Chapter 3: Right at Home

Thomas and Melissa are standing outside of the classroom during their break, waiting for the bell to ring. They are laughing and joking together, clearly in a good mood after the recent events in class. Nothing too interesting, of course. Just mere gossip. They seem to be completely unaware of the other students who are also standing around them, some of whom are eavesdropping on their conversation. Thomas looks at Melissa and smiles playfully.

"You know, you really put Andrea on the spot back there."

Melissa laughs and nods, thinking of the events that just transpired in class.

"Yeah, well he kind of deserved it for wasting everyone's time. Who takes that long to solve a simple problem?"

Thomas can't help but laugh and agree with her. "Fair enough. I mean, come on. The least you can do is prepare for the lesson ahead of time."

“Not like it would have mattered anyway. God, people seem to be incapable of toughening up. I mean, what is it to speak up? Pussies.” She says as she pulls out her phone with a smile.

Thomas laughs and nods in agreement,

“Exactly! People are so sensitive these days and can't handle a bit of exposure. It's not like they haven't spoken before anyway."

Melissa looks up from her phone and smiles at Thomas,

"Agreed. Who cares if you embarrass yourself a little? It's not like it's the end of the world or anything. You get back up and try again. It's called trial and error."

Thomas smiles at her and nods.

"Exactly. If more people had that mentality, then maybe some of them wouldn't be such an emotional mess all the time."

“Ya, I’d love to see their lives outside of school. Or after it, for that matter. I doubt they'd last long...” Melissa sends a message to another friend as she speaks.

Thomas chuckles,

“Yeah… I bet they're the type of people who run to their safe space whenever they feel upset. I’d like to see them try that at work…."

Thomas looks over at her and watches her type away with a smile. He can't help but wonder who she is messaging and what the conversation is about.

“Someone I should worry about?” Thomas asks humorously. Melissa looks up from her phone,

“If you're afraid of Miranda, then sure.” Melissa chuckled. Thomas nods his head, still smiling as Miranda is mentioned.

“The only thing frightening about that girl is her hygiene. Among other various things. Is she on for tomorrow?” Thomas asks.

Melissa shakes her head. "Oh relax. Miranda's not that bad. She's just a little... special."

Thomas nods sarcastically at her and raises an eyebrow. "Special? Sounds like that's just another word for crazy."

Melissa shrugs and looks back at her phone. "Like I said, she's not that bad. And yes, she should be on for tomorrow."

Thomas looks away from Melissa, “Great. Should be an interesting time.."

Of course, Melissa detected a bit of suspicion in his voice...

“You sound a little doubtful, Tom.” Melissa shut off her phone and looked at her friend, studying his face.

Thomas can sense the suspicion in Melissa's voice and looksat her, mildly embarrassed by his earlier reaction. He shrugs a bit and tries to play off his previous comment.

"Well, it's not like I'm trying to hide my reservations about Miranda. I mean, she's a bit... much for me."

Thomas can see Melissa studying his face. Her expression indicates that she knows there's more to the story than he is letting on.

“It's just, with Cole around, she follows him around like a lost puppy. Miranda is too much for me, but both of them?? They’ll blow it the minute we step foot off that bus.” Thomas sighed.

Melissa sighs at Thomas's comment and nods in agreement. "Yeah, you're probably right. I mean, Miranda's bad enough on her own. Having Cole there with her is like pouring gasoline on a fire."

Thomas sighs and rubs his face, feeling slightly frustrated. "Yeah, and with the way Cole is acting now after our little run-in with Andrea, I can't imagine this is going to be a fun trip."

Melissa stops him,

“Wait, wait, you and Cole had a run-in with Andrea?” She asks, eyes lighting up.

“Ha, ya. Cole only scared him. Left him a couple of things in his locker. A couple of things to make him feel right at home, y’know?”

Melissa looked at him with interest and slight concern, but of course, Thomas quickly caught on,

“Don’t worry, nothing too serious. It was his idea but I let him know to hold back. Lord knows I can't take any heat right now.” Thomas said.

“Soo..?” Melissa was still waiting for her friend to clue her in.

“Oh, just a few things Cole thought would appease Hispanics or whatever. Like I said, it was his idea. I was just there when he decided to do it. ” Thomas shrugged.

"Oh, come on." Melissa's expression shifts from curiosity to skepticism as she realizes that Thomas is being dismissive about it.

