Chapter 5

I was ignored today. By whom, you may ask. Oswald Hirsch. I didn’t believe it. Surely, he must not have heard me when I called out “Oswald!” I mean, there’s what, like six Oswald’s in the whole damn world!

I picked up a stack of photos from this summer. I was flipping through them. I grabbed a picture of Captain Oz from sixth grade and a photo of “Ozzie” from a week before school started. There was no way it was the same person. Captain Oz wouldn’t have ignored me.

Why did he ignore me? Was it because I was gay? No. He’s totally pro-homo. I don’t know, maybe he’s become a total dick in the two days of school we’ve had so far. I hate imagining what the rest of the year will bring.

Harry thought it was funny when I told him about receiving the cold shoulder. I guess I do have my reasons for disliking Harry. I kept looking at that stupid bracelet. It made me angry. I pulled it off of my wrist and put it in my pocket.

Mike Flowers? Really? I just can’t seem to fathom why any person with at least one brain cell would want to hang out with Mike “The Oaf” Flowers. Well, he was popular.

Day three of school would bring torment and pain I don’t think I’ll be able to handle. It was going to be awful.

Ignored…again.

I decided to go to his house after school. Mrs. Hirsch was baking cookies. Who does that? I mean, at three in the afternoon. That’s probably why Oswald was so fat.

I went up to his room and knocked. I was regretting my decision. He’d probably tell me to go home or use his “dumb jock” strength and beat me up.

That made me laugh. Oswald would never do that; at least I hoped he wouldn’t. What if he did!? I almost ran away, but I had a lot on my mind.

“Come in.” He called. He was wearing his glasses, a reminder of who he had once been. I sighed at thoughts of the Oswald who wouldn’t ever have dreamed of ignoring me. “Uh, hi Nathan.”

“Hi? Oh, now you speak to me?” I just started off angry. I hadn’t realized how hurt I actually was. He looked at me after palming his glasses. I felt my jaw tighten. “You are possibly the biggest, most jerkiest jerk, EVER.” I said.

“I…” He started. But I was not done yet.

“I can’t believe you would stop talking to me because…because I was gay. I…I thought you were more accepting than that. I thought you were my friend, Ozzie!” I felt my face go hot. Saying Ozzie made me even angrier. “You’ve decided to hang out with Mike Flowers. Mike Fucking Flowers! A guy dumber than a sack of potatoes, who bullies me, who talks about me, who…who I… hate.” I pulled the bracelet out of my pocket and tossed it at him. “I hate you too.”

A little dramatic, but I had been reading “Hills of Sorrow” for weeks. I was crying like an idiot. I felt like an idiot. I was an idiot.

I wished Oswald had never come back. I wished I could hang out with my “friend” Harry and forget about Captain Oz. I wished I could forget he ever existed. I wished I never existed.