6 Day 3: Disappointment and obedience

Morrow woke up early that morning. She didn't need enough time to get ready but took more time today because it was a special day. Today was the day she had a meeting with the principal of the school she was about to attend.

She would start on Monday but she, or her mom in actuality, wanted to meet the principal and get to know the school a bit better.

She hummed when she got down the stairs. Her father was working so her mother would go with her.

'Are you excited to go, Morrow?' Her mother loaded the dishwasher while asking.

Morrow sat down at the kitchen bar and grabbed an apple for breakfast. She had her mouth full when she answered: 'Kinda. I do want to see where I'm going but I don't really care if it is this school or another.'

'Be kind to the others and don't forget to smile a little, alright?'

'You mean; show a side of me that is not me but something others want me to be?' Silence filled the kitchen. 'My hair is fun enough.'

'Morrow...'

'Fine. I'll be nice, alright?'

She and her mother didn't say anything anymore. The light atmosphere had disappeared.

'You must be Morrow.'The principal shook her hand. During the car ride to school, she and her mom didn't speak a word and the tense atmosphere could be felt. Apparently, the school principal felt it too, or he was just nervous to meet her. His hand was a bit sweaty and when she let go she wiped her hands off on her shirt. 'Welcome to our school. Let me and your mother have a quick talk alone before we talk, alright?'

It almost threw her off guard. 'Why?' She put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. 'Have you heard of my name already?' She smirked when she saw the principal's face. 'Damn, word travels fast.' She was right about him being nervous to meet her. It seemed her reputation exceeded her.

'Let's talk about that later, alright?' He looked at her mother. 'Miss? Shall we?' He directed her in, told Morrow to stand in the hallway, and closed the door.

From where she was standing, Morrow could overlook the whole schoolyard. The school surrounded the yard and she had a good view. She saw three guys standing in the smoking corner, but aside from them, it was quiet.

Morrow's reputation wasn't flawless, to say the least. Just because she didn't care about a lot of things, doesn't mean she didn't get into fights. She had no idea why, but for some reason, people always wanted to test her limits. And because she didn't really care about any rules, she said something about it.

More often than not, it would result in her pushing some girl to the lockers to get her point across, and then her getting scolded by some teacher and off to the principal she would go.

As she said, she didn't really care. It did hurt when her mother was the one who had to tell the teachers that she was a sweet kid and wouldn't harm a fly unless the fly was annoying.

Something moved at the schoolyard. Or, someone actually. Some guy with blond hair approached the three guys. The guy who was approaching held something in his hands. She couldn't tell what was exactly.

Her mind went silent as she observed the conversation. The biggest of the three guys took the object and inspected it. He swayed it in front of the poor guy's face. Then, before she knew it, he threw it on the ground.

A feeling of discomfort nestled in her stomach. The guy grabbed the blond guy by his neck and it took way too long for him to let go. She went to the window but couldn't do anything. There were windows in front of her, but she couldn't open one of them.

Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw some movement. An adult, probably a teacher. She saw it as well. She looked out of the window, froze, but turned around and disappeared into a classroom.

Morrow was disappointed but not really surprised. Teachers didn't want to interfere, and if they did, they often didn't know how to. She scoffed. They were all the same.

----

He brought the lunch as requested to them. They stood in the smoking corner, outside in a corner on the school ground. Ben, the biggest problem was standing in the middle. Cigarette in one hand and he just puffed out smoke when he noticed Felix. Right out of sight of any cameras. Not safe. Everything inside Felix said that he needed to run. Ben waved him over, looking too friendly. He needed to get out of here, right now. But his body didn't listen. His knees started to tremble, his breathing quickened. They already saw him coming and started to laugh.

'You're here. Good thinking.' The slender-looking one, Oliver, reached his hand out towards him. He flinched and they laughed. 'Don't worry, I won't do anything.' But he kept on smiling. 'Give me the food.'

Felix gave it. His hands trembled slightly when he handed them the lunch. Ben looked at the ingredients. Today, Felix made a simple sandwich. He didn't have enough time to make something fancy and just threw some cheese and ham on there.

'Is this cheese?'

He nodded. Nerves started to knit together in his stomach. He held his hands in front of him, tightly holding them still so they wouldn't see them trembling. He hated the way they made him feel. So small, so weak. He hated them so much...

'Don't you know I'm allergic to cheese? It's called lactose intolerance. Look it up, dumbass! I can't eat this.' He pointed with the sandwich in front of Felix's eyes. 'Are you trying to kill me?'

He denied. But deep down he knew it would be a lot easier if he was gone. Also, he had a good memory when it came to classes, but he couldn't remember if Ben was actually lactose intolerant or if he was faking it.

Without a second thought, Ben threw the food on the ground. The ground was covered in ashes of old cigarettes. His eyes grew hot and his cheeks started to redden.

'God, please don't start crying.'

He was confused by the sudden change of tone. It made him look up, but when I did that, he knew he had made a big mistake.

'You can still make up for it.' He groaned and grabbed him by his neck. Oliver stopped laughing but T, or Theodore, started smiling bigger, almost like he was enjoying this. Pain flashed through his body and as his grip strengthened, it was harder for him to breathe.

'Because you're so dumb, I will spell it out for you. Get. Me. Something. Else.'

His vision started to grow blurry, but he didn't know if it was from the tears or the lack of oxygen.

'Got it?' He finally released him and air rushed back into his lungs. Felix coughed and felt his heart race.

'I'm sorry. Really. I didn't know you, you were...' I forgot the word he said. 'You were, I mean. You couldn't eat something like that. I'm sorry.' The words just started flowing. Saying sorry was as normal as breathing to him.

Ben grinned. 'Good. Why are you so obedient, huh?' Felix didn't answer. Ben pressed him further. 'Tell us. Why are you so obedient?' His voice became more demanding, urging him to speak.

Felix's voice hurt and was hoarse, but he still spoke. 'My mother is the secretary of your father. We need the money.' He clenched his hands into fists as his cheeks burned.

He and T laughed out loud. 'That's right. You do. So you better bring me something I can eat this time.' That day Felix bought him a sandwich with just ham.