FicWad

John watched the two boys from across the room. They had been sitting there talking to each other for the last hour or so. At times, it looked as if the conversation was fun, but for the most part it looked as though the boys were in clear thought; like they would rather be anywhere but there.

John knew the feeling.

He looked back down at the table he was sitting at. It was an old wooden table, painted white, with the bench attached underneath. There was all sorts of bubble gum stuck to it; green, white, purple, pink...it was a like a rainbow - except it was chewed up and spit out. The thing that was most noticeable to him though was that it was empty. Some of his friends had stolen some burgers from the stand earlier - so to the left and right of him there were balled up tin foil wrappers. There were also some ketchup packages, empty pop cans, and napkins, but the spot in front of him was empty.

It was always empty.

John was very hungry. He never brought a lunch from home; if he got caught doing that he would either be ordered to pay for it, or ordered to bring it back and get smacked. Food was there for his father's supper, and it wasn't like they had anything very school-lunch friendly anyways. Just canned food, frozen meat pies, coffee, and beer. What was he going to do? Wait for it to thaw out on the cafeteria table?

He scowled and watched the two boys again. He could feel the resentfulness building up inside of him. He could feel the need to get away, or do something fun; anything to get rid of his bitter feelings.

He rubbed his face and swore as a piece of garbage hit his face. He glared at Jordan, his friend of six years. "Why the fuck did you do that?"

Jordan laughed stupidly. "It kinda just hit you man! I couldn't help it!"

Bender raised his eyebrows and placed his arm down on the table in front of him. "Oh yeah? Is that so? Did the garbage just stand up and jump on my face then?"

Jordan looked at Mark and then back to John. "Yeah...somethin' like that."

Bender rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm real sure, asshole."

His friends just ignored him and went back to whatever nonsensical conversation they were having before. It was the same old shit everyday. They go to first period and gawk at Miss Hawkins, their extremely hot geography teacher. They go to second period, give Mr. Summers a hard time in Math. They go to third period, do some wood cutting in shop class. They skip fourth period altogether and go back out to the bleachers to get high. Then they come to lunch. He gets hungry, and they talk about some stupid shit that happened at Ryan's house the other night. It was the same damn routine everyday.

Bender hated routines.

But what could he do about it? Every single time he felt like he needed to get away, or do something daring, he got caught. Then he got in trouble. Then he was sitting in detention - again. It turns back into another never ending circle of events. High school was such a bore. He could never understand how people would say it was the best time of their lives. Those people were full of fucking shit.

Sure getting in trouble was fun - at times. Sometimes the things he did to get him there were so worth it that he would go back and do it again in a heartbeat. But what was left to do? He already had the vice-principal, the principal, the bus driver, his teachers, his peers, and even his guidance councilor constantly pissed off at him. He couldn't keep a girlfriend, his friends only seemed to come around if there was a party, or booze, or drugs. They never really just wanted to hang out with him, or even get in trouble with him. It was always about getting fucked up. He didn't mind getting fucked up, but sometimes he wondered if his friends would still even be around if he didn't have the quarter ounce in his pocket - well, maybe Jordan would be.

Jordan had been his friend for six years. He lived a few houses down from his, so they met when they were younger children. Bender would go over there if his parents got a bit out of line, or if he needed something to eat; Jordan's parents were pretty nice, even if they were drunk all the time. Jordan's parents were nice drunks - not like John's were.

John's parents drank every night. His mother didn't work. She just liked to go to bingo and spend all their money all the time. His father worked at a construction site and would already be half drunk when he got home from work. John wasn't sure why his father's boss never cared; all the boys his old man worked with liked to have a drink when work ended. So big Bender would come home half drunk looking for his six pack. His mother would hand it off to the older man, and pull out a bottle of wine for herself.

Usually his parents left him alone to do his own thing. They didn't bother him and he didn't bother them - most of the time. It was when they both got piss drunk and they started fighting...babbling nonsensical insults at each other in such a long chain that they stopped making sense. And it was when his father would smack his mother or go too far with his verbal abuse that John would step in. Then his old man would teach him a thing or two for mouthing back. It was the same routine all the time.

He was so fucking sick of routines.

