Drawn by: Xjenai Peralta

The end of nowhere, Ted has finally arrived. Under a tree on a hillside sits Ted, A teenage boy with short black hair and hazel eyes. He is reflecting on how he arrived at this spot and what his father had shown him, while grasping his hand, when he was seven years old. Ted frequently thinks of moments from his past and thinks often of the words spoken by his father. Ted remembers, how under this very tree, his father once pointed to a caterpillar on a branch above. He said, “You are just like him son.” Ted pondered upon what exactly his father meant by this statement. At that very moment Ted looked up and saw a caterpillar that looked strikingly the same as the one he remembered, he couldn’t help but think of what it might mean. Then he noticed the sun was setting and took it as a signal to hurry home, for tomorrow was the start of a new school year.

The first day of school began as a cool breeze filled the air. The sun is out but little warmth was felt. Ted attends Roark High School, home of the Wolves. Roark is very well known in the community for its sports as well as scholastic achievements. Ted gets to school by bus and after arriving on this day he instantly heads for breakfast. While walking toward the snack bar he looks at the teens that are talking to friends, playing games or preparing for class. Loneliness fills his soul. Ted looks angrily at the crowd and receives the same looks in return. Some seem to look at him as though he were a monster. Many teens at this school would wonder why Ted looks so angry and alone, others could care less. Ted, however, became convinced that everyone was conspiring against him by making up lies. The thought of rumors about him filled his mind continuously.

Ted is not famous at Roark for sports or scholastics. Fighting has become his claim to fame. He is always at the brink of expulsion and nobody seems to understand why. Ted will fight if somebody talks about him, he will fight if he even suspects them talking about him. Paranoia is his best friend. The only person that Ted trusts is a boy name David. David is the school jock who seems to do no wrong. Ted had once overheard David defending him and since that day he trusted him and only him at school. Then one day on his way to breakfast he heard David yell “was sup Ted” as he walked across campus. Never had a slang saying had such deep meaning to Ted.

As Ted copies down notes in third period math he feels a tap on his shoulder. His first instinct is to turn and hit the person bothering him. He looks back and hears David exclaim “lots of notes huh”? Ted looks at him with angry eyes and returns to his studies. After the class Ted feels another tap on his shoulder and looks back to hear David say, “Did you get all the notes?” “No”, says Ted. This time there were no angry eyes, just suspicious confusion. Why would David care about me? What is he up to? Ted carefully analyzes David as he walks off with his friends.

The school day has ended and as Ted makes his way back to the bus he wonders why David was being so nice to him. What is his angle? Although confused Ted finds his way to his seat and enters into a familiar place… loneliness. He looks out the window and away from everyone around him. As the bus stops near his home he exits and begins walking down the sidewalk... While walking, he touches a tree only to find an arrow that pointed to a grove of pine trees on the other side of a small hill. He notices one tree that seems to stand out from the others. Ted runs toward it and sets his bag at the base of its trunk as he sits and thinks about the things that have happened on this first day of school. For the first time today he feels at peace. Again he thinks about David and wonders why he had treated him so nicely. He sits quietly until the sun begins to set and then gets up to go home. A short distance away from the tree Ted realizes he has left his bag. He returns, grabs his bag, looks up and sees the same caterpillar again. He then asks himself, “Why am I a caterpillar?”

To be continued……