No, it was definitely his breath. "Hey Ryan. I had Algebra with you this morning." "Oh really? It's good to meet you I guess…" "See here's the thing Ryan. I don't think you did a lot of learning in class, so I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson right here!" The big guy drives his fist into my stomach and I double over gasping for air. "I saw you flirting with my girl Ryan!" He goes in for a kick, but I catch his leg and tackle him to the floor. "That doesn't mean you have to assault me you crazy fuck!" I punch him in the nose, and blood starts flowing down his chin. He punches me in the side of the face, and I double back before kicking him in the head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. Whatever impression people made of me in Algebra class was completely replaced by the fact that I had just floored this kid. "Oh my god! That guy just fucked up Troy!" "Woah! Did you see Troy just get completely destroyed by that new kid?!" Whoops. I ran to Chemistry before any teachers saw me next to him. I sit down in the back, and pull out a journal and pencil to take notes, before K sits down next to me. "Oh my god Ryan, what happened to your face?" "Oh, that guy Troy from our Algebra class wasn't too happy that I was talking to you." "Are you serious?!" "Excuse me! Class has started!" After writing down all of my notes, I still didn't understand what molar concentration was. Once the bell had rang, I followed K to the cafeteria, where I waited in line for 10 minutes just to receive frozen pizza that tasted like rubber, and a carton of warm milk. "So Ryan, do you maybe want to see a movie with me this weekend?" I thought she was dating Troy, but I can't let an opportunity like that pass up. "Okay sure, that sounds great." I punch my number into her phone before forcing the rest of my pizza into my mouth, and heading to English. The class was so boring I would've fell asleep, if not for K bumping my arm every 30 seconds to keep me awake. Unfortunately she wasn't there in History class, and I slept until the bell rang. I walked outside to the parking lot expecting my dad to be there to pick me up, but I ended up having to wait 15 minutes before I saw his car pull into the lot. I hop into the car, and the air is heavy with alcohol. "Sorry I'm late." "It's no problem." I didn't say another word to him all the way home. I walk upstairs to my room and plop down on my mattress, and almost just as quickly fell asleep.