"Yeah yeah..." Alex replied to Lucas and headed to the canteen up the stairs. Lucas always has his lunch at home from his parents, so they part ways here every day.

But for Alex, lunchtime always brings up a bit of anxiety. Is it gonna be full and he'll have to sit with someone he doesn't know?  Or is he worrying for nothing again? This is so exhausting... Alex sped up just to be sure he was gonna get ahead of some of the other kids.

He stepped into the big room and found himself almost alone. Around 10 people were in the line, but that was nothing. Hell yeah!! Alex's mood improved a bit. That's sick!

He sat at his usual table which was not too close to the food disposals, but also not too far. It was also close to the windows, so he always got a glimpse of the blooming flowers or a bird flying by every time he looked out of it.

Slowly eating his food, which was grilled fish with mashed potatoes today, Alex felt fulfilled. He survived another day at school. 

He knew school wasn't this hell hole he always imagined it to be, but his brain couldn't help itself and always imagined the worst scenarios possible. 

"...hey, can we sit with you?" Alex looked up to see the semi-popular group of kids from his class. The one who spoke with him, the supposed leader if this group, flashed him a smile with her question. She had longer red hair. tied up in a half-up half-down way and an oversized black shirt. She seems like an okay person so far. 

But what were they doing? What are they planning? Are they gonna make fun of me? Why so suddenly?? Shit... There were clearly lots of tables around him like really empty right now. 

"...uh, yeah, sure, whatever..." Alex's answer clearly cheered her up, despite it definitely sounding like he was dying inside (which was true by the way). She enthusiastically sat down in the opposite chair of him.

Her other friends followed her, the group being almost all girls and 2 guys. Alex remembers those to some level. These two were the self-titled 'cool guys'. Wearing chains and ripped jeans with caps indoors, and have skateboards with them almost all of the time, but Alex is yet to see them actually ride them. But eh, they seemed...nice?

They began chatting as soon as they all sat down. About school. And crushes. Their girlfriends or boyfriends. Homework. Studying. 

Alex felt so out of place surrounded by a conversation so normal. It felt so weird. Like, even though he was a part of the group for this moment, it still felt like he was standing outside, and trying so hard to hear what they were saying, but not understanding any of it.

"...at about you, Alex?" One of the girls, Bea was her name, asked him in an innocent tone. Most of the people diverted their attention to him. 

"S-sorry, what? I kinda spaced out..." 

Alex's cheeks got red from embarrassment. He squeezed the silverware between his fingers. 

"Do you have a girlfriend?!" She asked with a little bit more enthusiasm than what was really comfortable. What did I even expect?  "No, I don't." Alex briefly answered, hoping his monotone tone would strike any future conversation about this topic away. Assuming my sexuality too, nice

"...and have you ever been in a relationship?" It felt like Bea was trying to figure something out about him. The sudden curious look in her eyes with a hint of suspicion told it all. What is she trying to do?

"Um...no. I haven't had that much interest in those things...that much..." It was obvious that Bea started looking at him with a weird look on her face, rather than before. Then, she suppressed a chuckle. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Alex could even muster a sentence out, one of the cool guys decided to step into their conversation. He heavily leaned onto the table with an annoyed look. He held his silverware like it was actually some kind of big knife, threateningly pointing it at Alex. "You're fucking weird. Aren't you like gay or something?? Fucking f-"

"That's enough!" The main girl interrupted. "Hey, what the fuck are you doing-"

That's it. I'm leaving. Alex shoved the last piece of his food in his mouth and stood up. They all looked at him in confusion. "Why are you so fucking interested in me? What? You're looking for a boyfriend?" Alex turned around before all of them could cuss him out again. Fucking hell... 

To tell the truth, Alex has been questioning his sexuality lately. If he even can feel some type of romantic attraction at all. Almost everything possible, to be completely honest. He was still a teenager, for god's sake. This was the time to do all this shit. 

...so that guy's comments really hit him in the chest. The fact that the majority of people, even younger ones, have at least some bias, or straight-up hatred against queer people was just so......so unfair. So awful.

Alex started crying. He couldn't even explain how frustrating it felt. Little droplets of tears were hitting the ground as he tried to quickly leave the school grounds. He felt this growing pain, right in the middle of his chest. Stabbing him so hard, it was almost too painful. 

Fuck... He skimmed the halls so fast, it was a surprise he didn't stumble and fall along his way. It all felt like a blur. Until he finally saw the main door. Finally, an escape from all this.

Alex's shoes met the loud concrete when he got out. The afternoon sun blinded his eyes. 

It was astonishing how quickly can a normal day turn into a terrible one.