Chapter Text
Roly-Poly’s And Butterflies
Are In My Future
Griffin woke up with an ache in his back. But that wasn’t abnormal.
Griffin also woke up on the floor. That was also normal. His mother always said he could never keep still in his sleep. He liked the idea of that. It was ironic.
Griffin wore what he wore almost everyday- a striped shirt, and a pair of his nice jeans. He bought them himself, something he was proud of. As he did most things he owned these days.
Griffin just hoped the day would go by fast- he hated school. Ew.
𖦹 *٭ 𓆣 𖢥 𓆣٭ * 𖦹
Griffin ate his eggs on the colourful plastic plate his mom had bought when he was at least three years old. They were mostly a off-white, but the part of the plate that flared out had a red and blue pattern, with cartoon suns in each section.
Mom was here, for once. She usually was at work for weeks- Griffin didn’t know where, but with how much she brushed it off he had a feeling he should just shut up about it.
So that meant she was cooking this morning. And- not to complain, really, but mom wasn’t.. the best cooker. Everything she cooked tasted like landfill, recycled into a brick, and then that got turned into mush before someone cooked- burnt, really- it on a skillet.
But hey. He swallowed it down anyway. It was only a two to three times a month thing, and bringing it up would unleash a can of worms he didn’t wanna deal with. Pfft. Hey, kind of like the shit that was on his plate right now.
Griffin looked up from his plate, not really focused on what was in his mouth anymore. His mom had that odd, weird look on her face again. Like she wanted to say something, but didn’t want to disappoint him. Which was crazy, personally. Griffin loved his mom, but she had been at this mystery job since he was eightish. If anything, she should be worried about whether he has the money for groceries this week.
“I’m leaving for work tomorrow.” His mom finally spoke up, sounding just as sad as she did last week. And the week before. And the week before that. And the past five years before that.
“Okay.” Griffin went back to eating his yellow mush. He didn’t really care anymore. Not in a sad way or anything. Griffin liked being alone.
Mom didn’t seem to like the fact that he was indifferent to her being there. She shuffled a little, obviously uncomfortable. “Do- do you not have anything to say? Questions? Anything you need?” She asked, reaching for some breach of connection.
Uhhh. Did he? Uh. Oh-
“There’s a parent meeting for school next Tuesday. Are you gonna be back by then?”
She seemed to deflate from the small hope she had gained. Oops.
“Yes, I’ll be back for that. I’ve had it marked on my calendar."
Griffin nodded, taking a moment to speak before eating some more. “Cool. Thanks, mom.”
“You’re welcome, Griffin. I love you?” She said it like a question, like she wasn’t sure if he’d agree. Which was goofy- she was still his mom. It wasn’t her fault she was so busy.
“Love you too, mom.”
𖦹 *٭ 𓆣 𖢥 𓆣٭ * 𖦹
Griffin’s walk to school had been nice. He even saw a butterfly on his way. Key word there, it had been nice.
“I’m sorry- so so sorry, shit- you aren’t hurt, are you? I think I have some bandaids in my bag- uh-”
Some News Boy had crashed into him and ran them both into a dip beside the road. A very muddy curb. And News Boy over here landed on the sidewalk, so he was mostly okay. Griffin? Well- Griffin had gotten tangled with the bike, head landing rightt on the curb.
It hurt like hell, but he was too dazed to really notice how he felt yet. This dude hadn’t stopped talking since he showed up. Griffin was over here trying to figure out if he had a concussion, and News Boy wouldn’t shut up.
“Do you have any cuts? You aren’t crying, so no broken bones- uhah- uh-”
“It’s fine.” Griffin tried to speak up, still out of it. He was kind of getting a second hand embarrassment vibe, but this guy didn’t let you think long enough to fully develop one, apparently.
He had immediately gotten drowned out by this kid’s long, repetitive ramble. Griffin’s pretty sure the dude had said the same sentence five times at least once.
He took a moment to think before carefully removing the bike from its attempted attack on his limbs. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. Minus his ruined outfit and a few scratches, Griffin was all good.
News Boy hadn’t even noticed him after he stood up. Great.
“I’m fine, dude. Really. No need for..” Griffin awkwardly gestured to all of this kid.
He still didn’t stop talking. Uhhh… Griffin’s just gonnaa…
Griffin had tiptoed away before the boy could even notice he was gone. Huzzaaah.
It wasn’t like the guy would remember him anyway.
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Bugs were so cute. So, so cute, actually. They didn’t deserve the reputation they had. Not all of them were gross and disturbing.
Well. Okay. His example here was shit considering Roly-Polys are crustaceans, but like, still. Bugs don’t havee to be insects.. yep. Anyway.
