His back slumped against the wall of the hallway.
There is no point in trying to decide anything anymore.
His vision blurred.
His arms loosened.
His textbook collided with the ground. He heard the distinct sound of paper scattering against the floor. He hung his head low and closed his eyes.
He was so tired.
“Hey, are you okay?”
A soft hand against his shoulder pieced his senses together. He blinked his eyes open to see a boy with clear, blue eyes and golden hair. “Do you need water? You don’t seem okay.”
“I’ve got water.” Behind him, another boy with brown hair sticking out in all directions reached into his backpack and drew out an unopened water bottle.
Someone busied themselves on the floor.
Aiden glanced down to see a girl with black braids gathering the pages of syllabi together.
Are they friends with each other?
“Why don’t you sit down? If you want, we can take you back to your dorm.”
“Or outside. For fresh air,” the girl suggested.
“Yeah, let’s go outside.”
“It’s fine,” Aiden managed to croak, but he knew he didn’t fool anyone. Not the friend awkwardly lingering behind with a backpack slung over his shoulder, still holding the unopened water bottle. Not the girl who finished gathering the scattered papers from the ground and held them in her hands as Aiden made no move to take them back.
Definitely not the boy whose eyes never stopped watching him. His hand remained on Aiden’s shoulder.
Yet despite the humiliation of having complete strangers stop and check on him, Aiden found energy returning out of shock.
There was an utter lack of pity, suspicion, and disapproval that Aiden grew to expect in these stranger’s faces.
“Brendan, he said he’s fine.” The girl stepped forward and held out the stack of paper.
With a slight nod, Aiden took it with shaking hands.
The boy named Brendan let go of his shoulder. He bent over and picked up the textbook. “Would you like the water at least?” he asked.
Behind Brendan, the other friend waved the unopened bottle of water.
Aiden snatched the textbook back, readjusted his backpack around his shoulders, and quickly distanced himself from the three strangers. His heart pounded against his chest. He tensed his shoulders to force himself bigger. His hands clenched by his side to scare the numbness away, and he managed to raise his head enough to look at them directly.
The girl had stopped looking at him and waited at the side. The other boy tried his best to look nonchalant, but his eyes kept stealing glances. Brendan, however, kept his eyes on Aiden like lasers. Aiden addressed him with a squaring of his chin. “Thanks, but I’m actually fine. I was just tired.”
He spun on his heels and dashed away. As the blood returned to his face, his mind turned in sudden awareness.
His stepmother was right. There was no one else in the family his brother would leave the family business to. He needed to step up for the sake of his family.Everyone needs a family.
“Ah, wait! I think you—wait!”
Aiden thought he heard Brendan’s warm voice calling after him, but with a shake of his head, he banished it.
They were outsiders, and once Aiden informed his stepmother of his pledge to them, they were nothing more than strangers who he would never see again.
