Jarrod walked alongside his girlfriend, Annie, through the long school hall. She was currently blabbering on about her friend Marie, and how she hadn't paid for the donut Annie had given her a few weeks back. It was at times like these that Jarrod separated himself from his body, pondering the first thing that came to mind.

His musing was interrupted by Annie, who was looking at him with a not-very-amused expression. 'Are you even listening?' he sputtered a little, his brain taking a second to get him back up to speed on Annie's ramblings.

'What?' he stumbled around his words, 'of course I am, you were talking about Marie.' His face gave him away to Annie though, as she was a master at reading his expressions. 'Fine.' she said, clearly unhappy.

She strutted away from him, but didn't get very far because after only a few seconds of walking, she tripped over and fell flat on her face. He ran over to her, helping her up while she started shaking in anger.

Annie whirled around scanning the people around her. Her eyes finally rested on two figures, one diminutive and forlorn, the other lanky and sullen. Jarrod didn't recognize them immediately, as they weren't a part of his main group of friends.

Annie, still shaking, was growing more upset by the second. 'You two tripped me over, didn't you?'. The tall guy looked shocked, mouth agape, and the small girl seemed to shrink in on herself, shaking her head almost rhythmically.

'You're joking, aren't you?' The shocked guy asked, 'we weren't anywhere near you!' The girl looked up and nodded her head, either being unable to speak, or just not wanting to. Annie snorted derisively, clearly unswayed from her opinion. Jarrod sighed inwardly, knowing that he would have to go along with what Annie said, lest he incur her wrath.

'We're not blind, kid.' Jarrod said, puffing out his chest and glaring, 'I saw you trip her over.' The guy glared right back at him, clearly upset with Jarrod's lie. His friend, the small girl, spoke quietly, 'Just leave it, Brendon' she said, 'Let's get out of here.' Brendon calmed a little, but didn't look ready to leave.

'Yeah Brendon,' Annie sneered, 'why don't you just walk away.' Brendon's face reddened and he started walking toward Jarrod and Annie. 'You listen here-' he yelled, but was interrupted by a lighthearted voice. 'What's going on here?'

The students turned to see Mr. Gary Johnson, the history teacher. He was one of the weirder teachers, with an odd sense of humor and poor comedic timing, Mr. Johnson's jokes often fell flat, and he told a lot of jokes.

Annie piped up, 'They tripped me over, sir!'. Brendon looked to be fuming at the accusation, and his friend didn't look to be taking this well, either. 'That's not true, she's lying.' Brendon said, teeth grinding. 'You're the one who's lying!' Jarrod cried half-heartedly.

Mr. Johnson seemed to ponder over the situation that had developed. 'Well, it seems we've gotten ourselves into a pickle, haven't we?' He smiled, looking each of the students in the eye. 'Brendon, Bailey, are you willing to apologize?' Brendon looked outraged, even Bailey looked angry. 'But we haven't done anything, sir.' Bailey said.

Mr. Johnson nodded slowly, like a wizened scholar. 'Annie, Jarrod, are you willing to let this go?' The look on Annie's face was enough to answer that question, and Jarrod shook his head, conforming with Annie.

Smiling somberly, Mr. Johnson sighed. 'Well then, I'm afraid you're all going to have to miss lunch tomorrow for a restorative session with me.' Nobody looked happy with this, not even Mr Johnson, who was not so easily perturbed. Annie started arguing, provoking Brendon whilst she was at it. Brendon and Annie entered a shouting match. Bailey, not happy with Brendon's behavior, scolded him, while Jarrod stood, rooted to the ground, completely silent and accepting of the situation.

Just before the arguing could escalate any further, Mr. Johnson cut in. 'It's final!' He yelled, silencing the students, 'It's pretty obvious that you all have things to get off your chests, so you will be there tomorrow, or it will be a weeks detention for the lot of you.' A crack had seemed to form on Mr. Johnson's usually smiling face, and fiery emotion seeped through.

The hall sat in silence until the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. 'Now, you all have classes to get to, and I wouldn't want you to be late, so get going.' Mr Johnson said, not yet recovered from his outburst. The students all hung their heads and headed off to their classes.

