Whiffs and Mulligans - Part 4

[mekachu04]

Whiffs and Mulligans – Part4

They were working on their final project, only a week or so left of the term, when Kidd was turned away from the door when he tried to go to class. In fact, all of them were turned away, all but Keillan.

He alone was asked to come in the shop room, the rest waiting in the hall, for a good ten minutes.

When the rest of them were finally allowed in, Keillan was sitting in his usual spot. Hat off, head bowed. But as the rest of them got to work after roll call, only Keillan remained unmoving.

There were harsh laughs in his direction, whispers of things Kidd didn't quite catch.

He did see Keillan’s jaw trembling a few times, heard his unsteady harsh breathing as he sat and just stared at his empty workspace. "Dude" Kidd whispered to him at the halfway point of class, "are you gonna even attempt to work on anything today?"

The table behind him laughed rudely, muffling it when Kidd turned to glare at him. Keillan didn't move. Didn't even pretend to hear his question. Kidd got to work on his own piece.

He turned back one last time as the class was cleaning up.

Keillan was crying.

He never made a sound, tears dripping silently down his face, dripping off his nose and he sat ramrod still.

Kidd pretended to leave with the rest, Keillan left behind. He only finally got up and moved to get his project when he thought the room was empty. He looked under the drop cloth for a moment, before taking the whole thing and dumping it in the trash.

Kidd watched from the hall, ducking away only when Keillan turned and left. He reentered the room, unable to look away from the bin. If it was that bad, why the trash and not the scrap pile?

Kidd pulled the drop cloth away. Keillan’s project had been defaced, all the awful slurs thrown at him all term having been carved and engraved into the once smooth surface of his final.