"So you wanna go outside for a smoke, boys?" He heard Mark ask - just like he did everyday. All of the boys nodded and replied with agreement. Bender just stared at the two boys on the other side of the room. "No."

They didn't ask why, they just stood up and left like they didn't give a shit less if he was there. John didn't care though. He wanted to sit at the table instead today; no, he wanted to do something else today.

He looked back at the two boys and watched their expressions. Brian was staring lazily into a hot pot of something, and stirring it around unconsciously. Andy just sat there and stared out into the cafeteria, as if he was in deep thought. John looked back down at his hands, and then down at the empty table in front of him.

That sense of needing to escape returned.

... ... ...

He woke up that morning not feeling very well. He had spent the whole night before getting sick, sneezing, and blowing his nose. It was the first time in a long time that he was actually getting sick from genuine illness rather then from being fucked up. His stomach lurched, he had cramps, and his head was pounding like a wrecking ball.

And that was just the start to a really shitty day.

He hadn't planned on going to school; he was just going to stay in bed and sleep the illness off. He had gotten back to bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders, and rested his head into the soft pillows. Once his eyes closed he began hearing loud banging.

"John!" It was his mother's voice. He tried to ignore it; acting like he had already left for school, but it was to no avail.

"JOHN!" came the calling, a lot louder this time.

"Yeah, mom?" He called out groggily.

"Get up for school!" She opened the door and stepped inside his bedroom. He watched her silently as she stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face.

"Mom...I'm sick, I'm gonna stay home..."

"To hell you are!" She said with anger. John could remember vividly the way her nose and forehead had scrunched up when she said it.

John sat up slowly and rubbed his head, which was pounding twice as bad at that point. "Why the hell not?" he had complained.

"Because that prick Vernon called - again - yesterday. You were skipping - again!" She unfolded her arms and was waving her hands around for emphasis with every word. "He said that if you weren't going to show up for school again that we would have to have a 'meeting' regarding the consequences, and I don't have time for that kind of shit!"

Bender rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head. "Yeah, you don't have time to meet with my school teachers; that's rich, ma."

She scowled. "Knock it off Johnny! You ain't faking illness with me! Now get your ass up and go to school!"

John coughed and glared at her. "And just what if I don't anyways?"

She narrowed her eyes and challenged him. "Then I will just have to tell your father that HE has to go to the meeting with Vernon, and YOU can deal with HIM. And if that ain't enough then you can just get the hell out if you're not gonna go to school!" She scowled again. "There is no way you are hanging around my house all day like a bum!"

Bender was about to fight back, but changed his mind. He was just going to get it worse if his father got involved. Since he had no place else to go so early in the morning, he went to school.

The walk to school was awful; it was late March and Illinois was not very warm. Snow covered the ground and wind whipped at his face. He could not control the sick snot dripping down his nose, nor could he control his ragged breathing as the cold air hit the back of his throat. It didn't get any better when he walked over a patch of ice and fell down either. He tried to catch himself, but only ended up twisting his legs around and hurting his knee.

So now he was sick, he was cold, he had to go to school, and his knee hurt like a bitch.

When he entered the school he scowled. The bell had rung and he was late. As good looking as Miss Hawkins was, he did not want to have to deal with her screeching voice so early in the morning. Sure enough once he had climbed the steps leading to the second floor of the school and entered her classroom, all activity within had stopped. The preppy girls at the front of the room glared at him, and the teacher had her hands on her waist. "Nice to see you join us Mr. Bender."

John rolled his eyes and only took his seat. That wasn't a very good gesture - according to Miss Hawkins - and she let him know that. "You will not walk away from me, young man! I come here on time every day to do you a favor, to teach you things you need to know in order to have a good education! And you just don't care!" She folded her arms over her inflated chest and glared more. "You are so arrogant young man! You need to learn some respect. So just for that you can read page 326 out of the text book!"

He hadn't brought his book to class and was yelled at some more when he asked the girl next to him for her book. His throat hurt and his head was throbbing, and reading small text on a bright, white sheet of paper did not go so well for him. By the time he was finished reading the page his classmates were snickering about how retarded he was and even his teacher was rolling her eyes.