⬧⬧⬧

All the way to class, Bailey reprimanded Brendon for his earlier yelling. 'I couldn't help it,' he said, 'Annie's just got a personality I want to argue with.' He shrugged his shoulders. Bailey, still not quite pacified, harrumphed, but let the subject drop.

The class went by slowly, each minute being dragged into an infinite eternity. When the eternity finally ended, Brendon approached Bailey. 'I think I need some help studying for the assignment, do you think you could help me with it?' Bailey, still holding a little bit of the anger from earlier, seemed happy to ignore him, but her walls finally crumbled.

'Fine, I can help you.' She said tersely. 'Wow, you don't have to be that excited, we're just studying.' Brendon joked. Bailey cracked a small, shy smile, and her cheeks flushed. 'I'm sorry for being so angry, I just worry about you.' He looked a little shocked, not to mention embarrassed. 'No, I'm sorry for being so angry, I should've kept my emotions in check.'

The two smiled at each other, until Brendon changed the subject back to studying. 'Do you think we could study at your place?' Bailey shook her head violently, very much opposed to the idea. 'That's not a good idea.' She said firmly. 'What about your house?' Brendon looked unsure 'Well, I don't know if we'd be able to,' he said, 'We've just moved houses and we haven't unpacked anything yet.'

He sighed at the look Bailey gave him. 'I'll ask dad, I guess.' Bailey looked satisfied at this, grinning widely. They said their goodbyes and parted for the day.

⬧⬧⬧

Annie said goodbye to Marie, who was calling all the way from the Gold Coast. Jarrod leaned on a wall a few feet from Annie, having been waiting for the past ten minutes.

'Bye-bye sweetie.' Annie said in her faux-innocent voice, which seemed more condescending the closer you listened to it. She hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. 'Let's go, babe.' She said.

'Wait Annie,' Jarrod said, 'We need to talk.' She looked annoyed, but stood her ground anyway. 'What is it, and please make it quick, I don't want to miss my bus.'

Jarrod, grinding his teeth in anticipation, finally let out what he'd been wanting to say for a week. 'I think we should take some time apart.' Annie's jaw hung so low, a small bird could climbed into her mouth.. She stood there, unmoving, for what felt like forever to her. 'What?' She stammered out.

'I want to break up with you.' Jarrod said robotically, dreading the eerie silence. Annie stumbled around her words for a few seconds, but eventually got out what she wanted to say. 'But, why?'

Shaking his head, Jarrod collected his jumbled thoughts. 'You're so distant, all you do is talk on the phone and boss me around, you never actually stop to consider what I feel, or what I want.' As Jarrod talked, he found he couldn't stop, the words falling out of his mouth like a tumbling waterfall.

'All you do is insult me and blame other people for your problems, I'm sick of it!' By the end, he was yelling, his stony outer-surface crumbling in one fell swoop. 'So you can take your phone and your phony relationships and shove off with them!' Jarrod stomped off, his whole body stiff and tense.

'But-' Annie started. 'We are over!' Jarrod screamed, turning to look Annie in the eyes. 'We're over', he repeated, softer than before. Finally, he spun around and stalked off.

'Fine,' Annie said, tears rolling down her cheeks. 'You were an ass anyway!' Jarrod didn't seem to hear it though, as he kept on walking. Crying viciously, Annie half ran, half jogged to the bus stop, where she wept and wallowed in her sorrow until her bus arrived.

⬧⬧⬧

The walk back to his new house was uneventful, for the most part, it was a much easier walk than to Brendon's old place. When he finally got home, he dumped his bag in his room and went to help his dad.

Richard reminded Brendon of Mr. Gary Johnson, with his care-free attitude and crap humour. Richard was currently sitting on one of the many full boxes in the living room, reading a newspaper. 'Hey dad, I'm home.' Brendon said, drawing Richard from his reading. He smiled and stood up, putting the newspaper on the ground.

'How was school today?' He asked. Brendon shrugged, 'It was okay,' he said, 'Nothing out of the ordinary.' Richard grinned a little, 'You know, I can tell when you're lying.' Brendon's face flushed and he shrugged again.

