I came home crying today, trying to calm down and hide my face. I had been crying quite a lot recently.
A couple of older boys brushed past me on the way home today; I saw the first one stare at me, and then the second one grinned nastily and imitated me in a language I'd never known.
It's because I look small and weak, people aren't afraid to make fun of me. When I'm older, it won't happen so often, I always tell myself - but it never happens.
I managed to go for some time without bursting into tears, trying different calming techniques, exercising my breathing... But nothing worked. So I randomly broke out in the middle of the street.
And the onlookers' stares did nothing but make it worse.
"Hiro! Dinner in twenty minutes!" Mother called out, her voice barely audible over the hissing of the frying pan.
"Hai."
I knew I should have been doing homework. I had to do the homework. I couldn't get detention. But I just felt... Kinda depressed. I pushed the homework to one side, packed my books for tomorrow and located my video games cartridges.
Dad was away from home - again.
He'd seemed to do it a whole lot more since he and Mum fell out. It's lonely and quite at the dinner table when he's away, so I try to eat my food as fast as I can to escape... And then get indigestion.
When he is home, however, he cracks a few jokes at the table and Mum promptly leaves. It's not an ideal situation, but it's what I have to live with.
I'd much rather live with this, though, than have to choose between them.
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