicker. He didn’t know where his friends would be at this time. They hadn’t set up a meeting spot or anything ahead of time. He decided to go to his first class instead. The door was still locked. He checked his watch. He still had twenty minutes.

The people around him were starting to whisper and give him looks. He didn’t need to listen to know what they were talking about. He hiked his bag up on his shoulder and went back to the courtyard. Hopefully, the fresh air would carry away some of the odor and he would have a chance of seeing his friends when they got off the bus.

He waited on a bench and pushed some gravel around with the toe of his sneaker. The people in the courtyard stood in groups. Excited chatter whispered on the air as the thrill of a new school year set in. For him, it felt more like dread. He was curious whether high school would be different than the previous years of school, but somehow he doubted it would be. He was still smaller than the rest of the kids his age and looked like an easy target. Maybe he should take a self-defense course or some martial arts classes. That would at least give him a chance when it came to it. With a nod, he decided he needed to look into it.

“Hey, Theo!”

Theo looked up at a boy waving rapidly at him. It was Dexter Rice. Next to him was Mack Wilcox. They had lived next to each other for most of their life and had been Theo’s friends since the beginning of middle school.

Theo waved back. “Hey, guys!”

They both smiled. Theo stood in greeting as they approached. He wasn’t sure the code here. In middle school, they would have hugged, but now that seemed too… well, people were watching. He could read the uncertainty in their eyes, too, as they stood awkwardly facing each other.

“Did you have a good break?” Mack asked pushing right passed the greeting phase.

Everyone relaxed visibly. Theo shrugged.

Dexter sniffed the air. He looked like a dog who’d found a scent and followed it right to Theo’s shirt. Theo could feel a blush creeping up his neck.

“Dude, you stink,” Dexter said.

Theo hung his head. “I know.”

“Maybe you should shower or something. You don’t want to get tagged as the stinky kid on the first day of school,” Mack said.

Theo sighed. “I did. A skunk died under my house.”

“Whoa, what?” Mac asked.

“Really?” Dexter asked.

Theo nodded. “We called the fire department and they found it. It was so bad, it smelled like gas.”

“Wow. How come you smell though? Didn’t they remove it?” Mack asked.

Theo shook his head. “They wouldn’t. I had to go under the house and drag it out.”

“No wonder you stink.” Dexter waved his hand in front of his nose. “I mean, honestly man, you smell terrible.”

“I know. My whole house smells. It’s on everything. I thought it would clear up overnight, but it hasn’t made a difference,” Theo said.

“You should just move. Just leave all your stuff and start over,” Dexter said.

Mack punched him playfully on the arm. “He can’t do that. No one would want to buy his old house. He’d end up living on the streets.”

“It would be better than living in that house,” Dexter said.

“Theo!”

All three boys turned their heads as Becca arrived. Mack and Dexter’s eyes were riveted on her as she bounded toward them. Theo rolled his eyes.

“What?” Theo asked.

She stopped in front of them, slightly winded. “Walk me to class.”

“No,” he answered.

“Please?” She begged.

“I’ll walk you to class,” Dexter offered.

“We both can,” Mack insisted.

Becca waved them off. “Come on, please Theo. For your sister?”

“You just want me to go with you so you can blame me for the way you smell.”

Becca narrowed her eyes. “You smell, too.” She tugged at his arm. “Please?”

While she said this, Dexter sniffed her then pulled back and pinched his nose. He turned to Mack and they both snickered.

Becca turned to them. “Scram.”

They smiled at each other and then looked at her. “Yes, your highness.” They mocked a bow and then strode off towards the entrance.

Becca hooked an arm around Theo’s and tugged him along after her. “Come on, little brother.”

Theo rolled his eyes and let himself be dragged after her. Once they reached the halls, it didn’t take long for people to notice the stink, then the whispering set in. Most people avoided eye contact with him, but one girl, he thought her name was Kari, smiled at him. He avoided her eye contact as he felt a flush rising to his cheeks. Why did she smile? Was she laughing at him?