'Well, some kid accused me of tripping me over.' He admitted. Richard, showing a little concern, asked, 'But, you didn't actually trip her over, did you?' Brendon shook his head and sighed. 'No, she made it up.' Richard smiled warmly, 'Well, that's no good,' he said, 'did she get in trouble for accusing you?'

Brendon snorted and shook his head.' No,' he said, 'We have to go to some stupid restorative session, or something.' Richard chuckled a little, 'Well, aren't you a poor bastard.' Brendon tried to keep a stoic face, but he joined in laughing with his dad.

'Oh, and dad?' Brendon asked, 'Do you think that my friend Bailey could come over to help me study this weekend?' A knowing smile split across Richard's face. 'Study, you say?' Brendon looked confused for a moment, before he understood the insinuation.

But before he could intervene what he feared was coming, Richard continued. 'Brendon, do we need to have a chat?' His face beet red, Brendon shook his head violently. 'Brendon,' Richard said, 'There comes a time in every boy's life where his father must teach him about love.' Odd gurgling noises were issuing out of Brendon's mouth as he tried to dissuade his father. 'Dad, no, I don't like Bailey like that.' He tried.

'Hey hey,' Richard said, with his full smile, 'It's okay, you don't have to tell me. I'm sure she's a lovely girl, but Brendon.' It seemed that Brendon was just about foaming from the mouth. 'Dad, seriously, she's just a friend.'

Richard pushed on forward, unknowing of the situation he had put Brendon in. 'Brendon, please. He said. 'I feel the need to talk to you about the 'birds and the bees'. You're old enough to understand, and I want to make sure that you're safe in all aspects of life. And know that you're going to start realizing that girls are-'

Brendon couldn't take it anymore, he had to just let it out. 'Dad,' Brendon yelled, 'I like men.' An incredibly awkward and tense minute drew on. 'Oh, okay.' Richard said, voice quiet and reserved. 'Well, I'm proud of you for telling me that.'

More silence. 'Um, I guess I don't know much about that stuff. Or anything at all, really.' Even more silence. 'You know what, um, Brendon, do you have any homework that you need to finish up?' Brendon nodded somberly. 'Yeah, I'll go to my room and do it.'

⬧⬧⬧

Bailey dreaded going home, it was always the worst part of her day. The dread built up as she opened the front door and stepped inside. 'Bailey, is that you?' Kristy called out. Bailey sighed, cursing her mother's fine-tuned ears inwardly. 'Mhm, yes mum, leave me alone, please.' Bailey replied, wanting to avoid another shouting match.

'Don't you talk to me like that!' Kristy screamed through the house, 'I don't appreciate that attitude, young lady.' Whenever Kristy yelled and screamed at Bailey, a deep anger always erupted out of her, pushing her to further arguments. But today, all she wanted to do was shove her head in a pillow and cry.

'Talk to you like what?' She said despite her feelings, 'I just walked in the door, asked to be left alone, and now you're yelling at me.' She felt exasperated already, and she'd only spoken a few sentences. Kristy was having none of it, though, as she readily screamed back.

'Does it sound like I care?' She cried, 'You're such a lazy, stuck up, whelp of a daughter!' Baileys teeth set to grounding, barely being able to contain the anger now bubbling up from the depths. 'As if you can talk!' Bailey yelled, unable to help herself, 'You know nothing about me.'

'What was that? Don't talk to me as if I'm a slave' Kristy screamed, her stomping feet approaching at a fast pace, 'I am your mother, and you will show me some respect for once in your pitiful life! Now, get out of my sight, I don't even want to look at you.' Bailey felt just about ready to pelt her mother, probably as much as Brendon wanting to pelt Annie, but through a force of will, she held back.

Tears streaming down her face, Bailey screamed in her mother's face, 'What have I ever done to deserve this?' Kristy sneered, a horrible look washing over her face, 'You were born.' The last straw broke. Bailey's face contorted in pure, unadulterated rage, but all at once, her emotion diffused out of her, leaving only a husk.

