A bright sunny day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and everything seemed a-okay for the students filing into the high school building. Many were mingling, talking among each other or calling out to friends from across the hall. But one kid, one kid, refused to do that. And that kid was Connor Murphy, the druggie, possible school shooter with long brown hair and a hoodie black as night. He nudged open the glass school doors and into the chaotic, crowded halls of Cherry River High School, surveying the heads before making his way to his first period. The crowds seemed to part as he walked, head down, avoiding eye contact with all who ever dared to stand in his way, or even walked the halls. Kids shrank away, some laughed, but most moved aside afraid of the possibility of him to snap. Reaching the door, he opened it with care and stepped inside, letting his gaze travel over the kids who shared the class with him before he sat down at the black of the glass, leaning his head against the wall and letting his mind wander to the past.

He was younger, maybe six or seven, the grass was tickling his bare calves and he giggled. His older sister was beside him, ripping up grass and messing with the clovers that surrounded them. A golden day where nothing could go wrong and Connor was sure of it, as he had started to rip up the grass beneath him as well. His sister giggled, and lifted her head to the front porch, getting up to get her dolly that was resting on her step. Connor followed her, pushing up with his hands and racing after to catch up. She bent down, fingers brushing its face when voices rose from inside.

"Cynthia, I tell you we will have to sell the house!"

"But this is the place they grew up with Larry, we can't just take that away! Think of Connor, of Zoe!"

There was a pause, as the voices had gone down. His sister had skipped away to the rose bushes, but Connor still remained at the doorstep. His interest was piqued, he had never heard anything of this.

"They can handle it. We don't have the finances to keep it."

"Then we can get the finances! Larry-!"

Dead silence.

"Cynthia, we are selling the house. That's final."

The sound of heavy feet signaled his father had left the scene. Connor could just hear the ragged breathing of his mother from inside. He turned around, joining his sister with the conversation in mind.

Connor stood out of his chair at the mark of the bell, tucking his long hair behind his ears. He adjusted his hoodie, snatching his pencil as he headed out into the halls. He stuck to the walls, slipping inside of his second-period classroom and sitting down. He looked up through his hair, letting his eyes fall on a boy wearing a striped polo doodling in his notebook. From closer examination, he could just make out the poorly drawn cartoon trees growing from the little blue lines on the page. Connor rolled his eyes, leaning back into his chair and staring blankly at the ceiling.

A shiver rolled along Connor's spine, and in response, he shrank further into the pillow that covered his face from the terror outside. The shrill voice of his mother rang through the house, the pleading cries, and screams of accusations that in the long run were untrue and didn't make sense. The booming voice of his father that floated through the walls and seemed to insult his ears with the loudness of their calls. Connor whimpered, curling up slightly and wrinkling the blanket underneath him. His fingers brushed the patterns embroidered into the blanket, his eyes squinting as he tried to block out the noise that seemed to haunt the air around him. He pressed his face in the mattress, deciding to wait it out and perhaps it'd be all right in the morning.

The lunchroom was loud, and Connor made his way to a more secluded part where there would be less noise than normal. Balancing his hot lunch in his hands, he sat down at the corner of the wall, leaning against it as he ate the poorly made pizza on the tray. Looking to the side, he squinted at some people eating cold lunches, sending them a cold stare.

Connor sighed, lowering his eyes from the tray as he stood, noticing the absence of others near him and nonchalantly made his way into the hall. Connor ran his knuckles along the lockers, spotting a glasses-wearing kid who stood next to the lockers and shoving him into them. He ignored the kid's cursing behind him and stepped into third period, sitting down and running his finger along the edge of the desk.

The only sound that filled the dining room was the clinking of forks on plates and family chewing food. Zoe had her eyes trained on her food, messing with her mashed potatoes before putting a bite in her mouth. Cynthia dabbed her mouth with a napkin while Larry was already finished, sitting back and sipping a beer. Connor sighed, giving his family a quick glance before returning to his food, picking at it as he had lost his appetite beforehand. Zoe jerked, reaching forward to grasp her glass of water but instead knocked it over instead. And in response to knocking it over, she screeched in a shrill voice:

"Coooonnnooorr!"

Connor jumped, looking up at her through from bangs that had fallen into his face. "What?"

"You spilled my water!" She looked angry. Fake.

"No, I didn-"

"CONNOR!" The loud boom made Connor jump, and he whipped around to face his father with wide eyes. "Go into the kitchen and get a towel to clean this mess up!"

"But I-"

"NOW!" Connor scrambled to get out of his chair and onto his feet, going into the kitchen in silence.
The hallways were more crowded after third period, Connor now having to nudge his way through seas of people with no end in sight. He heard the sound of someone trying to talk, but he let out a grunt that sounded more like a growl that shut the kid up as he pushed out of the current and into fourth period.

The sound of the football game played in the background, Connor spacing out as he laid his head against the armrest, looking anywhere besides the television. He could hear the silent curses muttered from his father, the clinking of china as mother washed the dishes, and the infernal texting sound that resonated from Zoe's phone. He let his gaze wander the room, taking in the plainness of the newer house and the blankness of the paint on the walls. Connor was about to doze off too when he felt the sudden pain of someone's sandaled foot hit his temple. The kick had him sprawling to the ground.

He jumped up, a fury in his eyes as he stomped over to stand right in front of Zoe. "ZOE! Why did you kick me?!"
She looked up, annoyance in her face but a smirk in her eyes. "I didn't kick you."

He growled in frustration. "Yes, you did!" He then proceeded to kick her in the shin, which had her cringe and rub the area of pain.

Connor could practically feel the gaze thrown onto him, the hot, burning anger seething from his eyes. "Connor, you do not kick Zoe! Do you understand?"

Normally Connor would've just said 'yes sir' and left it at that, but right now he was too furious to comply. "But Zoe just kicked me!"

Father stood, his large frame towering over Connor. He gulped, realizing that a fire that was once smoldering was now desecrating in his eyes, hands were clenched tightly at his sides. "You do not argue back to me! Go to your room, you're grounded!" Connor stormed off, having the audacity to stomp up the stairs before going into his room and softly closing the door.

Connor dipped his head to the floor, trying to block out the deafening roar of the rapids as the kids waterfalled out the front door to the busses or to home. Connor didn't follow the tide, instead breaking off from the rest to follow a sidewalk with little valleys that stretched across the gray. He could see some yards ahead of him the darker dappled shadows as he neared the small wood that resided in the town. He walked ahead, staring at the shaded ground and twisting a small switchblade in his pocket.

A/N Tenifi here.
This is the first story that I've written that actually has chapters. (I doesn't count) I'm planning this one out and already got another chapter done and ready to go.

So, stay tuned. Updates on Fridays.

Edit: Sorry for any random updates. I'm still getting into the habit of editing before publishing, so excuse any of that.