Becca finished dragging him to her first class and left him without a goodbye or a thanks. He turned back down the hall. It was even more crowded now and his stink was no longer a force field. The thick mass of people was a jostling flow as they pushed through the hall lined with lockers. Theo felt pushed along with them. He was shoved several times as he followed the rush of people but chalked it up to the movement of the crowd.

He stumbled his way out of the flow and entered his first class. All eyes turned to him. He knew they could smell him. He wished he had just stayed home. He ducked his head and shuffled to the back of the class. With a heavy sigh, he sank to his seat and the bell rang.

The first three classes held the usual syllabus lecture. He realized that even the teachers were giving him a wide breadth as they walked around speaking to their new students. The journey from class to class was just as chaotic as the first rush. The shoving had gotten worse. Theo had begun to pinpoint the culprits, Flynn, the class bully, and his lackeys being the main offenders.

By the end of third period, Theo was loaded up with textbooks. He was on his way to his locker when Flynn gave him a particularly heavy shove and knocked him into the lockers. He and his friends laugh. No one gave him a second look as everyone hurried to the cafeteria.

The boys left. Theo picked himself up and lugged his heavy bag over his shoulder. His fingers fumbled with the lock until it finally clicked open. He pinned his bag between the locker and his hip as he pulled book after book out of it and into the locker. He snagged his lunch pail with a hand and slammed the locker shut.

He didn’t dare go to the cafeteria. It would cause too much of a scene. He hoped he could find some place out of the way and in the open air where he could eat peacefully. It would be great if his friends would come join him, but he didn’t wish the stink upon them either. He ducked his head and ran towards the front courtyard. A few students had spread out on the benches. He located one and sat down.

A look around made him blush. This was apparently make-out central. He dropped his eyes and stared at his lunch. He really had nowhere else to go. He unzipped the lunch pail and starting eating his sandwich.

He was just about finished when three shadows loomed above him. He shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun. His heart sank as Flynn reached down and pulled him up by his shirt.

“Come on, skunk boy. We’re going to show you how to shower,” Flynn said. The other boys laughed.

Flynn shoved him in front. The other boys pushed him along as they directed him back down the hall.

As they came to the corner, one boy, Cayden, ran ahead. He put a finger to his lips and pointed out a different door. “Teacher,” he whispered.

Flynn pushed Theo toward the door and out to the side lawn of the school where parents picked up their kids. The boys laughed with the thrill as they ran through the doors.

Once they hit the lawn, Flynn pushed Theo against the wall. “Well, we were going to give you a nice bath in the bathroom, but it looks like our plans are spoiled. We will just have to find something else fun to do.”

Theo knew he needed to defend himself somehow, but didn’t know what to do. Standing up like this, he was vulnerable, so he slid down against the wall.

“Are you trying to hide now? How about a dirt bath? You can cry and hide and roll in the dirt,” Flynn said and kicked a tuff of loose sod on him.

His friends mocked crying and balled their fists up and rubbed at their eyes. Theo ducked his head between his knees as the grass and dirt showered over him.

Flynn reached down and pulled him up by the shirt roughly. He slammed him against the wall. “I asked you a question.”

Theo avoided his eyes. He hadn’t heard it, but he was sure it wasn’t really a question.

“I said: does your mother bathe you? Does she smell as bad as you do?” Flynn's teeth shone through his wicked smile.

Theo clenched his jaw. Flynn knew his mother was dead. They had all gone to the same schools for so long, everyone knew that. He was just looking for a rise out of him, so Theo gave him none, at least, not on purpose. He could feel a tear welling up in the corner of one eye, but he didn’t look up and give it away.

Flynn punched the wall. Theo flinched.

“I asked you a question,” Flynn said.

Theo narrowed his eyes. He was so tired of all this. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He clenched his jaw and looked Flynn straight in the eye.

For a moment, a flicker of uncertainty flashed in Flynn’s eyes. They stared at each other. Flynn’s hazel eyes versus Theo’s grey ones.

“Hit him,” Cayden whispered.

Flynn hesitated a moment more. Theo clenched his fist, but the movement must have surprised Flynn because he launched a fist at him. It struck Theo across the cheek and the nose. At first, it didn’t hurt. He felt numb and yet his heart rate spiked. His vision blurred and head swam with stars. It was all he could do to remain standing. There was a ring in his ears, but that wasn’t quite right. It was like his head was screaming. No, that wasn’t right either. He wasn’t screaming, nor was his head.

