Minor Movements - 3

"And then in that moment when I love them... I destroy them."

Boredom. It's something you're used to. Your mom doesn't pick you up from school until 6:45. Most days it's not so bad. The library is open after school. You do your homework so finishing homework has never been a big deal. You're at school longer than you are at home.

The library isn't always welcoming. Carlos has had it out for you for a while. Your parents have been strapped for cash. They make just enough for you to not qualify for free lunch at school, so you're the only one with a lunch bag. It's not bad food, but it doesn't always look great. You try to hide it. You feel shame.

Carlos likes to take your lunch bag. He says it's a great massager for his crotch.

He's sneaky enough to not get noticed by the chaperones. But the lunchbox smells afterward. It takes time to get the lunchbox back. Sometimes he gets his fix early. Sometimes he doesn't.

Today's lunch had one of your mom's hairs in it. You didn't eat the rest of your sandwich. Others would notice if you took it out. It's a long hair. And now the lunchbox is serving a different purpose.

You try to get it back because your mom came early for once. It's 4:45, so it was a surprise. Normally, you just hide around the side of the school.

You learned to stay away from the front. The chaperones always make you call your mom every ten minutes. You hate her voicemail.

But today, you need to leave. You've learned to talk shit. It's one of the few things that works to get your lunchbox back. You call Carlos fat. You throw in something about his mom. Something sharp. Something cruel.

It works.

But you've been there too. Your doctor said you were obese just last year, before the weight dropped off.

You got the bag back. You said what you had to, but maybe you shouldn't have.