"I can't imagine that Cole had the best intentions when picking out those gifts. And even if you were there, I can guarantee you that not a lot of thought went into those choices."

Thomas smiles sheepishly and looks away. "Look, it might not have been the best idea, but it was pretty harmless.”

Thomas can see that Melissa is becoming increasingly curious and suspicious about the events that occurred between the boys. He tries to maintain his composure and act casual. With a final smirk and eyebrow raise, Melissa says,

"Soo... nothing too crazy?"

"Exactly. It's just a harmless joke. Anyway, that was a little over a week ago. Besides, it's not like anyone ever finds out about these things." Thomas says.

“Alright. It's just funny... I'm surprised the kid is even showing up to school. Shit, he probably won’t after what happened today. Then again, maybe his parents would throw him out in the dirt if he didn't.” Melissa smirked.

Thomas smiles,

“I honestly thought he was going to drop out by now…”

Suddenly, Melissa’s eyes widened as if she was a cat who spotted new prey. Her mouth crept into a smile and she nudged Thomas to look behind himself,

“Speaking of the little angel,”

Thomas turns to look where Melissa is gesturing to, curious about what she is referring to. His eyes follow her gesture and his expression turns to one of surprise as he sees Andrea walking up the hallway toward him and Melissa.

Andrea is clearly uncomfortable and anxious, looking around as if he is afraid of being noticed by anyone. When he notices Thomas and Melissa, he looks down as if ashamed and embarrassed by his presence.

"Aww, look at him. I guess he’s pushing through after all." Melissa says, mocking him even now.

Andrea pulls his hoodie over his head and attempts to pick up the pace as he tries to walk on by them. Clearly, he doesn’t even so much as want to hear their voices right now. However, Melissa calls out to him and forces him to stop and face them. Melissa's tone switches to one of playfulness as she addresses Andrea.

"Aww, come on. We aren't going to bite you. Just relax a bit."

Thomas simply shrugs and smiles as Andrea looks between them with a mixture of fear and anxiety.

“I- I’m fine. Just trying to get to class.” His voice is quiet and timid.

Melissa throws that fake smile on her face as she places an arm on Andrea’s shoulder,

“Period two hasn't even started yet. Why don't you hang out for a bit?”

Andrea squirms under Melissa's touch and tries to shrug off her arm. "No, I'm fine. I-I've. I've got stuff to do."

Thomas watches the interaction with interest and chuckles at Melissa's actions. She seems to be enjoying playing with Andrea's emotions, making him feel uncomfortable through her playful teasing.

“Oh yeah? What's in your little schedule?” Melissa asks.

Andrea shifts uncomfortably and hesitates to speak. He looks down and tries to hide his face.

"I-I've got some... homework to do for my next class. And... and I need to... umm..."

Andrea trails off as he struggles to come up with a realistic excuse for his inability to stay and socialize with them. Melissa notices this hesitation and looks over at Thomas to see if he's paying attention.

“You really think you'll get that done in the span of five minutes? At least, not alone you can't. My friend there,” She points over to Thomas.

“Thomas, is his name, can help you. Both of us can. He's more of a math guy though, but I’m sure your next class might be one I'm outstanding in.” Melissa pulls on him a bit but not at all too much.

Andrea continues to squirm and look uncomfortable as he is confronted by Melissa's persistence. He doesn't seem to understand why Melissa is making such a big deal out of something so small.

"N-no, I'm fine... I-I can handle it."

Andrea looks down at his binder as he tries to get Melissa to let him go. The tension grows as Melissa's grasp on Andrea becomes softer with his protests. His face is growing more and more anxious at the thought of staying with Melissa and Thomas for "just five minutes." Thomas almost appears out of nowhere behind Melissa.

“If you want to flunk a class then that's on you, kid. Your parents will probably kill you for it.” Thomas cuts into the conversation, but Melissa is quick to jump on her friend’s track,

“You do realize that homework makes up a big chunk of your grade, right? That kind of work is really meant to be done at home. Hence the name.”

Andrea looks up with a slight scowl on his face as he faces Thomas. "I said, I'm fine. It's my homework and I can handle it however I want."

Thomas and Melissa exchange a puzzled look as they ponder what to say next. Andrea is clearly set on being difficult, but they know that they don't want to give up just yet.

