Chapter Text
Travis had been sitting at his desk near the front of the classroom, right in front of Mrs. Packerton’s desk. Travis was in a daze, staring at his test paper with frustration and anger. All of it looked like junk. There were eraser shreds across his paper along with horribly erased math problems. Travis struggled with dyscalculia, especially when it came to geometry.
The bell rang minutes later, causing Travis’s head to jolt up.
Shit.
He’d only written three problems down and he was sure the last two were wrong. The first problem was always the easiest. Everyone else had already gotten up and began turning in their tests while Travis was holding his shakily in his hands. He hesitantly stood up and took two steps before already being at Packerton’s desk. He handed in his paper, quickly sprinting out of the classroom before he could get a response from the teacher. He almost tripped over his own shoe.
Travis shoulder bumped people in the halls, just wanting to escape the crowded, loud halls. It was too overwhelming for him. The lack of nutrients also made him annoyed with almost everything in sight. The tall boy walked to the cafeteria, head down the whole way.
Stepping into the lunch room, Travis looked up to see tables full of other kids, eating and having fun just like a normal kid should be doing. Why couldn’t Travis do that?
The blonde walked up to the lunch line before scowling at the sight. Pizza. All it was was grease, bread, cheese.. and who knows what? He couldn’t even deny the fact that it actually looked somewhat appetizing right now, and he hated pizza. There was bologna sandwiches on the other hand, one thing he did like. But did he really want to be seen eating? He stood there. Just, staring.
It looked awfully good. He wanted to be able to go in line and grab food for himself. But he wasn’t going to do that. Why would he? He wouldn’t risk gaining weight if it meant the whole world would corrupt.
Travis quickly snapped out of his staring session as the sound of someone gagging and vomit hitting the tiled floors hit his ears from behind him. His whole body went tense. Laughter, flashing photos, screaming.
Loud.
Too loud.
Travis ran. He ran as far as his legs could take him. And for Travis? That was the school bathroom which was hardly fifty steps away from the cafeteria. In this condition, he could hardly stand.
Panting, Travis swung the bathroom door open, revealing all of the stalls and sinks. It was empty. That was good. Empty meant he didn’t have to hide from anyone.
Travis went to his usual stall — the biggest one in the back of the bathroom. He threw his backpack on the ground and slammed the door shut, locking it. He made sure it was locked at least three times to make sure it really was locked.
“Three’s an unlucky number..” Travis thought to himself before making sure it was locked once more. Even or nothing. He tossed his backpack down on the ground and sat on it, lifting his knees up to his chest and gripping his hair. He stared at the ground, practically shaking from being so paranoid. Travis took his hands out of his hair only for strands to fall out. Just how long has it been since he’s had a proper meal?
Tears welled up in Travis’s eyes as his jaw tightened, angry that he let himself turn out this way. He clawed at his scalp, tears running down his cheeks and falling onto his purple shirt.
He was hungry. He was hungry and he couldn’t lie about it anymore. It’d been too many months without food, and water was something that he drank occasionally, almost like a reward. It’d been at least six or seven months like this. Travis’s skin got paler. It was obvious. His ribs poked out of his skin, malnourished.
Travis leaned his head against the metal wall with a grunt, just needing to rest. He was insanely lightheaded, arms wrapped tightly around his thin figure.
Another voice called out from behind the stall.
“Anyone in there?”