His used his fists to wipe his eyes. The stars cleared slowly. He could barely make out two figures on the ground in front of him. One of them was screaming and the other squealing. The scream was like that of a battle cry, one that vibrated deep down in the pit of his stomach and gave him a primal urge to run. The squeal was that of an injured animal, high pitch and pitiful.

Hot blood seeped out of his nose. Theo threw his arm over it and wiped at it. He was just starting to feel the thick heat of swelling puff up his cheek and nose. He blinked a few more times as he regained his sight. A girl had pinned Flynn on the ground. It was that girl. Kari? Her dark hair was flying in the breeze as she brought one hand after the other and swung it down on Flynn’s face. She was screaming and he was squealing. The two other boys stood frozen as they watched her pummel their friend’s face.

Theo looked between them for a moment. They weren’t in a hurry to save him, but with all this noise, a teacher would be here any second. He was going to have to do something, but what? Over the noise, he heard the door to the school open. He took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Kari’s waist, and hauled her up over his shoulder as he did with his sister when they were play wrestling. She was surprisingly light and smaller than his sister. He felt like he could run with her up there, which he did after a few steps. He could feel the teacher closing in on the scene. Kari’s screams had died after the first step and now he could feel her exhale with each of his steps.

He tightened his grip around her legs and shifted her up so her hips were closer to her shoulder instead of her ribs. She took a deep breath as he ran around the corner of the school back to the courtyard. None of the couples gave him a second glance. He slowed and set her down on the bench next to his fallen lunch pail. He bent over and put his hands on his knees while he sucked in large breaths.

“What… did you do?” He gasped.

From his vantage point, he could only see the skirt of her black dress, her knees poking out beneath it, and her blood covered hands wringing themselves over and over. When she didn’t answer, he looked up.

Her cheeks were flushed and it followed all the way down her neck. Her eyes stared at her hands. He dropped down to his knees in front of her and dug through his lunchbox. He always kept hand sanitizer and extra napkins but never imagined he’d be using them for this.

“Hold out your hands,” he said quietly.

After a moment, she did. Her hands shook. He grabbed one and held it still while he squirted a bit of sanitizer in it, then did the same with the other. He used a napkin and wiped at the blood. It didn’t do a very good job, but it did, at least, feel like he was helping.

“I think I should say thanks, but I’m pretty sure you made it worse for both of use,” he said.

She didn’t raise her eyes or say anything. He continued to wipe at her hands and add sanitizer.

“Well, I will say thanks, but you should probably stay away from me. I stink.”

A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth, but her eyes stayed down. Just that small of a smile made his heart flutter. He realized he was holding her hand, well touching it, but he was holding a girl’s hand and it wasn’t his sister. He released it quickly.

“I um… well…”

“It was a skunk, right?” Her voice was small and soft.

Theo nodded. “How did you…?”

“My dad told me. He was there last night. I’m sorry that happened to you. People shouldn’t pick on you for it.” Her voice was gathering strength, but it was still quiet.

Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well… they still will. I guess…” He felt like he was losing his own voice.

She looked up at his words. Her dark brown eyes were stunning against her dark hair. How had he never noticed her before? She reached out and he didn’t dare to move. She crooked her finger and wiped beneath his nose. Her fingernail tickled the top of his lip as she moved across it. She brought it away with a smear of blood.

“You shouldn’t touch blood,” he whispered. It was an automatic response, but it wasn’t what he really wanted to say.

She wiped the blood on one of the fallen napkins. This time both corners of her mouth curved into a smile. She held out her hands, which still held traces of Flynn’s blood.

“I think that hardly matters at this point,” she said.

The door to the main hall opened behind her and drew Theo’s attention away. A teacher walked out and pointed at them. “You two. Principal’s office. Now.”

Theo could feel his own blush rising. He looked back to Kari. She dropped her eyes. He squeezed his hands shut. She had done this for him. He would do what he could to protect her. He opened his hand back up and offered it to her. She looked at it then slowly her slender hand slipped into his and closed around it.

#indiepublishing