He slept through most of second period that day, which was okay because it - almost - made him feel better. He made his way towards the boy's bathroom to once again blow his nose.

His feet made squeaking noises as he entered the small room; they were still soaking wet from the long walk to school. He stepped in front of the mirror and frowned; he looked like he got hit by a garbage truck. He looked down into the white sink below him, and snorted up as much mucous as he could muster, and spit it into the sink. It was a bright yellow/green color, which indicated his sickly health. He looked at the gob with disgust for a few seconds before the door behind him flew open.

"Well there's the stupid bastard now!" came a loud, deep voice behind him.

He turned around and sighed loudly, folding his arms across his chest. It was Rick Arnold, a big, dumb jock from the football team. He remembered doing something to piss him off last week. "What the fuck do you want, jockstrap?"

The boy just scowled, an image mirrored by the three other boys standing behind him. Rick just rolled up his sleeves. "Oh I was just thinking about how you were bothering Mary-Anne last week, scum bag."

Bender hesitated for a moment; Mary-Anne? He thought quickly about who the hell Mary-Anne was; hot brunette from English class. He was throwing spit balls at her in class, and made it a mission to get them down her shirt, and asking her if her nipples could cut glass when they got that hard. She wasn't too impressed. Apparently dumbo wasn't either.

Bender smirked. "Naw, she wasn't bothered. She liked it..."

He didn't finish, the boy shoved him hard against the wall, making a thick wad of spit shoot from his throat. The older boy just glared. "You wanna go, faggot?"

Bender could feel his head start to throb; what was he going to say? No, and then get beat up for being a pussy? Or yes and fall into the famous jock trap - call a guy on and get all of his friends to do the dirty work. His nausea was coming back and his eyeballs itched. "Fuck you..." was all he muttered before the boy grabbed him again. He threw him roughly back into the wall and kicked his feet out from under him. The other boys grabbed his arms and his legs so that he couldn't move. Rick - the obvious ring leader - just grabbed a fistful of hair and began to punch him in the stomach. His illness had began to swirl again, and he couldn't keep track of time at that point; all he remembered was them leaving, laughing, dumping the bathroom garbage on him, and then puking on the floor. He must have laid there - in the garbage and next to his own vomit - for a few minutes. Just until his head stopped throbbing and his stomach settled.

He had attempted to get up too quickly and that sore knee from earlier gave out. His was able to reach his arm out and landed on it, but unfortunately his hand had landed in his vomit and slid out from underneath him. Once again he was on the floor.

He had managed to get up after a few attempts - slowly but surely. He felt disgusted with himself and the way he was so weak. He wanted to go home. He wanted to get out of that piece of shit school and...

...the bell rang. He was late for third period.

... ... ...

He made it out of shop class okay. It was his favorite class and his teacher didn't seem to mind because he actually worked hard in that class. Fourth period went by and once again - he had slept. The school day was half way over. He was pretty sure that he may make it out alive.

He entered the cafeteria and sat at a table by the window. The smell of the food was making his insides shake with disgust, warning him that his stomach wasn't agreeing again. He put his head down on his arm and closed his eyes. He was really sick. He couldn't go home, not without having to deal with his mother and father. He couldn't just go to Jordan's, Jordan was at school. He sure as hell couldn't hang out outside, it was way too cold for a dude with the flu. Instead he had to stay at school with the shitty people, the shitty routine, and his shitty classes. Feeling ever so shitty.

"Dude, why are ya laying in puke?" he snapped his head up at the sound of Jordan's voice. He was looking at him with a pure disgust on his face. Bender raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Huh?"

Jordan pointed at John's denim jacket. "You have barf all over your sleeve man!"

Bender turned his arm around, and sure enough, brown shit all over his best jacket. He groaned and clutched his stomach. "I'm outta here guys...catch ya later."

He got up from his seat and spun around to march out. His hair fell in front of his face and he clenched his teeth. He didn't care anymore; he was going to find a way to get out. He was getting so anxious; he could feel his chest tighten up, his mind scream at him - it was like he couldn't breath and he needed out. He rushed so quickly that he drove right into a dark haired girl dressed in black, holding her lunch tray in front of her. Of course, Bender had no idea who she was (at the time), nor did he care, he just kept charging until he was out of the cafeteria.

