School - Advice

Feeling the sunlight caress his face, Barry lowered the car window on his side to let the cold air dance through his hair. It was a perfect sensation of warm and cold that almost put him to sleep. To describe his life currently, quiet is the word that sums it up. Sure Joe and Iris are talking in the car but he was not a part of the conversation and he certainly didn't care. Space was what he needed and the West family provided. Of course, this was all ruined because Terrance had to open his mouth.

Terrance: 'I wonder what the school standards are like here...'

Barry: 'Normal.' he responded

Terrance: 'I doubt that. I know you are pretty intelligent by this world's standards but to me, it's only a little above average. I worry that you might hang with other people who might make you less wise.'

Barry: 'I promise that won't happen.' Then the words Terrance said previously sank in. 'Hey! What do you mean a little above average? I'm smart.'

Terrance: 'Sure. Whatever you say.' Arriving at school, Barry let out a silent sigh and walked in with Iris. She went to her group of friends as Barry went straight to his classroom. Some people peeked in his direction as he walked but no one ever said anything. They just stared and then started whispering. 'Yup. I was right. This Earth is trash compared to mine. These kids are so underdeveloped in their brains that they can not see the innocent kid that is hurt due to all this.' Terrance peered at everyone with pure disdain.

Barry: 'Terrance...I don't care about other's sympathy or pity right now. Yes, It does bother me that they had to talk behind my back like that but what can you do? People gossip all the time.'

Terrance: 'Want to hear?' That got Barry's attention.

Barry: 'What?' Barry didn't stop walking but he tried his best to control his reaction to what Terrance voiced. 'You can do that?'

Terrance: 'Yeah.' Soon, Terrance was not the only one Barry began to hear.

Student 1: "I heard his mom was killed by his dad..."

Student 2: "Yeah. My mom's friend who was neighbors with the Allen family was the one that called the cops. She said that Mrs. Allen screamed like a banshee until it became silent all of a sudden..."

Student 4: "You think he's going to become like his old man? That would be scary..."

Student 5: "He might just come after us if we anger him..."

Student 3: "I think we should stay away from him..."

Student 11: "I feel bad for whoever's going to be his wife..."

Student 9: "He's looking this way. Did we offend him somehow?"

Student 11: "I don't know and I don't want to know. Let's just leave..."

Barry's nails were digging deeper into his skin with every comment he heard. His family's reputation was completely gone and most of them thought that he would end like his dad. Every word of slander became worse and worse and some students even mentioned that Barry might've been abused. Hearing it all, he sped up his walking speed and arrived at the classroom. Sitting in the back where he can see the outside, he waited for the rest of his class to arrive. Every person who entered the room flinched before coming in and Barry caught all their reactions.

Terrance: 'See... Bad influence. In my world, students created a community amongst themselves to help each other out whenever one is in trouble whether it's financial, personal, or even private. Their motto was always one for all and all for one.' Terrance started to reflect on his memories. 'The good old days of being young. I remember meeting my wife due to this group and it became the best part of my school years.' Terrance sighed. 'Weirdly enough, the students were the reason why I always willingly came to school. They always had my back and made me feel like I belonged. That I had a place in the world.' This left Barry to imagine this wonderful paradise Terrance described. School never sounded so good. The classroom teacher came in and he started his teaching duties.

Teacher: "Morning class. I'm going to start class attendance." The classroom quieted down for the teacher to speak. "John Simons."

John: "Here."

Teacher: "Page Longby."

Page: "Here."

Teacher: "Albert Nickle."

Albert: "Peerrresent." The teacher stopped for a second before moving on.

Teacher: 'Weird as always.' he then read the next name. "Barry Allen." Everyone gazed towards him.

Barry: "Here." When the teacher heard his voice, he paused for a second before he continued and finished roll call.

Teacher: "Barry. Hang around after class for a few minutes." Hushed whispers sounded out again. "Be quiet." he said sternly as the last of the whispers died out.

Barry: "Okay." The teacher nodded and carried on with the class.

Terrance: 'Wow. He has so much control. Guess this school isn't that bad.'

Mr. Ford taught math in the morning and he was always strict with his class rules. You were never allowed food in the class, water was okay, gum was all right as long as he saw you spit it out in the trash, no bullying, no technology, and obedience were required. There was also the rule where you have to raise your hand to speak and you can go to the bathroom any time you want to without asking. This bathroom rule was a trap meant for students who want to ditch as he never goes over something the students missed due to their extra activities. Mr. Ford makes this happen because he never forgets a face. That's how he knew whom to pick on and not.

Barry was one of Mr. Ford's favorite students. He paid attention, was on task, asked good questions, and aced his tests. His very existence was a blessing for all teachers because he made them feel good about themselves. Some teachers pointed out that there is this light that Barry has when he is learning that gives them the energy to teach even on a bad day. Needless to say, Barry Allen was well-liked amongst teachers. Today, however, was different.

When Mr. Ford was putting down an example on the board, he felt like he was missing something. That feeling got stronger when he realized that there were no questions asked in the past twenty minutes. Turning around, he noticed that Barry was not sitting in the front rows like usual but rather in the back. He was so quiet that it creeped him out.

Finding an excuse to go to Barry, he finally saw his face. Barry's blue eyes appeared darker than ever and they were puffy like he was crying. Mr. Ford followed Barry's vision to his paper and saw that Barry glared at the math problem like there was animosity between the two. The hand that was holding the pencil was red; probably because he was holding the pencil with a very hard grip and his face has signs of fatigue everywhere. Shaking his head, Mr. Ford went back to the board with a heavy heart that felt bad for his student.

Terrance: 'Enough Barry. Stop hurting yourself.' Terrance's voice broke his stupor and Barry examined his surroundings to see that he was in his class. He let out the breath that he was holding as he calmed down a little bit. 'Stop going back to that night, Barry. I know it's hard but I need you to hold for a year. It is all I am asking of you. I admit that I'm not letting you grieve but this is important for you. Controlling your emotions will help in the long term and this suffering is a perfect chance for you to do so. I understand it all too well.'

Barry: 'What do you mean?' Terrance stayed quiet for a minute. Almost as if he was preparing himself.

Terrance: 'I had to choose between my little brother and the entire human population. My brother encouraged me to save humanity but it didn't make it any easier because he was my last blood relative. In the end, I made a choice.' Barry felt sad for Terrance. 'I don't know if it was right to choose strangers over my brother but I had a form of closure that eventually led to me finally forgiving myself.'

Barry: 'Really? What happened?' His curiosity was piqued. Maybe it could help him as well.

Terrance: 'I can't tell you but I will let you go through what I did. Trust me, it helped a lot.'

Barry: 'Oh...' Barry's mood became slightly worse.

Terrance: 'Look. I'm not going to be pretentious or some wise holy being and tell you that it will be okay. It isn't okay. Nothing will ever be normal again. You're going to have nightmares and you will constantly think about your family. The pain may subside significantly but it will never truly go away. It's a part of you now and it will haunt you sometimes. It really will but...' he paused. 'Everyone loses someone, Barry. The true test of character is what you do when they're gone.' Hearing those final words, a strange sense of determination filled his being. Barry got out of his mind and focused on his class.