The Way Things Are


Once upon a time there was a boy. A boy who sat by and watched and listened and spoke when he was spoken to but only when he was spoken to. He walked through the halls with his hands to his sides and his head down. And people watched him and noticed him but never said anything to him because that's just the way things were.
And one night this boy's sister came into his room and sat on his bed and hugged him for a long time and didn't say anything. She just sat there and hugged him and he sat there and wondered why his sister was hugging him but didn't say anything.

When she was done hugging him she told him she was going to a party and that he should come along because he didn't go out much. And the boy just sat there and nodded and wondered why his sister was doing this but didn't say anything.

She told him to get ready and walked out the door and the boy looked down at his jeans and T-shirt and wondered what was wrong with what he was wearing but didn't say anything. He picked up his hairbrush and brushed one, two, three times and told his sister he was ready to go.

And they got in her car and drove to a big house on a corner with lights and people and cans and bottles. The boy walked inside and sat on a dirty couch and his sister walked up to a boy who handed her a can. He waited and waited all by himself and wondered why he was there but didn't say anything. He just waited patiently and quietly while people walked by and noticed him but didn't say anything because that's just the way things were.

A girl walked over and sat next to him with two cans in her hands and the boy scooted down the couch but the girl moved with him. She told him that her name was Tabitha but everyone called her Tabby and that he looked like he could use a drink. And the boy took the can to be nice and wondered why she was doing this but didn't say anything. He drank every drop even though it made his nose tingle and his head hurt. She asked him if he wanted another and he said yes and she got off the couch to find one.

The boy got up and walked around and hoped he didn't run into Tabby and looked for his sister. And he started to hear cheers and screaming and chants and he looked up with everyone else. And he saw the most beautiful girl being carried up the stairs by a boy and wondered why she was pretending to be drunk but didn't say anything. He watched her and her boy disappear inside a dark room and watched the door shut behind them.

He found his sister and asked her if they could leave and she gave a sad smile and told him okay. And they rode home in silence and walked upstairs together into his bedroom.

She asked the boy if he had a good time and he looked at her and stared at her face. And when he asked his sister why the girl at the party was acting that way, she told him that's just the way things were. And he wondered why things were that way but didn't say anything. He just rolled over and said goodnight.

And all through the night the boy cried for that girl and cried because he didn't understand. And he cried and he cried and finally he was so numb that he couldn't cry anymore. He just walked to his desk and pulled out a cord and tied it to his ceiling fan and pulled up a chair and stood on top of it. And while he wrapped the cord around his neck he wondered why things were the way they were but didn't say anything. He just remained as quiet as possible as he kicked off each foot from the chair, one, two. And the chair fell to the floor but the boy didn't. He hung from the ceiling with his hands to his sides and his head down.

And the next morning the boy's sister went to wake him up for school and screamed and cried and their parents came running up the stairs and screamed and cried and shook the boy and begged him to wake up but he never did.

The boy's sister didn't go to school for a week and when she came back everyone wondered if she was okay but didn't say anything.

Because that's just the way things were.