There was an adorable roly-poly Griffin had stolen from the gym floor this morning, and he had already decided that once lunch hit he was going to go find a safe place outside for the little thing. But for now, it was crawling across his hand.
Griffin was sitting in the back of his class, happy as could be. He was all alone. Which was a good thing, for all of you weirdos. Griffin didn’t have.. any friends, which he didn’t really mind. Honestly- being invisible sucked sometimes, but it was better than being known for sucky reasons.
Like Finney Blake.
Well- correction. Finney wasn’t a shitty guy. That would be one thing. He actually wasn’t. It made Griffin feel for the guy a tad.
According to the rumors, Finney was queer. Griffin didn’t know if these were true or not, and he’d rather die than talk to someone, ew, but it was a shitty reason to be bullied if you asked him. He always wondered why people cared so much. Sure- it could be a little weird, but so was all pda. Griffin would judge you if you were making out with a dude in the hallway, but that wasn’t because you were a dude. It was just because it was gross as fuck to do anything more than a quick kiss in a school building in front of everybody.
Anyway, Finney was in his class. And Griffin had suspicions Finney wasn’t actually queer. Or maybe he was- but Griffin had suspicions that he had a crush on Donna. Another girl in their class. She seemed nice, but her shoes were always untied. It annoyed Griffin, but he usually just ignored it.
Griffin looked back up to the teacher, attempting to actually care. He despised his teacher this year, but he had to listen. It was science, which was important for him and this little roly-poly.
Griffin was going to be a Wildlife Biologist when he graduated college. A Conservation Scientist would also be enjoyable. He had a whole plan for his career- all the classes he’d take in high school, what college he’d attend, what state he’d move to, all the way to what apartments he’d rent and what type of house he’d buy when he was old and happy.
He had already started saving. All his little extra change from leftover change or money he didn’t use that month for food or clothes. It was in a little jar stored in his closet, decorated in little bug stickers, a couple hundred dollars already collected.
And once he bought himself a car and got a well-enough job in high school, he’d start saving to make a change in the world, no matter how small.. just you wait. He was so excited for life it almost made him a little giddy.
He’d be free. He’d do something. He just had to survive middle school, then he’ll be there. Just you wait.
𖦹 *٭ 𓆣 𖢥 𓆣٭ * 𖦹
The walk home was loving as always. Griffin loved walks. The wind he loved, the little creatures, all the noises of nature. If you watched, you could see. Notice things you wouldn’t notice if you were with a friend.
Well. That’s what Griffin told himself, anyway. He didn’t really know that for sure. He never got the chance to experiment.
There was life all around him, anyway. That’s what Griffin really loved.
For example, the butterfly that had been following him around since he left the building. He’s pretty sure it was the same one from this morning. It made him smile easily at the idea of it being a friend.
He also liked looking at the human life around, even if it was much, much more boring. Like cars. Cars could be cool. Like the red, awesome things, or a truck. Or they could be weird. Like a weird, disturbing black van that was parked, half-way hidden in the trees. It had abracadabra written on the side of it, which was weird as fuck. It gave Griffin bad vibes. He just walked a little faster- Griffin had always trusted his gut.
He blinked, and suddenly realised the butterfly had landed on his nose. Griffin quickly stopped his steps, going cross eyed to stare at it. It was a beautiful butterfly, really. It was the kind that when it opened its wings, it looked like an owl's eyes staring back at you. It fluttered its wings a few times.
Griffin smiled a bit more, and chuckled to himself. It scared the butterfly off, and it flew off. It hovered a bit, though. It was headed in the direction of Griffin’s home, just a short-cut. It made him perk back up, and continue following it as long as it led him where he was headed.
𖦹 *٭ 𓆣 𖢥 𓆣٭ * 𖦹
Mom wasn’t home when he got inside, to no one’s surprise. Griffin had distracted himself with some leftovers, but honestly wasn’t too sad about it. It didn’t really matter these days.
There was some money and an apologetic note left on the fridge. Ah. Mom had left early again. Oh well.
As per normal, Griffin tossed his bag in the corner of his room and pulled out a few of his books. He didn’t really do homework till absolutely needed. What was the saying? Due date or do it that day? Something like that.
Griffin spent pretty much all day reading his long, long chapter book, before doing his nightly routine. By the time Griffin was ready for sleep, he was ready to pass out.
He spent his last few minutes awake dreaming about what his life would be like. He probably wouldn’t be super rich, but if he worked hard he could probably be happy with a job that he wanted.
Griffin was really excited for life after Middle school. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow and hopefully mentally speed up the process of school ending.
Just survive one more day, Griffin. That was it.