'Mhm, whatever mum.' She said. She walked past Kristy, eyes planted firmly in front of her. 'Oh, and I'm going over to Brendon's house this Saturday.' She said, voice flat. 'Just don't come home pregnant.' Kristy replied tersely, clearly bored of insulting her daughter.

Bailey sat on her bed, doing nothing for what seemed like hours, and probably was. Bailey didn't get any sleep that night.

⬧⬧⬧

Annie cried all the way back home. It was only a short walk from the bus stop to her house, which was on the high end of town. A package was on the lawn, slightly moist from left-over morning dew.

Nigel, Annie's dad, was always preoccupied with important work, so he's unable to get any packages, or he might make a mistake. That's what he tells Annie, anyway. Annie tucked it under her arm, unlocked the door and walked in. Nigel was sitting at his desk in the living room. He was furiously typing away, mind completely taken by his work.

'I'm home, dad!' Annie called, despite the fact they were in the same room. It took a few seconds, but eventually Nigel replied, 'Okay sweetheart.' He mumbled quietly, 'Did you grab the package off the lawn for me?' Annie mumbled a yes and threw her handbag on the couch.

'How was school?' Nigel asked, voice entirely monotone. Annie grumbled, then half growled, half yelled, 'It was awful! I got tripped over by some weirdo and his girlfriend, and then Jarrod broke up with me.' Nigel took a few seconds to reply, 'That's nice, sweetie.'

Annie, in a poor mood, shouted back at her father, 'Oh, and I jumped off the roof of the school and broke my legs. I had to go to the hospital.' Nigel, once more taking his time, replied after a delay, 'Sounds like you had a lovely day.' He mumbled, 'Could you get me my phone on the kitchen bench?'

Annie sighed, shoulders slumping in submission. She retrieved his phone, handing it to her absent father, 'Thanks sweetie.' Annie ran into her room and cried, unable to take the pressure of her life anymore.

⬧⬧⬧

Jarrod showered the day's sorrows off that night, feeling both relieved and free at the same time. He knew he was pushing it with his long shower, his parents would likely want to reprimand him for wasting his studying time. He didn't care though, feeling a burden released from his shoulders at long last.

He was usually only permitted a 7 minute shower, which was plenty of time to do what was necessary, according to his parents. He didn't make it a habit to spit in his parents' eyes like this, but he was feeling especially defiant today.

He didn't think Annie was a bad person, no, he knew about how her dad disregarded her existence, but enough was enough for him. Despite that, though, he couldn't help but feel that he had been harsh when handling his now ex girlfriend.

There was nothing for it, though; what's done, is done. He just hoped that Annie was doing okay.

⬧⬧⬧

Gary dropped heavily onto his threadbare couch, which was being held together by sheer force of will. He flicked the small tv on, keeping the volume low. He sighed, taking a second to let the day wash over him.

Arguments like the one those four kids were having earlier were surprisingly commonplace. He's had to sort through worse, though, so he was fairly sure that he could sort their problems out.

The large piles of paperwork couldn't be ignored for long, however, and eventually his eyes drifted over to the many stacks of papers heaped up on the coffee table. He had sorted the papers out to two distinct halves: the first relating to school, the other to do with the divorce.

For a moment, the weight of everything pushed down on Gary, trying to snuff him out like a flame. But Gary was not so fractured as to crack under the pressure. He would grin and bare it, just as his parents taught him to.

His students didn't deserve to have an emotional wreck of a teacher, so he would laugh and joke, even if he wasn't very funny, because that was his duty. He would get through this.

That's what he convinced himself, at least.

⬧⬧⬧

Mr. Gary Johnson had been waiting for them in the small office area for a while. Brendon and Bailey were the first to arrive, having come together. Jarrod was next. Then, only being 5 minutes late, Annie materialized, a sullen husk of her former self, though with a sharp glint in her eyes.

'Okay, kids, let's review why we're all here today.' Gary started, after everyone was seated, clapping his hands to accentuate his words. Annie, like a viper, uncoiled and struck. 'It's because these two dimwits,' She said, pointing at Brendon and Bailey, 'tripped me over yesterday, no doubt trying to snap my neck.'

