"How did your math help go?" Asked Larry as he and Sal walked to school the next day.
"Better than expected," Sal answered.
"So," Larry said, "You gonna tell me who you were hanging out with last night?"
"Maybe," Sal replied.
Larry laughed. "Why only maybe?"
"I think you won't like the answer," explained Sal.
"What do you mean?" Larry asked. He jokingly added, "What, was it Travis or something?"
"Yeah," Sal admitted.
Larry laughed, then fell silent. "Oh, wait, seriously?"
Sal nodded.
"Dude, Sal," Larry sighed, "You can do what you want, I know this. But honestly? You know how I feel about Travis!"
"I knew you won't like it," Sal said quietly.
Larry sighed. "I'm sorry, man. It's your life, not mine. I'm not mad, man."
"I know," Sal said, smiling under his mask.
Larry nudged Sal playfully with his elbow. They both laughed as Sal shoved him back. They made it to school finally. Larry basically dropped it completely as they continued to converse. Sal was really glad Larry didn't make a terribly big deal of it. He was afraid of a huge argument breaking out. It seemed his fear was for naught.
It was hard to focus in class that day. Sal was thinking about what happened yesterday. Travis rarely displayed much emotion at all. To break down like that, especially in front of him... And then Travis has been struck. There was no doubt about it. Sal had enough proof now, and if he wasn't fear for Travis' safety, he would call child services and have his dad taken to jail. But if he did, and services dismissed his claims because he's a kid, well... He feared what might happen.
Sal sometimes wondered if Travis' dad might kill him one day. If he would hit him one too many times. If he might throw something too sharp or too hard at Travis at just the right angle. If he could get so mad that he could just murder him outright. Then again, it had crossed his mind that the abuse could kill Travis without his father's hand in it at all.
Sal silently wondered and worried all day. His fretfulness grew worse when he noticed Travis wasn't even at school today at all. Mrs. Packerton explained that it was because he was sick. That could be true, but Sal thought it was highly unlikely. Travis has shown up for school sick before. His dad simply did not care. Thinking about it made Sal's stomach feel tangled.
Travis only really made Sal feel two ways anymore. The tangled feeling he felt right now, when he was worried of Travis, was one. The other one was something fluttery. It was like stage fright, but he wasn't in a play. It was like feeling dizzy but standing still the entire time. It made him feel nervous, like his lungs and heart were being strangled by a snake. He wondered if that were butterflies in his stomach, the way people say it in books he read as a child. But...
Weren't butterflies in your stomach a sign of love? Having a crush? Sal didn't have a crush on Travis! ...Did he? He didn't think he did, but when he thought about it... How else do you describe this feeling? It wasn't hate, anger, sadness, fear, or happiness; he knew what those felt like. Oh God, if he did have a crush on Travis then... Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no! This makes things so much worse!
Sal looked down at the worksheet Mrs. Packerton has placed on his desk. He didn't know how to do it, once again. He lowered his head onto his desk in defeat. What was he going to do. He was disappointed in the world. He was disappointed in himself. He was angry, too. Angry at Travis' dad for being abusive, angry at adults for letting this happen, the teachers who saw the symptoms of abuse and did nothing. He was angry at the way things were, that the world ever allow such injustices in the first place. Sal was angry that he ever even had to find a crying boy in the bather in the first place, angry he lived in a world where that happens to people. He was angry that when he read the note on the floor, he knew what it meant, why it had to be written, that it had to be written.
The bell rang, and then he was angry at it for interrupting his train of thought. He just wanted to be angry for one moment. Just one moment. He felt tears on his cheeks, hot, burning against his skin, making his mask stick to his face a little. He felt like he shouldn't care, but he did, deep down. He knew he did. He did and he hated it. Then hated that he hated it.
How was he supposed to feel? He wanted to feel what he wanted to feel, but he should know better. Under normal circumstances, these feeling would be fine. Now, they seemed to be mocking him after what he saw. He wanted to tune it out, but he couldn't, and he knew it. Something had to change, he made up his mind, he would change it. He swore to change it. He would never forgive himself if the future remained unaltered. He saw what he saw, but when he thought about it, he didn't have to see it play out. So, he wouldn't.
Mind made up, he walked into the cafeteria. He spotted his friends, and sat with them after grabbing his lunch. It was hamburger Thursday. He, like the rest of his friends, removed the patty from his burger. It wasn't because of the rumor that the burgers were made with insect meat, either. None of them were chancing on eating human flesh again.
His friends were all chatting together. It buzzed like static while Sal relayed his thoughts in his mind. He didn't think up anything new. He just kept thinking of the same things over and over again. It was like running in circles, but in his head. It made him feel small. What was he going to do when it happened?
"Hey, man! You alright?" asked Ash, "You're awfully quiet today."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sal mumbled.
"Sal," Larry replied, "You're a terrible liar."
"Yeah," added Todd, "You're never this quiet unless something's bothering you. I've noticed a pattern."
"It's nothing big," Sal bluffed.
"Sal," Larry said, exasperated, "You're still a terrible liar."
"Hey," Ash said in a soothing tone, placing a gentle hand on his arm, "It's okay. You can tell us anything."
Sal took a deep breath, "Okay, so I had another dream of the future, and it's really bothering me."
"A dream you say?" Todd asked, "Fascinating! Tell me everything!"
"Hold on," Larry blurted before anyone else could say anything, "You told me that you wouldn't let it get to you! You lied to me!"
"Larry, I'm sorry!" Sal stated in earnest, "If you knew what I saw, you'd understand why I'm so jumpy."
"What'd you see, then?" Larry asked.
"Yeah, what's got you so wound up?" Ash asked.
"I think- er, I know Travis is in danger," Sal explained.
"Why should I care?" Todd jeered disdainfully.
"Yeah, me too! Why should I care?" refuted Larry.
"Hush, you guys!" Ash hissed, shooting them an angry look.
"I didn't expect you to," Sal explained softly and sadly, "So I didn't say anything at all."
Ash, Todd, and Larry all exchanged a meaningful glance. "I don't want you to think you have a reason to lie to me," Larry finally said.
"I want you to feel better," added Ash.
"I've been tracking your dreams and their correlation to the future," Todd explained, "This should be in the data too."
"Okay," sighed Sal, "Here's what happened..."