Chapter 3: School & Consequences

"Buddy, I know a new school can be scary, so a little advice- every time you meet someone new, pay them a compliment." Phil Dunphy said to his son, Luke, as he walked beside him and Alex. Who was deeply engrossed in her book. Today was the first day to the start of the school year, and Luke's first day in a new school.

"Hey!" Phil grabbed his daughter's shoulder as she started to veer off course, too lost in her own little world of learning.

"Like, um, "I love your hair." "Awesome kicks." "You have a beautiful smile." Phil said as he grabbed Luke's shoulder after ensuring Alex walked beside them.

"Okay, Dad. I'll tell that big guy over there that he's got a beautiful smile." Luke told his dad sarcastically while waving toward two students, talking to themselves a few feet away.

"Fine. Skin, cheekbones- make it your own." Phil relented getting the hint.

"Um, could you maybe not walk me all the way in?" Luke said as he walked in front of his dad and stopped.

"What?" Phil said.

"I've got it from here." Luke waved his arms, hoping to save some face in front of his new potential friends.

"Oh. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Give your dad a -Off you go." Phil tried to hug Luke goodbye, but he quickly walked off. Phil was discouraged by his son giving him the cold shoulder but quickly noticed Alex walking off course again.

"Alex! Hey." Phil said as he grabbed her shoulders and walked behind her, guiding her the rest of the way. Phil looked up to see if he could find Luke once more before he left but noticed the same person he saw yesterday who was working in the Miller's yard. He noticed the young man had a backpack and had his hair up in a messy bun.

"He's a student here? So he wasn't hired to fix up the Millers lawn?" Phil questioned; he wasn't very familiar with the Millers. He heard rumors that the family abandoned the house, but he assumed someone still lived there. Considering the HOA hasn't made a move to rectify the previous worn-down state of the home, he always thought it was because of that. Could it be that this young man was a relative of theirs?

"Alex. Alex!" Phil shook his daughter's shoulders, knocking her out of her deep focus.

"What! What is it!?" Alex was frustrated. She was almost done with the current passage she was on.

"Alex, Do you know that student over there? the one with his hair in a bun." Phil said, turning Alex in the direction the student in question was.

"Who are you- Oh. Him. That's Harvey Miller." Alex's face scrunched up in annoyance upon seeing who her father was looking at.

"Harvey Miller? Miller? So he's the Miller's son?" Phil realized.

"Listen, Dad, don't pay too much attention to him. He's a bad apple. I have to get to class and get a head start on the syllabus. See you at home!" Alex then rushed off in the direction of her first class.

"Bad Apple?" Phil said, confused, but then noticed Gloria Pritchett, his father-in-law's wife and good friend.

"Hey, Gloria!" Phil said as he walked up to her. He'll try and find out why Alex said that the Miller's son was a bad apple later.

•••

"Ugh, he still goes here?"

"The audacity! to keep showing his face after what they did."

"Fucking loser, he should've just dropped out already."

"Do you think he'll try and do the same thing this year?"

Harvey kept hearing the student body talk about him. No one cared if he listened to them talk about him or not; some even sneered and gave him annoyed looks. Harvey pulled up the hood to his black hoodie. Maybe if he hid his face, no one else would notice he was there.

Reaching his locker, he saw that it was still in its poor beat-up condition he saw it was in last year. Clearly, the school saw no reason to get it fixed, not that he blamed them. After opening his locker, he saw it was empty. He sighed and hoped it stayed that way. But he knew that was foolish to do; the pranks would start soon.

Bap!

Harvey flinched to the left, and a strong pang of pain ran through his head. He turned to the right and saw a football rock back and forth on the ground.

"Ah, man! I'm so clumsy. Sorry about that, Miller!" A tall and muscled student walked up to the football and picked it up. Behind him walked four more students, all part of the football team.

"It's alright, Thompson. We all make mistakes." One of the students, another football player, said as he walked up to Thompson and patted his shoulder.

"You're right, Todd. I'll practice some more so it won't happen again!" Thompson said with a smile as the group of football players chuckled. "You don't mind? Do you, Miller? After all, your head makes the perfect practice dummy."

Thompson then wrapped his arm around Harvey's neck in what would appear friendly, like two old friends greeting each other. But Harvey started to feel him tightening his arm around his neck; Harvey grunted and felt a pang of pain at the back of his head. Harvey grits his teeth and swallows the spit in his mouth.

"… you're right. I don't mind." Harvey said slowly. He then bit his tongue and started to taste blood in his mouth. It was all he could do to control himself, not to blow up.

"See guys? No problem! You should all feel free to share my practice dummy!" Thompson let go of Harvey and patted his cheek loud enough that it could be mistaken for slaps.