Jarrod shook his head in dismay, but refrained from speaking up. Brendon, though, had no qualms as such. 'Bullshit, Annie.' He cried, 'You're just a megalomaniac with vanity issues!' Bailey put a hand on his shoulder, calming him down a little with her stern look.

'Annie and Jarrod were walking,' Bailey calmly stated, 'When they passed by us, Annie fell over. We had nothing to do with it, we were innocent bystanders.' Annie looked like she wanted to argue the point further, but Gary put his hand up to silence any retorts.

He nodded solemnly, taking his time to digest the situation. Annie, though, couldn't take the pensive silence any longer, as she butted in disturbingly loudly in the still room. 'Ugh,' she sighed, 'I don't know why I'm even here, it's not like I did anything.'

This in turn triggered Brendon, which then, like a domino effect, set off Bailey, who went out of her way to calm him. Jarrod sighed heavily, clearly having had enough of the fighting. Gary tried placating everyone quietly, attempting to appeal to each student. They were having none of it, however, as they just kept on getting louder.

The bickering and rowing cascaded in a cumulative effect. Eventually, the feuding broke the flood gate to Gary. He finally broke down, his emotions rushing out like a waterfall. His face reddened and his temples thrummed and pulsated like a demented drum. His muscles tensed and shook spasmodically.

'Enough!' He yelled, tearing through Brendon and Annie's fighting like a chainsaw through soft flesh. 'I've had it with your squabbling. Brendon, Annie, listen to Bailey, nobody wants to listen to your bickering, so zip it.' Brendon sat back on his chair, his anger momentarily fizzled out by Gary's outburst. Annie plumped down onto her chair, mollified to an extent. 'Sorry, sir.' She said, obviously not meaning a word of it

'Don't apologize for things you don't care about, Annie.' Gary said, his fingers massaging his temples. 'Just sit down and be quiet.' Gary took a second to collect his thoughts before he continued. 'Now, from what I can see, nobody here is willing to admit fault, so let's just ignore that for now, and get down to why you're all so irrationally angry with each other.'

Annie looked like she wanted to tell Gary exactly what she thought of that idea, but Jarrod had gotten fed up with how she was parading around like the Queen of the Earth, and he just wanted her to feel a little bit of humility for once in her arrogant life.

'Oh my God, just shut up, Annie.' He cried, his contemplative mood being broken for the first time that day. 'Nobody tripped you over! You were just walking and you tripped over your own feet, it was no one's fault. But I'm sick of hearing how Marie didn't pay you back for that damned doughnut, or how your dad doesn't love you, or that you're the perfect human specimen. You're not! You're just a sad little girl who can't walk in a straight line without tripping over and goes crying to her unloving daddy!' Immediately after the words left his mouth, Jarrod regretted them, not meaning to have brought Annie down like that.

Her face screwed up in disgust, then anger and finally she started shivering, convulsing as sobs wracked her body and tears streamed down her face like an endless waterfall of sorrow. He tensed up, outraged by his own actions. His shoulders slumped and he sat up and pulled Annie into a tight hug, whispering encouragements and apologies.

Everyone else watched on in silence, dumbstruck by Jarrod's confession, and Annie's breakdown. Bailey looked on in shame for her and Brendon's actions, not having realised that Annie might have actually had feelings other than contempt. Despite that, though, the words she knew needed to be spoken were hard to force out. But she wasn't willing to leave Annie to her suffering, so she sucked up her fear and ploughed on ahead.

'It's okay, Annie, I understand. My mum and I don't get along so well.' She said, her voice warm and comforting. 'I never hear the end of a fight with her, and she's always screaming at me.' Annie's eyes cleared up long enough for her to stare at Bailey, her shivering having eased up. Finally, a small smile played upon her lips, and her eyes radiated a thanks.

Brendon's eyes fell to his feet as he continued where Bailey left off. 'My dad hasn't spoken to me since I came out.' He mumbled, speaking equally from the heart as Bailey, but being less sure how to express his feelings.

