corrupted lungs | d.w #Wattys2016

t w o

After the third period of class, it was time for lunch. Me and Sarah met up with Patrick, Breezy and Spencer, while Ryan had been sent off to detention for sending a paper plane in Mr. Wentz' head and for acting like a little child in class. That kid was hilarious and really cute, but he had to grow up sometime.

We walked through the crowded halls, everyone rushing towards the lunch. Apparently, today was tacos with grilled potatoes and I'd heard it was one of the best meals they served around here. As we walked, I suddenly spotted Dallon- making his way towards us and away from the dining hall. I wondered where he was going. He didn't seem to notice me as he tried to squeeze past me.

"Hey," I said softly and lightly grabbed the fabric of his coat. I felt his body tense up and he turned around so fast I thought he'd hit me, but he just stared at me, like he'd seen a ghost. I let out a gasp, before letting go of him. "Sorry." I said and tilted my head back to look up at him fully. He just shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, slowly relaxing his shoulders.

"Where are you going?" I asked him carefully and he nodded towards the lockers. I nodded a bit to show that I understood, before shooting him an apologizing smile. "I'm sorry for just jumping at you. Didn't mean to startle you." I told him and looked down at my feet.

"That's okay."

It was a voice I'd never heard before, and apparently the people around hadn't either, because some stopped to stare at us, before whispering between each other and then continuing to walk. I looked up to find it was Dallon's voice, speaking quietly but still audible. His voice was soft and croaky, like he had a sore throat. Dallon looked down, before glancing up at me and shooting me a small smile. I smiled back.

I turned to see where Sarah and the rest had went, seeing they were waiting for me by the entrance of the dining hall. I opened my mouth, preparing to speak as I turned back towards Dallon, but when I did, he wasn't there anymore. Again, he had vanished. I sighed a bit, tiptoeing to try and see through the crowd of people, but he was no where to be found.

I walked back to Sarah, who gave me a confused look as we entered the dining hall, got some food and sat by our regular table. I stabbed one of the potatoes on my plate and stuffed it in my mouth. I chewed slowly, scanning across the room. It seemed like everyone had tables they always sat by.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sarah suddenly said, and I turned to see her looking at me, her neck bent down a bit, like she was going to whisper something to me. I nodded.

"Why did you speak to D?" She asked, and it took a moment for me to realize she meant Dallon- and it made me kind of annoyed that she called him D. I mean, sure, she didn't know his name, but she could at least ask for it.

"Dallon. His name is Dallon." I said, turning away from her as I spoke, clearly showing how I felt. "And what's so wrong with speaking to him?" I asked blankly, glancing over at her again.

She shrugged. "Nothing, I guess." She breathed out and took a bite of her food. "It's just that people don't usually talk to him- but yeah." She said, now turned away from me. She seemed to be annoyed too, for some reason. I ignored that and went back to eat my food. I didn't want to begin a discussion about this.

I had the right to speak to whomever I liked and I didn't really understand what the big deal with Dallon was. He was just a regular human being, like the rest of us. I just wished the other students around here would see that. But maybe I'd missed something, something that everyone else saw in him that I didn't. Or maybe, they were just simple assholes.