"Sounds good, Thompson. We should roll. Hate to be late on our first day." One of the players that have been silent since the start said out loud.

"See you around, Miller." Thompson said as he closed Harvey's locker and harshly bumped him into the lockers behind him. Thompson and his group then walked off, laughing as if someone just told the funniest joke they had heard that day.

Harvey stood there looking down at his old pair of Adidas. He struggled to maintain his breathing level. He felt his body become hot and his ability to think straight gone; he felt like he would yell out loud into the hall. Harvey closed his eyes and counted to 10, a trick he picked up last year.

"You alright?" A voice to his right brought him out of his counting. He raised his head and looked at the person that spoke to him.

It was a young kid, probably a freshman. He was wearing a white, almost tan button-up shirt. He was short and looked uncomfortable, but he had a brave face.

"I'm alright." Harvey said as he turned to open his locker again.

"I'm not sure how you're alright after what just happened, that wasn't cool of them to do. We should tell the teachers! They can't get away with that behavior! Oh! I'm Manny, by the way, Manny Delgado." Manny said as he held his hand out in greeting.

Harvey stood there and stared at Manny for a few seconds, he saw that Manny was starting to look uncomfortable from holding his hand out for a while. Harvey smiled weakly and shook his hand.

"Harvey, Harvey Miller. You're a freshman, aren't you?" Harvey assumed that to be the case. Otherwise, the kid wouldn't talk to him. He has yet to get the chance to hear about all the rumors regarding him.

"Wow, do I really look that green?" Manny said as he held out his hands.

"Yeah, you do. But it's not a bad thing. Listen, Manny. I can tell you're a good guy, so take my advice. Don't talk to me after this, you don't want to get caught up in my business." Harvey said as he closed his locker after putting in his unneeded books.

"Ah, you mean what just happened wasn't a one-time thing." Manny said as he looked around and noticed a few students whispering to each other as they stared in their direction.

"Yeah, this most likely won't be the last time you see that. But thank you, Manny. I appreciate the concern. It's a nice change of pace. You're a good guy. I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends here. I'll see you around." Harvey turned and walked away, leaving a sad and confused Manny behind. He once again looked around and saw everyone go back to their business.

"A good guy? I sure don't feel like that's what I am right now." Manny said to no one. He then turned and walked away. He had to get to class.

•••

After the morning incident, no one bothered to interact with Harvey, which was okay with him. The first day of school is usually calm and uneventful. Everyone was familiarizing themselves with their schedules and the school grounds. But in a few days, everyone would pay more attention to him as the rumors around him would surely spread to the new students.

Harvey was now lying in bed, looking up at his ceiling. He had a quiet dinner and cleaned up what little he had left around his home. He tried to fall asleep for a while now, but sleep kept evading him, like most of the student body. He then turned to look at the digital clock on his nightstand; the time read 10:27 p.m. Harvey groaned and rolled off the bed.

"Might as well go for a walk." Harvey slipped on his Adidas and grabbed his keys; he stepped outside and locked the door behind him. The neighborhood was quiet and still, this was around the time when everyone was fast asleep. School and work were a few hours away, and most people needed all the time they could get in dreamland.

Harvey walked for a few minutes, making his way around the street until he stopped at the sight in front of him. It was a young woman, probably a year or two older than him. She was climbing out of a window two stories up. She then closed it slowly so as not to make any noise. After that, she awkwardly made her way down. Clearly, she's done this a few times, considering the path she took was well-practiced. Harvey looked a little off the street and saw a nice-looking car waiting, most likely for her.

The young woman finally reached the ground and raised her hands as if to pose victoriously for a cheering crowd. She then looked up and froze when she saw him staring at her. Harvey and the young woman stared at each other awkwardly, but eventually, he had to break the silence with a wave.

"Hello?" Harvey said.

"Oh, uh, hi?" The young woman said. Harvey noticed that she had some light blond highlights in her hair and was short. He wasn't very well-versed in fashion but he could tell she was well-dressed.

"Okay, Bye!" The woman said as she rushed off to the waiting vehicle. Once she got inside the car it drove off down the street and turned the corner.

"Alrighty then." Harvey was stumped, but he then smiled. This certainly was the funniest thing to happen to him today. Suddenly he felt an odd sensation, almost like a constant buzzing in his head.

Harvey then turned to his left and stared off into the distance; that direction led to the inner city. Harvey was surprised when he saw his surroundings pass by him.

"What the?" Harvey was running at full speed and couldn't remember when he started. Something was causing him to run in that direction, almost like a new sixth sense.

