Him

He sat alone. Every day. In the barren steel cafeteria. The crowded cafeteria was the loneliest place for him. No one wanted to sit next to him. Who would want to sit next to him? No one. He was alone. Everyday he would sit alone half-eating his distasteful sandwich, the steel cold walls looming over him. Mocking him. Where are your friends? Oh wait, you don’t have any! Haha…

Laughter. Everyone laughed at him because he was foolish. He was vulnerable and always ended up hurt.

He tried to sit next to people at the cafeteria. They moved his tray, Sorry not enough room.

He would invite people over to his house to hang out but they always seemed to be busy. Even on his birthday, no one showed up.

When they had to pick partners he never had a partner. He was inept at making friends and doing school work. He had to work by himself every time. He had no attachments with anyone.

Alone.

No one wanted to talk to him wherever he went; not even be seen standing near him. He was like a bear trying to fit into a herd of rabbits. He was too large, too awkward to be normal. He was an adjunct to the group; no one wanted him. He desperately wanted to be normal to be able to have a friend. A friend was something he never had and always longed for. He just wanted one friend, that's all.

If only they knew. They didn’t know of his issues. How he hated being called, “irritating,” and, “a loser.” Impertinent snarks hurt him more than anyone could ever experience because they didn’t understand him. No one understood him. Not even his own family.

His family would try their best to give him compassion for his mental issues. But they too had trouble with compassion. They too would fizz with anger. They too would yell and scream and shout. He hated it when people shouted because they didn’t recognize his troubles inside.

On the outside he looks like a normal boy, but on the inside he is like glass that has been dropped and mended too many times before.

~ Charlotte E.