the sound of air above me, will keep me down

I was in middle school at a school that i went to with a good portion of the people from my elementary, and a large host of new people. I was never on particularly good terms with anyone from elementary - I liked everyone, but i was never really paid attention to, and elementary school lacked the ladders to climb your way up. Unfortunately, this somehow transferred to middle school. Despite ongoing problems at home, throughout my middle school life, I did well in school academically. Socially, I continued to fail. That would change in high school. A little, at least.

There was this kid I met in my first year there, that I had taken a liking to, specifically in a friendly manner. Like the rest of the world that I knew, he had taken to calling me names. I remember at the time thinking, his insults were weird, which I enjoyed. He would walk into our table in science class and say, “You eat comb.” I laughed, and so did he.

Even though we were never on the terms friends would be at, I knew a lot about his day to day life, and the struggles he faced. Right when he turned sixteen, he had also gotten a job at Burger King, like me. Yet, unlike me, it was because his parents needed more money to keep their house. I knew the day when he broke up with his girlfriend, something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. He had this certain look in his eyes. He was lost, blank, puzzled, unfocused, when he walked into class that day. He didn’t have to tell me it happened, I just knew. I tried to make him feel better, but I doubt i succeeded.

After three years at school with him, i asked him, why he kept saying that I ate combs. It had puzzled me, because he had continued to say it throughout the entire time he knew me. I had found it funny, still, but I was curious. Thats when he explained to me that he meant sperm. He had been mispronouncing “cum” as “comb” his entire life.

I would prefer to be accused of eating hair grooming tools, for future reference.