"You're being a bit stubborn, don't you think?" Melissa says, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Showing up to class with incomplete work won’t exactly qualify as ‘passing with flying colours’. And if it's work that was meant to be done at home, well... Let's just say your next teacher won't have much faith in you.” Thomas says.

He looks over at Melissa and then toward the direction Andrea came from. He noticed something about the boy’s combination lock...

“Like you said, you really need to get that homework done... So here, why don't we give you that feel of *home*?” Taking the situation from Melissa’s hands into his, he pulls Andrea backward and toward the boy’s locker.

Andrea's face flashes with surprise and confusion as Thomas suddenly grabs his arm and pulls him toward the boy's locker. Melissa laughs at the look of apprehension on Andrea's face and follows the two boys as they head to the locker. Andrea looks over at Thomas in bewilderment as they reach his locker. He watches Thomas with slight apprehension and concern, wondering what he intends to do. Andrea looks back over at Melissa, as if asking for her help in escaping the situation. It all comes clear to him once Thomas swings the locker door open and roughly shoves Andrea inside!

Andrea lets out a startled yell and reaches out to brace himself as he is roughly pushed into the locker. Thomas quickly locks the door shut as Andrea stumbles around inside the small space, trying to get his bearings.

Melissa laughs at the sight and faces Thomas with an expression of amusement and approval. "Nice one, Tom."

Thomas laughs and nods in agreement as he turns back to look at the locker. He can hear Andrea pounding on the door and trying to open it from inside. Andrea stumbles around inside the cramped locker, his panic growing as he realizes he is trapped and unable to escape Thomas's cruelty. His breathing begins to grow more frantic as his eyes dart around the inside of the locker, truly noticing the offensive stickers that were plastered onto the inside of his locker. All were stereotypical items from his culture, but it's almost as if they were now really starting to devour him.

Why didn't I peel them off?

As soon as Andrea sees the racist imagery and the word "spic" in bold letters, his anxiety flares to a breaking point. He begins to hyperventilate and ceases to pound on the locker, his cries for help dying down. His wish to disappear was quickly one of regret. Andrea struggles to control his panic as he is suddenly trapped in the confined space of the locker. He tries to take deep breaths but his lungs feel tight and closed off. More of the offensive stickers and symbols plastered all over the walls of the locker suddenly begin to overwhelm him.

Andrea's breathing grows more rapid and shallow as the words and imagery consume his entire field of vision. His heart pounds violently against his chest as he struggles to stay calm and in control. The lack of airflow and confined space begin to take their toll on Andrea as his tears begin to flow freely. Andrea closes his eyes and tries to force himself to relax as he sobs silently and tears run down his face. He attempts to find a comfortable position that will help him breathe more easily, but the small space only causes him pain and discomfort. His breathing is quick and laboured as he struggles to catch his breath.

His chest feels tight and heavy as the walls of the locker begin to close in on him. Andrea's mind begins to race as he wonders if he will ever make it out of the locker alive. From outside the locker, Melissa and Thomas listen attentively as Andrea becomes more and more silent. All they can hear is his silent cries and laboured breathing. Melissa looks to her friend with approval and satisfaction.

Thomas smiles to himself and kicks the binder on the floor away and further down the hall. As the sound of Andrea's cries and breaths grows fainter, Thomas and Melissa begin to walk away. They laugh and joke about Andrea's overreaction, completely forgetting about him as they continue on their way. Andrea, trapped inside the locker, continues to cry silently in a mix of anxiety and despair. His tears drip down the metal interior of the locker, making small puddles on the floor.

He curls up in the corner of the locker, hoping that someone will come to rescue him. He continues to breathe in sharp and shallow breaths as his anxiety grows higher and higher. As Melissa and Thomas walk away, Melissa pauses and looks over at Thomas.

"Now, wasn't that a brilliant idea? I never thought I'd see the day when someone would actually fall for it." She says sarcastically.

Thomas smiles and nods in agreement.

They share a glance with one another and continue on down the empty hallway, leaving Andrea crying alone in his locker.

“Ah well, I guess I'll see you after school. I’ve got a student council thing during lunch.” Melissa says.

Thomas looks at her, "Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot about that. Well, I'll see you later then. Have fun at the student council."

Melissa rolls her eyes and laughs. "Yeah, fun seems to be the one thing I won't have there. But anyway, I'll see you then."

They share a brief nod and part ways, each heading off towards their respective classes. Neither mentions Andrea or thinks about him as they walk down the now empty hallway.