Chapter Three

LIAM BENJAMIN

July 2, 2015...

“Are you ready, son?” Mom greeted me when I got to the living room, the rest of our belongings are scatter on the floor.

My Mom and I just moved here since yesterday, that's why some of our things are still in the box and have not been touched. We can't fix it yet because Mom is at work, and I am on the first day of class at my new school.

“Yes, Mom,” I plainly said.

I don't know, I’m not in the mood to go to school now. This is my first day, but I'm not even excited. I don't know why? Maybe, because I really don't want to transfer school. I prefer my old school, even though the reason I lose my mood every day are there. But some shit happened to us, that’s why I don’t have a choice but to transfer. For the peace of our life.

“Really? You just seem compelled,” Mom said, looking at me with her usual sweet smile. “Your first day today at your new school, you should be happy, Benji.”

Is there any reason for me to be happy? There's no reason for me to be happy. Apart from adjusting to that school, I have to adapt to the environment there. I need to deal and socialize again for my new classmates and teachers, and… I hate doing that. Not only that, I'm not sociable, I hate to socialize, I hate talking to everyone, I hate attention, and most of all? I love being alone. That's me. In my previous school I am nobody, and it is not a big deal. There's no problem if I don't have friends, best friends, or whatever names you call it. Its super fine with me.

Mom handed me the lunch box she was holding. I looked at what's on the inside. It is a Tuna sandwich, Apple, and a small carton of fresh Milk. There was also a note posted by Mom telling “GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FIRST DAY :)”.

I looked at her awkwardly because… it feels cringe. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem if she's doing this for me because I know how much time and effort she spent for doing my lunch. She's just doing this because I'm his son, and she loves me that much.

But I'm not a kid anymore, I am 16 now. I'm on the right age to do my stuff and I can do crimes if I want to. I can manage myself, I have allowance too to feed myself. I feel it would be better not to bother her because she has many things to worry about, especially at her work.

My Mom is a Pediatric Surgeon, and she is always on duty, so she is always tired, and I want to avoid adding to the reasons for her fatigue.

“Lunch box? Really?” I said, and she just laughed at my reaction. “Mom, you know how much I like sandwiches but seriously? Why do I need a lunch box?”

She sighed before talked, “I took the other things out of the box, and then I saw your lunch box before. I just miss the old times, son. I make you a lunch every time you go to school.”

Okay? I feel guilty of what action I showed to her. I remember it too, those old times that everything weren’t messy yet.

“I miss it too, Mom,” I said with a weak smile on my lips. I walk towards her and give her a hug. I know how much she missed it, those time that we were happy together with my brother. I left hugging her and said goodbye. “I need to go, Mom. I might be late, I don't want to be up all day on my first day.“

“Do you want me to take you?” She asked, but I declined to her offer because as I said earlier, I'm a grown up man now. “Are you sure, son? You prefer not to be late, do you?”

“I'm so certain, Mom,” I proudly said. “Have breakfast before going to the hospital.”

She can't have breakfast sometimes because there is always an emergency at her work. That's why I don't want to bug her just to prepare everything for me, she can't take care of herself properly, and then I'll add to her worries.

I kissed her on the cheek before I left, “bye, Mom!”

“Take care, Benji! Enjoy your first day. If you have a crush on your girl classmates, don't forget to tell me right away, okay?“ she chased after before I could finally get out the door.

I'll have a crush on someone? As if, psh. Crush that I'm not having since birth. I never dreamed about liking a girl I just met, not in my wildest dream. I just ignored what she said, and I finally left.

I arrived at my new school right away. This school is not that far, maybe about five corners from our house before we get here. I took a tricycle to go because I don't want to be late, but I can also walk. It's like walking distance.

When I got off the tricycle, I handed the fare to the diver and immediately walked towards the school gate. But I did not enter the gate first because there were so many other students entering. I want to avoid keeping up with them, I'm not acting finicky and don't want to be touched. I truly don't want to go right away, nothing… I just want to walk alone. I was like this at my old school, that I let everyone in first before I enter.

When I saw only a few students were coming in, I let my feet to walk across the school gate. This school is pretty good. Seems just like my old school. There are many buildings, there is a soccer field, garden, gym, laboratories, and etcetera. Yeah, there is nothing so remarkable here that you will be saying “wow”.

I kept on walking because I felt like countless eyes were gazing at me, or is it just my hallucinations? Whatever. I need to hurry because I still don't know where my room is. All I know is my room number, I don’t know where that building located.

That annoys the hell out of me.

This is why I prefer not to transfer. I'm making it harder for myself to find my room now. If I hadn't moved to school, I wouldn't have entered the room now and read a book quietly.

I took my registration form out of the bag and looked in which building my room located. “Galileo Bldg., Rm. 501, Class 4-A.” It appears to me that the greatest scientists even named the buildings here. Hmm, I like it, though.

I looked for that building and I didn't have a hard time and I saw it right away. I check my registration form again to double-check my section. I started looking at room numbers, I went on first floor but there was no Rm. 501. I wasted no time and went straight to the second floor but still nothing. Until I get to the third and fourth floor, there is still no Rm. 501. Jeez.

The start of my first day was too delightful, eh? Make it difficult to find a room.

Even though it was breathtaking to climb the stairs, I continued to the next floor and finally I reached the last floor. Damn! If I can't find that room here, I'll just go home and tell mom that I'm not on the list of students, so she'll just take me back to my old school rather than torturing myself here to find my new home room!

I started to find that freaking room again and check every room numbers on rooms I passed. I am in the fourth room, but Rm. 503 is posted on the upper part of the door. I looked again on the first room I passed. Rm. 506 is placed. It looks like the number of rooms here is reversed because from the right side, 506 is the start of the room and that's what I saw on the other floor I passed. Damn this place.

Who the hell built this building, and why are the room numbers listed like this? I massaged my temple out of extreme annoyance. The person who put room numbers upside down on this building was stupid. Was he not taught proper counting of numbers when he is on pre-school? There are only 6 rooms per floor, so why didn't he do his job right?

I stopped ranting in my mind, I realized that I was stupid too. I saw earlier that 06 was ahead of the room numbers and I didn't immediately think of that. You're a hundred percent dumb fuck, Liam.

I just continued walking to the farthest room because definitely that was Rm. 501, avoiding embarrassment as well because of the students I passed staring at me. Maybe they think I look like a fool walking around here and then frowning.

So, what? So what if I look like a halfwit finding my room. Do I look I care?

After a long search for this pest room, I found Rm. 501 finally. I was about to enter but… I saw that there is a teacher inside. Oh, shoot. I said I don't want to be late but why? Why is negative vibes lingering on my moment today? Is it a sign not to enter this class and just drop out? Can I just go back to my old school?

-AndyThoughts-