RAW

The silence in which people surround themselves is often times deafening for those around such victims. Much like Max Riverstale. Your typical freshman in Gator High. The kids aren’t one for words. Always the one to keep to himself. And same as yesterday Max walks down the narrow marble black and white checkerboard floor. His black over-the-ear headphones on blasting Three Days Grace into his tiny white ears. His hands were self-consciously tucked away in his red hoodie. He stares at the floor wondering when this life of his is going to come to a standstill.

“Had it already?” Max thought to himself. His eyes lifting for a second to gaze at all the ‘sheep’ that walk past him, tempting him to fall into slumber like the evil dragon he felt he was.

“Hey man! Get that head out of the clouds!” Max’s obnoxiously lost and upbringing friend, Duke Martin. He’s a goth that has no problem with the social side of things. Jocks love him, nerds want to be him, and every girl in the school loved his dark sense of style. Now unfortunately for Max, Duke was the man that for no reason at all decided that he should always be a kind bother for Max.

“Leave me alone.” Max grumpily mutters under his breath. Reaching down to tie his white Gucci shoes.

“Sorry rich boy. Just need to make sure that evil cloud ain’t planning a storm.” Duke’s hands exploded in an expression of emotion. His body danced its own beat as waved his hands in the air dramatically. A smile that could rival any other dawn on Max. Against Max’s will, Duke made him a bit happier. “Well don’t worry about school man. It gets closer to being over with every minute.” Those words would be sketched into Max’s mind.

The halls fill with students each one chatting with their friends about the things they did before. But Max just follows Duke to his third class, history. As Duke opens the orange door and Max walks in a not-so-subtle Mr.Borkus jumps out behind his desk wearing a green grassy ghillie suit.

“Oh, hey kids. Please take your seats. We’re about to talk about US history. Most importantly we’re going to be studying the out doors and all of it’s wild creatures. And why they are so important to history nowadays.” Mr. Borkus started with an enthusiastic tone. He was a plump middle-aged man who loves the great outdoors. Most of the other kids don’t like him but Max and Duke, they couldn’t have asked for better.

The two of them sit down at their pale plastic desks beside one another. Max preferred to be next to the wide window. Mr. Borkus always kept it a smidge open so that the nice autumn breeze could brush on Max’s head. It kept him from getting headaches often. Max roams the classroom with his eyes. Like many times before he ends up reading the thousands of posters that has helpful survival tidbits and facts. These posters were found all over the painted room. Max thought Mr. Borkus did this to hide the awful orange wall.

Now unlike Max, Duke was asleep. He couldn’t for the life of him stay awake during class. He tried but would no matter what either be a disturbance to class or a nonparticipating member. So Mr. Borkus always videotaped the lesson a day prior and handed it to Duke with a few notes at the beginning of class. Mr. Borkus was truly the best teacher in their eyes as their history teacher did his best to accommodate all of his students.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The bells go off and all of Max’s classmates barge into history class ready to ignore Borkus’s every word. But as his students didn’t mind about their grades he wouldn’t dare interrupt their pointless conversations.

“Okay everyone sit down.” As Borkus’s voice fell on dead ears he smiles and turns towards a couple of students including Max. “I guess it’s just us again folks. Mind one of you telling me why basic human survival is apart of history?” Three students raise their hands. “Max you always pay attention. Come on and answer the question.” And Max wasn’t one of the three that raised his hand.

“I-I-I know the answer. Survival is all what history is. And knowing how each era survive tells us that if humanity was to hit rock bottom we would know what to do.” Max states this nervously. His tongue felt like a sushi roll as he messed up on his words.

“Great answer. Now Max please tell me and the others what features do all apex predators have in common.” Borkus grew a big grin as he was struck proud by Max’s answers.

“All apex preda-”

“All apex predators have the will to hunt. Stopping at nothing but to complete their goal.” Duke interrupts Max in the middle of his sentence. Rising on his desk with one leg. His tone was full of brovado.

“Love the eagerness Duke. But please don’t interrupt your classmates.” Borkus states as he takes a seat on an empty wooden desk next to the three other students. “Now as for your answer Duke it wasn’t a bad guess at all. But I was talking more,.. mentally. See us humans have a drive that no other animal could help to copy. So what does all apex predators have in common? The answer is a powerful drive. And as Duke said the drive to hunt, eat, kill are their number one goals. To stay at the top of their food lines.” As Mr. Borkus continues Max zones off, thinking about the others that surround him. All rich snobs much like him. They flex anything at all that they have. Even the weird kid Ralph had a 24 karat gold watch. Again he covered it in snot any chance he could but either way it was still a very expensive watch.

“What does it all matter? The only good thing in this world is kind acts. Except I know the truth. Only those who do kind acts are the most abled bodies of humanity. Meaning for those dimwits who can’t follow my train of thought, only good people can spread good things. And I’m no good person. I’m a slob that works out here and there. Plus a stutter that can kill.” Max’s thoughts were his biggest enemy. He always zones out during Mr. Borkus’s class, envisioning himself in front of an audience of faces students. Talk to them and let out his lifelong struggles. Then usually complains that he gots no lifelong struggles. He’s a very complicated boy.

“Mr. Borkus may I please use the restroom?” Max asks and once he sees Mr. Borkus nod his head yes Max was up and out of the classroom. Walking down the hallway he eyed the bathroom that was at the end of it. It was a unisex bathroom that the school put in to lower costs. And Max didn’t care, in his guts, he had to take that fattest of dumps.

As Max walks into the bathroom a gust of smoke hits his face. Forcing him to cough. The whole bathroom was filled with vape smoke. And the cause for the such a thing was high school baddy, Lillian Butchwork. The girl had long blond hair and black makeup. The local badass that gets whatever, whoever, and whenever she wants. She was accompanied by two other young ladies who hardly count as people. Just background characters to Lillian.

“What are you doing here loser?” Lillian asks before she hits her black vape.

“I n-n-n-n-n-eed to take a sh-sh-shit.” Max was now angrier than others as his stutter is coming to end his life right here and now in front of his high school crush. Oops did I ruin that surprise? Or maybe it was the bright red cheeks and sweat that was running down Max’s face that spoiled that surprise. The kid was standing there not knowing what to do or say. His body froze in what he should do.

“Okay? Go take a shit then.” Lillian says with an eyebrow raised, looking at a kid that was obviously a weirdo. Her tone was snarky but in her heart, a wave of pity crashed into it.

“Yeah. I w-w-w-will.” Max states nervously as he awkwardly heads into one of the stalls.

“Great is she going to hear me taking a shit? Fuck.” Max’s thoughts were filling him with fear and confusion as he sat on the white marble throne of shame. But little did he know that Lillian right after their encounter left.