'Why do I feel so anxious? But I know I have to get there as fast as possible!' Harvey's chest felt hot, almost like a severe case of heartburn. His legs kept running, but he wasn't close to feeling exhausted for some reason. It's not like he was running too fast, but he knew he didn't possess this type of stamina before! At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he gets there.

•••

"You little shit! You think you can just step on my fresh kicks and walk away? HUH!?" A tall skinny man with a brown hoodie said as he threw another kick and a downed man.

"I- GAH! I said I was sorry! Please! It was an accident!" The man was crying, his busted lip made speaking a hurtfull experience.

"Fuck you, man! You think sorry is gonna clean my kicks?" The skinny man stopped his kicking as he tried to catch his breath.

"Jesus, Seth. Fucking hurry up, we got places to be. Just bash his head, and let's roll." A short man said as he lazily drank beer while sitting atop a car's hood. They were all behind a convenience store.

"You know what, Mike! I don't think you appreciate the value of new out-of-the-box nikes! or else you would if this dipshit didn't step on them!" Seth said as he gave the downed man another kick to the stomach, causing him to throw up.

"You! Seriously!? You almost ruined my kicks! Fuck this man!" Seth was furious now; he walked over to the store's back wall and picked up a loose brick.

"Seth, alright, man. Calm down. That's taking it too far." Mike said as he threw his beer and slipped off the hood. Seth was jittery and furious at this point.

"Nah, man! I gotta show everyone on these streets that I mean business. If I let this fucker go, ill-"

"STOP IT!" A loud yell alerted the three men to their new addition.

•••

Harvey was breathing heavily, not because of the run here. But because his breathing was out of control, he never engaged in this level of confrontation before, especially with two seedy-looking men. The men in question both walked up to him slowly, annoyed and angry looks on their faces.

"Fuck you mean, asshat? Stop it? Who do you think you're talking to?" Seth was angry. He gripped the brick in his hand tightly. He made sure to keep it behind his back.

"You best walk away, white boy." Mike said as he cracked his knuckles, a clear act of intimidation.

"I can't... just walk away. You need to stop, leave him alone!" Harvey was sweating bullets. His fists shook at his sides. His body was telling- no yelling at him to go up to him and use his fists to beat these guy black and blue. To show them that they can't just beat on the innocent!

"You hear this clown!? He thinks he's some sort of fruity hero!" Seth laughed at Harvey. Mike chuckled alongside him.

"Kid must've watched too many movies. Thinks he's invincible or something?" Mike said as they were now a few feet away from a shaking Harvey.

"Listen, it's not too-" Harvey couldn't finish because the brick in Seth's hand crashed to the side of his head. Harvey violently fell to the ground. The side of his head started bleeding profusely. Seth and Mike then started to punch and kick Harvey however they saw fit, all the while swearing at him.

Harvey tried to protect himself by curling into a ball, it did little to protect him. He felt immense pain from head to toe; the two thugs started to slow down as they became tired. Around the corner, red and blue lights filled the alley alongside a whoop whoop from a police cruiser.

"Damn, the pigs are here!" Seth and Mike stopped and sprinted away.

"Shit man, I can't go back!" Mike yelled as they kept running and turned the corner.

"HEY! Stop! Get back here!" An officer ran after them but stopped when he saw a bleeding and bruised young man. "Shit! Squad, this is 2114 responding. I have two men fleeing on foot. One is a white male, wearing a brown hoodie, light blue jeans, and white shoes. Other suspect is a Hispanic male, white shirt, brown cargo pants, and black shoes. They're heading West on East 45th. I need backup!" The officer said to his radio. "Buddy! Call an ambulance! Hurry!"

"Oh god! This is Officer Buddy Alabi. I have an 11-41. I need an ambo off East 45th! I have two victims that need immediate attention. One is in critical condition!" Buddy let go of his radio and looked at the other downed man.

"Sir! Are you alright!?" Buddy crouched next to a wheezing Harvey.

"I- I'm alright! Is he going to be alright? He... He came and tried to help me!" The man who accidentally stepped on Seth's shoes slowly stood up.

"Sir, please remain where you are! Help is on the way!" Buddy then examined Harvey. The wheezing wasn't a good sign.

"Son, can you hear me? Can you speak!?" Buddy looked at Harvey's injuries. The wheezing could be a broken rib. He then turned to see the broken brick and the large amounts of blood coming out of the head wound. "Damnit! Where's that ambo!"

Harvey started to lose consciousness. The blood loss and injuries were too much for him. What was he doing again? Why was he here and not home? Home? He has no home and no one to come back to. No one that would miss him. Harvey started to close his eyes as Buddy yelled at him to stay awake, But Harvey ignored him. He was so tired. He wanted some sleep.