When he reached the hallway the air felt cool again. The quiet had returned and his feelings of anxiety and claustrophobia had ceased for the time being. He raked his hands through his hair and looked around. His eyes settled on a red box on the wall.

He didn't ask himself why. He didn't think of the consequences. He just knew that everyone would have to leave and he could sneak out unnoticed. All of that was fine with him until the loud piercing ring filled his ears and his head. John grabbed at his ears and clenched his teeth, willing the pain away. He watched as a parade of students filled the hallway and left out the front doors. Bender watched with a smile on his face, momentarily forgetting about any pain, and just relished in the sudden freedom. He was away from school, away from the assholes, and away from the same damn shitty day over and over...

He spun around to leave and collided with a soft wall. "Not so fast Mr. Bender."

Busted by the one and only asshole himself...

Vernon had dragged John into his office and gave him detention. He yelled and turned bright red with anger. John didn't care. He sat in detention before. He'd pissed off Vernon before, it was nothing new. He sat back and listened and told old Dick he would see him tomorrow and left. Left out the office, out of the hallways, out of the school, and back to his house. He fell asleep and slept a straight 14 hours; eliminating his routine until detention the next day.

... ... ...

He watched the fat back in front of him grow bigger and bigger as he approached behind it. She was giving the lip to Big Bry and Sporto for not serving her food fast enough. He still couldn't believe the two clowns had to serve lunch to everyone, but he had to admit that the food fight they started last week had been superb. He watched with amusement as the two boys tried to figure out how exactly they needed to feed the huge woman.

"It looks to me you have enough meat under yer shirt to last you a couple of months." Bender interrupted the group. Brian bit his lower lip to contain his laughter while Andrew couldn't take his eyes off of the disgusting women.

She babbled something or other to Bender about a line...and her being there first but Bender didn't buy it. "I don't see a line here actually...just you and the lunch ladies."

She huffed at him and pointed to her plate again, this time Brian poured her food on it. She walked away without paying; Bender smirked at this, cupped a hand over his mouth and screamed after her. "Shoplifter!" She didn't even as much look back in his direction, all though he did get a few strange looks from some students sitting nearby.

He looked back at his friends who were staring at him with amusement; he gave them a look of mock seriousness and put his hands on his hips. "Never get between a fat girl and her lunch. Jeez." He shook his head and stared at Andy with his eyebrows raised.

Andy just looked confused, a stupid look Bender was familiar with from the blonde jock. "What?"

Bender rolled his eyes. "Are ya ready to get the fuck outta here or what?" He knew he was. Another day in hell it was, and he was ready to take his friends with him.

Brian and Bender waited with anticipation for Andy's reply. And when he picked up the food and shrugged his shoulders, Bender's mood lifted immediately. "Sir, you won't be disappointed!"

He reached over the counter and grabbed a large handful of banana cream pie and looked for his first target. When he saw an equally yellow colored suit with a cheap head of dyed hair on top of it he smiled. Andy gave him a nod of confirmation and they both threw the food in heaps...hitting the startled Vernon in the head. Brian ripped off his hair net and kneeled behind the counter as -once again- someone screamed out: "Food Fight!"

The whole room erupted in a volcanic explosion of food. Vernon, only about twenty feet away, scowled at them. "You little pricks! I'm gonna beat ya until you're black and blue! You hear me?" He was hit in the mouth with a brownie. He wiped his face and pointed at them. "I'm gonna knock your dicks in the dirt...so help me god when I get over there..."

Bender looked at Andy. He grabbed the rest of the pie, while Andy grabbed the entire tray of lasagna. Brian, finally standing up grabbed a large spoonful of mashed potatoes. "Oh...this means war, Dick!"

Bender laughed at the dork's choice of words and let the pie go on the older man. Once Vernon hit the ground with a food covered face the boys took a run for it. Sure they'd end up getting stuck behind the counter again, but hey? At least they got a break from their lives by having some fun together; something they had a hard time doing before that one Saturday detention. And if it took starting an all out war to get where they needed to be, so be it.

Bender liked starting trouble anyways...it broke him away from that boring routine.

The End.