Runaway
Seth walked through the subway station, alone, not noticing the people milling around him, rushing for their trains, bumping into him, jostling him aside. There was only one person who was real to him. Becky.
Seth did not have friends. He walked to class alone, he ate lunch alone, he rode the bus home alone, he studied alone. He did not complain or yearn for friends, because as much as people avoided him, he simply did not see them. He didn’t see the smirks or looks of disgust. He didn’t hear the snickers or half-whispered insulting observations. In the shadows of his mind, they did not exist.
Becky was different. The first hint of her existence was a shy smile across the room. Then, she said hi in the hallways. She once asked to borrow a pencil. And then she gave it back, thank you. She saw him reading Cory Doctorow, and asked the name of the book. He showed it to her. She said it looked interesting, did he think she could read it when he finished? He did. She loved it, she said, after reading it in just two days. She brought him an obscure title by Stephen King. He hadn’t read it yet. Soon, they were sharing books and discussing them, and then talking about things you don’t find in books at all.
For the first time, Seth straddled two worlds, the safe, gray world he knew, and the bright, foreign world of Becky. Every time they spoke, every time she touched his arm, every time she leaned in close to him and he could smell the jasmine scent of her shampoo, he moved a little more into her world, a little further from his own.
Until today, at lunch. He saw her across the quad, talking with a tall, muscular boy with a gleaming smile. He saw her laugh, and toss her hair back over her shoulder. He saw her look up at him, inviting. He saw the boy lean down, ever so close, and kiss her, or whisper in her ear, but Seth knew he kissed her. He felt a kick to his stomach, his body thrown forcibly from the light, sunny world, and a door slammed shut behind him.
He turned and walked off campus, nobody stopping him, nobody asking for a pass. He took the downtown bus, got off, walked down the subway steps. He paid his fare and got on the first car to stop in front of him. He sat down. The train lurched, pulled away, and took him far, far away from Becky and any world with light.
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