Jarrod knew that what those two had started needed to continue through him, so he steeled his nerves and released his own demons. 'I'm scared of not being enough for my parents. They're always pushing me to do better in sport, or to get better grades, and it's never good enough.' Annie finally looked up into Jarrod's eyes, and he saw that she accepted him, not the principle of having a boyfriend to further her own popularity, but the person behind the sportsman, and he shared a secret smile with her to show just how much he was sorry.

Annie finally relented in her self-pitying, straightening her spine and mimicking everybodies strength of character that she so desperately wanted. 'My dad doesn't talk to me. It's always work, work, work with him. I don't even know how to get his attention anymore. I could run away and he would never even notice that I was gone.'

Gary looked on in distinct pride as he watched the students finally open their hearts to each other, seeing how they grew before his very eyes. He wanted to join in with their confessions, but he was the rock that they would tether themselves to, so he kept his silence, allowing them to draw strength from him.

He would be strong for the students, because that was what was needed. There was no time for him to feel sorry for himself, or to rage at the world. The world needed him, called to him,and he would heed its call.

'Could that be why you're all so cold to each other?' Gary ventured, finally having mastered his emotions. 'You all have so many differences, but in a way, you all share similar stories.' He chuckled, keeping his posture precisely relaxed. 'Almost afraid of the truth spilling out?'

What he thought would be a witty comment that the students would appreciate, Annie looked at him in speculation. 'An what about you, sir?' She asked, a calmness having entered her speech.

'What about me, Annie?' Gary asked, suddenly on the back foot. She smirked, having seen through her teachers defenses, straight to the heart of the man. 'What are you afraid of telling us?'

Sweat beaded on his brow as Gary reeled at Annie's insight. How was he going to be strong if she revealed his weakness? It just couldn't do, but he had to seem calm and in control.

'I'm afraid I don't understand, Annie.' He said, his fingers twitching ever so slightly. 'I think you do, sir.' Annie said, her smile of triumph transforming into one of melancholy. 'Why are you so sad, Gary Johnson?'

He didn't know what to do. He wanted to laugh off her accusation, but a small voice in his head told him not to, to finally accept what had happened. A war waged through him; did he reveal his failure, his weakness, or did he lock away his emotions forever.

He didn't know why, but he decided to relent, to release all the sadness and anger that had accrued over the years. A tragic smile drew his lips tight across his face. 'The love of my life left me for another man.' He didn't offer any more information, as there were still lines that he was not allowed to cross.

But with his words came a release of emotions, and a lone tear drifted lazily down his cheek.

The students could feel how miserable their teacher was. It was somebody they would never have thought to question, Mr. Gary Johnson, but Annie had apparently had a flash of insight into the man, an insight that nobody else had gained. Maybe there was more to the woman than they had originally thought.

Gary closed his emotions out from the rest of the world once more, keeping a tight rein on them, so he could end the session. 'Can we all agree to be friends?' He asked, looking each student in the eye. 'Can we agree to feel compassion for each other, and to realize that everyone has sadness in their life.'

Each student looked Gary in the eyes and nodded their understanding and affirmation. They all seemed to revel in the moment, but finally Gary dismissed them, allowing them to go about their days.

The students didn't move, though, they stayed in their seats, where they spent an hour talking. Just talking. They spoke of sad days and happy days. Times when they felt at the end of their rope, and days when they felt that the whole world was just waiting for them.

A friendship, one as unlikely as the sun rising in the west, blossomed from that conversation, and they knew that this was something special, something that would only happen once in their lives, and they were determined to make the most of it.

⬧⬧⬧

Mr. Gary Johnson walked out of the school, having finished off for the day. He would get in his rented car and drive to his rented apartment, where he would, little by little, tackle the monumental amount of paperwork stacked up on the coffee table. He would do so for hours, with the quiet tv the only thing to keep him company.

But that didn't matter to him. Gary wasn't worried about the future, there was no need. The future would come whether he wanted it to, or not. All that he could do was to be ready for it, and to accept it when it finally arrived.

He smiled, as though the hands of God touched his very soul. The past is a sad, sorrowful thing, but he was excited. Not by the past, or even the present.

He was excited for the future.