Eye lids half closed over bloodshot whites
Head down as he walks through the halls
A cloud follows him through out the day
Giving away what he should be ashamed of

Mom hounding him the night before
About a good education
And having a good life
Dad got home late again
Said finishing work at the office was important

Unfinished homework crinkled and stuffed into his bag
Unwashed, shaggy hair hangs over his face
A barrier between him and the world

He slips
Almost unnoticed
Into his class
He doesn’t see the teacher look up through her lashes
A look of worry creeping across her face
She watches him take his seat
In the back of the room
She notices how no one talks to him
No one even acknowledges his existence