Derek Lettman, the only emo in all of Lake Point, walked down the hall of the high school, his head down, causing his long black emo hair to hide half his pale face, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his tight jeans, carrying his mildly heavy schoolbag over his shoulder. He looked up slightly, seeing his destination: the exit. If only he could make it all the way there this time without ...
Suddenly, he was rammed up against the lockers. As always, no one seemed to be around to help him.
"Where are you going, fag?"
Derek turned his head slightly towards the voice. His emo hair sliding to his right just a bit. It was Steve "The Stud" Farber, the hottest guy at Lake Point High, at least according to most of the girls. Behind him stood Steve's friend Randy Goodman, a jock who was part of the football team. While Steve had the looks, Randy had the brawn, although the jock wasn't too bad-looking either, again according to most of the girls.
"I'm not a fag," Derek said. It was almost a whisper.
"Not a fag, huh?" Steve asked, mockingly. "Then why are you dressing like a girl?"
"Tight T-shirt, tight jeans, long hair, eyeliner ... yeah, he's definitely trying to be a girl," Randy said.
"Trying out your sister's clothes?" Steve asked.
"I don't have a sister," Derek said. He turned away from them. "Just leave me alone, okay?"
"Whatever, fag," Steve said.
Derek hated that word. Why couldn't Steve and Randy just leave him alone? Why did they always have to go out of their way to pick on him?
"Maybe his mommy wants a daughter," Randy suggested.
That was it. That was the last straw. Derek pulled all of his will together and pushed Steve back. Being lanky, Derek really didn't have a whole lot of strength. Then he ... made a run for it. Right to the exit.
"Yeah, that's it! Run home to your mommy, you fag!" Steve yelled.
As Derek left the school, he heard both Steve and Randy break out into laughter.
Once outside, he sighed, and grabbed his iPod and headphones from his schoolbag and then put them on. It seemed that the only thing that could make him feel better was his music. No one understood him or shared his interests, so he had no friends. But as just seen in the high school, he had plenty of enemies. Steve and Randy were just the worst of them. It seemed like everyone at the school either hated him or just dismissed him, as if he were just part of the background, someone they just wouldn't want to associate themselves with, so they ignored him. They pretended like he didn't exist. And truth be told, sometimes he felt like he really didn't exist.
He turned on his music and shoved his hands in his pockets again, then headed home, which was a house not much bigger than a trailer home and located in the seedier part of town, but it was the only place he knew he wouldn't be bullied by anyone. His mom was the only other person in the house, but she left him alone. She was more interested in her favorite pastimes: watching TV and smoking. That sort of lifestyle didn't help her weight problem all that much, but she really didn't much care.
Derek sighed, contently this time, at hearing his favorite music. Then he walked home, not realizing that his life was about to veer in an interesting direction ...
