Eustace
walked into school head down, hood up, eyes half open. A hint of red circled
his eyes. No time to go to his locker, must go straight to gym class. He walked
into the gymnasium and threw his tattered backpack under the bleachers. He fell
like a sack into a chair against the wall right when the bell rang.
Eustace
was in a well-earned half-asleep stupor. This was his third night of only
getting six hours of sleep. He didn’t have time to make coffee this morning. He
only had a bowl of cereal and a cigarette on the way to school. He could feel
the beginnings of a headache at his temples.
“If
you’re not participating in gym see me, everyone else, go change,” said the gym
teacher.
That
teacher looked so healthy and full of energy. It was heard in his voice. It
sounds like he got a full nine hours of sleep last night and went for a run
this morning. He probably had a caring wife that made him eggs benedict for
breakfast. He didn’t really drink coffee though. He preferred to live his life
drug-free. He sneaked a cup here-and-there and on Saturdays. All of his kids
had A’s in elementary school. He had an above ground pool in his back yard.
They had families over for dinner on Fridays. They would play board games and
drink wine until two bottles were empty. Right after the guests left were the
nights he got lucky with the wife. That’s how surprises like little Anna came
along.
“Eustace.
Eustace!”
His
eyes cracked to see the gym teacher standing over him.
“Are
you participating today?” the gym teacher asked.
“Naw,”
Replied Eustace.
“Then
go sit over on the bleachers.”
Eustace
groaned internally while getting up. He could see the kids filtering out of the
locker room. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. The
gymnasium turned blurry. His nose started to run and he wiped it with his
sleeve. He thought of all the classes he had to sit through today and it
brought a headache on full-force.
Eustace
squinted. Through his eyes he could see a pretty girl talking in her circle of
friends. The blur was still in his eyes from when he rubbed his face, and he
found himself unable to stop yawning. When he closed his eyes he could see her
clearer. In fact, she was right in front of him. He studied every contour of
her face. Every perfection. Every imperfection. He liked the imperfections
more, because he was the one that knew them. They are what made her his. Eustace
smiled, then she smirked and looked down. Eustace touched her hand ever so
softly, and she looked up. He bent down, and softly kissed the tip of her nose.
They embraced. He could feel her body press up against his. Her head fit right
under Eustace’s chin. He breathed in deep the smell of her hair.
The
bell woke him up.
