1 Week Before
“Every man is an island, Until he finds another castaway.”
It is a restaurant, no... No. It is a simple roadside diner where a man, who appears to be about 45, 48 years old, is holding a kitchen knife to the neck of a totally terrified boy, threatening to kill him if they don’t hand over all the money. The situation is critical and the police have already been called. But how did it all begin…
1 Week Before
Alex Foster, a boy of only 16 years old, shy, lives locked in his room, dreaming of how everything will be different one day. At school he has no friends, no one there wants to be his friend, they only want to have fun at his expense, humiliating him whenever they can, writing offensive things in his notebook, laughing at the way he walks, talks, and dresses, and many other things. The teachers seem to be the only ones who understand him, but they do nothing to change this situation. Once, some of the boys locked him in the bathroom and he stayed there for eight hours until a school employee heard him screaming and helped him out. The next day, he was forced to listen to jokes others made about how he screamed like a little girl. And he cried hidden in the corners of the school. At home things are no different, his father John Foster works so much that he never has time for the family, always too busy for everything. His mother, Catherine Foster, is always committed to keeping the house perfect with her strange cleaning obsession. His parents would hardly talk to each other if not for arguments about debts and so on, and so on, suffice it to say that the son was never part of their future plans, not that they don’t love him, but they never show it. Thus, day after day; month after month; year after year, Alex grew up, locking himself inside his mind where he can be and do whatever he wants, every time reality does not satisfy him.
A t-shirt falls to the floor, then another. His backpack is too full. 1st Rule when running away: Take only what is necessary. His parents sleep peacefully a few meters from his door, tears run down his face, not from sadness, or because he will miss them, but from anger. Anger at what happened to him today. While waiting for the school bus, three boys showed up and started messing with him, as always, Alex did absolutely nothing, just ignored them. On the bus, those boys continued with the provocations. He wanted to put an end to it, he was fed up, so in an impulse he cursed one of their mothers. Everyone on the bus went silent, it was the first time they had seen Alex react to being provoked. But it cost him a black eye and a broken rib. His greatest anger was because no one did anything. The school principal said that according to “witnesses” Alex was the one who started the fight. His parents grounded him, and that is why he is packing his things and leaving. He is tired of always being so humiliated. He thinks about leaving a note, but gives up, because in his anger he would only write “Fuck you all, love Alex.” He jumps out the window of his room and climbs down the pipe attached to the wall. He cannot contain himself and gives a small smile, he is one step away from freeing himself from all this. And he leaves without looking back.
The day is almost breaking, he walks along the roadside trying to hitch a ride. Soon his parents will wake up and he is just over 1 km from home. He thought about going back before anyone noticed he had left, but gave up right after feeling his rib still aching. An hour later, the Sun had already risen and shone brightly on the horizon. A truck stops, finally he got a ride. Upon entering the truck he can barely keep his eyes open and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he sees that the truck is stopped in front of a bar, he had slept for hours and hadn’t even noticed, he was far from home and felt happy. He decides to get off and move on, but first he puts ten dollars on the steering wheel and writes “Thank you” on the bill. He leaves and keeps walking down the road. Until night falls and he decides to rest in a roadside motel, a dirty, rundown place, but he has no time to notice, because every part of his body hurts and all he wants is a bed for a good night’s sleep, even if that bed is full of fleas and ticks, he hoped it wasn’t. Before sleeping he thinks of his parents and how they must be worried, he almost wishes he were there just to see their faces. This thought bothers him so much that he decides that the next day he will call them. It was already past 11 in the morning when he leaves the motel room, goes to a nearby phone booth, decides he will return home and wants to warn his parents. The home phone rings and no one answers. — Please answer! Alex whispers.
Two more attempts, and no one answers. He loses control and pulls the phone cord so hard that he ends up ripping it out. — What have I done? I shouldn’t have run away, I’m an idiot.
He looks at the road and thinks that since he started he won’t give up. Even without knowing where he is going he decides he will move forward. All he has in his wallet is fifty dollars, his personal documents, and a condom he got at school, in one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. He gets another ride and is already in another city now even farther from his home. Being a stranger in an unknown place is something incredibly exciting. He decides to stop to eat something, finds a restaurant... No, a simple roadside diner. He enters, sits at one of the tables. A waitress approaches to take his order. — What will it be, honey? She asks.
— A hamburger and a coke. And where is the bathroom?
She points her finger in the direction he should go. He hears her say something to another waitress about the kind of people who come around here. And he shows her the middle finger under his shirt. Alex goes to the bathroom, washes his face and tries to get rid of the smell of sweat. He puts the backpack on the floor, looks in the mirror and sees his tired and sad face. 2nd Rule when running away: Never look in the mirror. Seeing your face may bring you remorse.
He hears someone whispering, it is so low that he thinks it comes from outside. He hears again and now is sure it is someone also in the bathroom. He hears the flush and starts trembling, until the door of one of the stalls opens. He was about to run when he saw a man of 45, 48 years old who looks at Alex with surprise. — I thought there was no one else here besides me. Says the man.
— It’s a public bathroom, people come and go. Says Alex forcing a smile.
— That’s true.
— I need to go. Says Alex heading toward the door.
— Wait.
He turns, but only because he was forgetting his backpack, but is afraid to pick it up, since the man is very close to it. — I have a problem. Says the man.
— And who doesn’t! Replies Alex anxiously.
— I need you to do me a favor.
— I can’t, my father is waiting for me.
— No he’s not, I saw you came alone.
— Look, I just want my backpack, please.
— You have to help me.
— All right, what do you want from me?
The two leave the bathroom, the man has a kitchen knife pointed at Alex’s neck. — Nobody move, or I’ll slit this boy’s throat and you’ll have more than ketchup to go with your fries.
People are terrified, some go under the tables. — Stay calm. Says a man in a suit, probably the manager.
The man pulls a paper bag from his pocket and hands it to one of the waitresses and asks her to fill it with all the money from the register. By now someone has already called the police. The waitress hands him the bag and the two leave the diner and head toward his pickup truck. The man pushes Alex inside, gets in too and floors it, driving over the grass and the sidewalk.
