There he sat, alone, in the back of the classroom. He sat comfortably in his baggy cargos and slightly big navy sweater. He was the new kid, and nobody would talk to him. The only question he could seem to ask himself these past three weeks was- why?
Why wasn't he liked? He dressed like everyone else, never said anything weird, and was popular at his old school. Why did his parents have to get that divorce? They always seemed like such a happy couple, never fighting at any time. Why did his mother have to move him to a whole new state? To him, Mississippi was fine. And the final question- why him?
Life, to lance, seemed like an empty hole. Blackness surounded him as he kept falling deeper and deeper into the pit which seemed endless. But everytime he felt alone, the bottom would seem closer and closer; until he would finally hit the bottom.
The bottom of that pit is where he would stay. Forever alone- like he was now.
The bell rang and he groaned. Next period was lunch, the worst of his nine period school day. At his old school, lunch was the best. It was a chance to socialize with friends and listen in on the latest gossip. But here, he didn't have any friends. Nobody would even take the time to say 'hi' to him.
In the line of other high school student buying there lunch, Lance put a slice of pizza along with potato chips and a milk on his tray. The cashier smiled kindly as she returned his change, and he left the line.
Most of the tables were full of people, full of friends. He stood by the door looking for an emoty table to occupy. Before he could say another word, somebody bumped him from behind. Non of his food went flying, but it was embarassing.
"Why don't you get out of my way, loser?"
Lance began to walk as the jock guy laughed and headed towards his own table. A table of people who had dubbed him, the new kid, 'Lance the Loser'. Taunting and teasing were the only forms of communication they shared with him.
After spotting a table, he walked slowly over to it. On his walk to the empty spot, he passed by the full tables of friends. Table where he wasn't allowed to sit. Hell, even the geeks wouldn't talk to him.
Lunch, like every other day the past three weeks, consisted of Lance sitting and eating quietly. He missed his old school, and wished he could be there with his friends right now. Alone was the first feeling he had ever felt, even worse then a broken heart.
"Excuse me."
Lance looked up from his food which he wasn't really eating to see a blond female with a squeaky voice standing beside him. He kindly smiled, hoping this wouldn't be ugly.
"Umm.. is anybody sitting here?" She asked, pointing to the empty seat beside him. Of course nobody was sitting there, the seat beside him was never occupied. But, if this girl woudl like to sit here, he would be happy to let her! Lance shook his head no in response.
"Ok.. thanks." The girl picked up the chair and shattered his hopes as she carried it over to a table full of girls.
Tears came to his eyes, and Lance felt like dying. He would never be accepted here, so what was the point? His mom would never let him drop out, so that was out. He would never be able to skip, so that option was unavailable. And he would never be able to grow the courage to run away.
That left only one decision. Today was the last straw, and he couldn't take it anymore. Today was his final day. It would break his mothers heart, but she would have to understand. His life was miserable, and he didn't want to be alone another minute.
* * * * *
"Lance, sweetie, where are you off to?" Diane asked as Lance walked towards the front door in his jacket.
"I'm.. I'm going for a walk." He lied. he hated lieing to his mother, but he couldn't just say, 'Well, i am going to jump off a cliff and end my life,' to his own mother.
"Well, have fun sweetie." Diane smiled and went back to her newspaper.
Lance sighed and walked over to his mother. "Goodbye, mom." Lance leaned over and kissed his mothers cheek. "I love you."
Diane smiled at her son. "I love you too, sweetie. Now have fun."
Lance smiled, taking one last look at his mother. She was amazing, always loving him no matter what he did, and always there. But this time she wouldn't be able to help him. It was something out of her reach, something she wouldn't understand.
Lance sighed and exited his home. The clouds hid the sun, making the day dark and chilly. The wind blew against his cheek as he began his walk towards his final destination. Lance's steps were slow and small, giving him a chance to take a final look at the world around him.
The sound of laughter and cheering could be heard as he passed by a average sized white house. he could hear the laughter of kids around his age who were probably playing a game of some sort.
The crack of a bat was heard, and Lance looked up to see the round baseball coming towards him. It flew through the air, and begun its descent to the ground right near him. Lance held out his hands and cought the ball with expertise. One thing he loved was baseball; he and his friends would always play it back in Mississippi and he belonged to an All Star team. He smiled at the ball in his hands, it brought back good memories.
"Hey!"
Lance's head turned over to where a tall girl was standing, glove in hand. He smiled as he looked over her features. She looked about his age, 17. Her thick dark brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, with little strands that had fallen out framing her face. Her eyes were a comforting brown- even from a distance Lance could tell that. She wore a pair of baggy drawstring pants and a pink tank top.
Lance smiled shyly. He hadn't seen anyone as pretty as this girl since his ex girlfriend, who still didn't equal up to this stranger's beauty.
"Hey, man, are you gonna stare all day or throw it?"
Lance laughed at her joke, seeing her full lips come into a smile as well. "Oh, here."
The girl nodded and held her glove to her chest, giving Lance the perfect target. He drew his arm back then brought it forward again, throwing the ball with a mighty force. It soared across the street in a straight line, right into her glove.
"Woah!" The girl looked at him surprised then pulled her left hand out of the glove, shaking away the impact.
Lance took one last look at her then sighed, glad he could see and converse with a pretty female before jumping. That moment almost made him think twice, but then he remembered that it was just one minute that would probably never happen again. So he continued walking.
"Hey! Wait!"
Turning sharply, he saw the girl jogging towards him. He stopped and waited until she reached him, and when she arrived he could smell the scent of strawberries in her hair.
"Do you wanna come and play ball with us? With you we would have ten players, and thats enough to fill the field and have a batter. So, what do you say?"
Lance stared at her dumbfounded. Was this really happening? A beautiful girl inviting him to join her?
"Well, I don't have a glove or anything."
"Thats okay, my big bro is away at collage and has a million old ones in his room. I'm sure we'll be able to find you one."
This, to Lance, was too good to be true. This girl was like an angel from god trying to save him. But would he let himself be saved? He pondered it in his head. Jump off a cliff, or play ball with a beautiful girl.. cliff or ball? Die or live?
"I'm game." He said, flashing a big smile. He stuck out his hand. "And my name is Lance, by the way."
"Hey Lance, I'm Ally." She shook his hand and smiled. "Now lets go before they get worried and call a search party or something."
Lance smiled, jogging with her. Ally would never know what she had done. By becoming Lance's friend, she had saved his life. And by introducing him to her friends, she had saved Lance from being outcasted for the rest of his senior year. The two moved from friends to a couple, and both had love. And love was all Lance needed to live.
* * * * *