It was just now lunch for Alexandros at Southport West High School. He brought his own, this time, which contained peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, cashews, a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, some carrots and celery, and a plum. He did not mind what the school provided, sometimes, yet he figured they could do a better job with providing healthier meals, which was part of the reason he typically made his own lunches. Now, if only his brother could be in the same lunch period as him, so he would not have to worry about him.
Usually, Alex ate alone, but this was different, since some of his classmates from English class were comfortable around him to the point where they felt they could sit at the same table with him, despite differences of opinion. They had plenty of questions for him about Christianity, to which he answered calmly, politely, and to the best of his ability. Of course, there was naturally criticism, yet without a hostile tone. Plus, nobody was forcing anything, it was simply stating opinions.
During that conversation, Alexandros spotted a blond-haired girl, who seemed a year younger than him, also appeared a bit down. The 18-year-old's eyes expressed concern for her. This, of course, made his peers worry about him. Once Alex saw the eyes on him from the other guys at the tables, he raised an eyebrow while posing the query, "Why are you guys making such expressions, right now? She seems like she could use some help with something."
Bill, one of the boys at the table, shook his head. "Dude, I'm telling you, that girl is a b****. You're better off not being around her."
James, another guy, chimed in with, "Yeah, man. She's bad news."
Alex merely shrugged. "It is worth a try to at least do something, right?"
With that, Alex walked on over to the table she was staying at, now standing beside her. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice you're kind of upset about something. As he spoke, his eyes expressed a gentleness mixed with concern. "Did something happen, today?"
---
Julian, in his gray-skull tee-shirt and black pants, was walking along the hallway minding his own business. He was always shy and did not feel comfortable in long conversations with anyone he barely knew. Especially since this school had some rather hostile individuals, he did not want to be speaking to the wrong person or making a bad statement. He was just on his way to speech class, something he did average in, when he was all of a sudden whacked on the back of the head and knocked to the ground, his books falling out of his arms at that instant. He could hear the rants from behind loud and clear.
"Your kind's all the same!"
"You only place you belong in is an asylum!"
"Looking for somebody to kill, are you!?"
A shaky Julian stood up and began to protest. "Th-that's not...!"
"You can't fool us with that façade!"
One of the three boys kicked him to the ground, another using his foot to keep him down on his back while the third repeatedly punched him in the face. Julian was not very strong, so there was not anything he could do if he tried to resist. With the beating finally over, he kept his eyes shut while, in his traumatized state, he gathered his words. "P-please... stop... I-I don't... I don't want any trouble!"
"You are trouble, the lot of you!"
"No!" Julian was now in tears as he feared the worst-case scenario, the way he always does. Remaining the rest of the time, he still kept his eyes closed as the person who punched earlier lifted his fist for another round. In the back of mind mind, Julian hoped someone, anyone, would step in to put a stop to it.