Chapter 1

Leo - 17 years later

It’s lunchtime, the dreaded hour where I’m left in a mostly uncontrolled environment without much supervision. At least when I’m in class the teachers are there, and I’m left alone. But lunchtime, that's open season.

I hand my lunch voucher in and get in line, keeping my head down and just holding out the tray at each station. I don’t even care what they put on it. I’ll eat whatever is there because it’s the only meal I’ll get each day, so I’m not picky. Grabbing a carton of milk I lift my head up enough so I can see to navigate to an empty table in the corner of the vast cafeteria and before I can sit down I see him coming from the corner of my eye. I start to walk faster, but he speeds up and pushes me hard in the back, and I nearly hit the floor. I stumble, somehow holding on to my tray, and just keep moving forward until I’m at the table. I sit down and Donavon and his squad of assholes sit beside me.

“Can’t you take one day off from making my life hell,” I ask? I’m so tired of the relentless bullshit from them.

“Awe, don’t you want to be our friends anymore?” He picks up the apple that’s on my tray and takes a bite. “I thought we were besties.”

“Please, Donavon, leave me alone. I - I just want to - ” Before I can finish he stands up and grabs my milk, opening it and pouring it over my head. It takes everything in me to just stay sitting and not pound the kid, but I know better. His father is the chief of police in this shitty town, and until I turn eighteen, I’m stuck here. I clench my jaw and swallow hard.

“Listen here ya giant freak, stay away from my girl you hear me?” He takes a scoop of the mashed potatoes off my plate and slaps his hand on my chest, wiping it down the front of me. He has successfully gotten the attention of other students now too, and I sit like a helpless idiot in the corner of the room. “I know you’re staring at her behind those sunglasses, having freaky thoughts about her.”

I don’t look up as I respond. “I - I don’t give two shits about you or your girl.”

“That’s right. You better not.” Donovan takes the rest of the tray and tosses it on the floor, and my heart sinks. There goes anything I’ll eat today, I don’t have money to buy another one. Hell, I didn’t have money to buy the one I got, that comes from the vouchers I get from the group home.

“Get the fuck out of here Don, leave him alone.” Angie comes once again to my rescue and pushes a couple of the guys out of their seats and sits down taking their place. “Fuck off or I’ll get Mr. Jackson.”

My daily tormentors get up to leave, but not without parting words. “See ya after school loser,” Donovan says with an evil grin on his face.

“Here,” Angie unpacks her lunch and hands me her sandwich, and I’m so humiliated. “Leo, you don’t have to take that shit from them.”

Angie is my only friend. We don’t hang out or anything outside of school, she doesn’t even know where I live, but she’s the only one that talks to me like I’m a human and not some kind of freak. She plays on the girl’s soccer team and from what I hear she’s pretty good and hoping for a scholarship.

“I’m not taking your lunch Angie,” I slide the sandwich back to her and take a napkin and try to wipe the milk out of my hair.

“Leo, the way they treat you, it’s not okay and it’s getting worse.”

“Maybe they want to get in as much as they can before we graduate.” I pull my ratty sweatshirt off now that it’s covered in today’s lunch and stuff it into my backpack, I’m glad the t-shirt I’m wearing is basic and clean.

“You’re a big guy, bigger than Donavan, I don’t get it. You could just beat the shit out of them.”

“And then what? Have his dad get me kicked out of school? Or try and send me back to juvi? I have three more months until graduation. I turn eighteen and then I can leave legally and get as far away from here as possible.”

The bell interrupts us, and I can’t say I’m upset about it.

Angie grabs her things and stands, gives me a quick pat on the back and heads off to class. “I’ll see you tomorrow, wait for me by the gym at lunch, I have something for you.” She gives me a quick grin and takes off, and I know she left the sandwich and her banana behind on purpose, and deep down I’m thankful for it. I grab it and put it in my bag and head to class.

One more period left and we have a substitute, thank God. The older man admits that he was called at the last minute and has no intention of teaching us calculus, so he just puts a movie on. The lights go off and I slouch into my desk, thankful for the dark. I take my sunglasses off and rub my eyes.

'She’s right. You could easily have kicked their asses. You need to stand up for yourself.'

I nearly jump out of my seat as the voice comes back. Over the last six months, I have been hearing a voice in my head, talking to me, and I know that can’t be good. I haven’t told anyone about it, but I’m pretty sure I’m losing my mind. Maybe all the shit that has happened to me in the past has finally just made me snap.

You’re not losing your mind, you idiot. You need to start listening to me. You can’t ignore me forever. I’m trying to help you.

I start to feel panicked and I look at the clock. Fifteen more minutes before class is let out, and I remember Donovan’s threat. I know he is going to be waiting for me after school so I put my glasses back on and I slide out of my seat and quietly leave the room before the lights go back on. As quickly as I can I make my way to the exit and when I hit the steps in the front of school I take off and run as fast as I can. I can’t handle another encounter today.

It’s an hour’s walk to the group home I’m assigned to in the city. It’s a shithole, a place where kids are sent because no one else wants them. Basically, if you live here you are one step from being homeless, and when I turn eighteen I can finally leave and become my own guardian instead of being a ward of the state, and I can start new. I could have gone to a school closer, but my case worker placed me in a private school in the suburbs. Apparently, my test scores for academics were far above normal, and he thought it would be a tragedy to waste such talent. But, he doesn’t know anything about me. Donavan is right. I’m a freak, and now I’m a freak that hears voices in my head.