Highschool

So many people,

So many bodies,

All packed so close,

Too close,

Too tightly against me.

Unknown voices ring,

Bouncing harshly in my mind.

There's no place safe,

Nowhere to hide,

Everything is new and strange.

Lying eyes sit atop lying smiles,

As tricksters sharpen gleaming knives,

Knives that gleam wickedly,

Wickedly as the teeth in their head.

Their nares open wide,

The scent of prey fills their senses,

And in excitement begins the hunt.

Forming a large pack,

They stomp through the hunting grounds,

Using any advantage possible.

One breaks away from the pack,

Gets closer while the prey,

In ignorance allows them in.

They go for the kill,

Ripping and shredding away,

Till there's nothing left.

The same hallways,

The same atmosphere,

The same dangers all around,

With predators chasing everyone down.

But there is a light,

A hideaway located in secret,

Hidden in plain sight amongst the beasts.

A new sense of belonging,

A common purpose,

A unifying force trying their hardest.

A sense of accomplishment,

A feeling of pride,

The rush of excitement,

Months of preparation,

All for five minutes of performance.

But in the end,

Just not quite right,

An utter let down comes into sight.

A new experience,

A challenge untold,

Of the greatest difficulty,

For one to behold.

To be on the spot,

Set apart from the lot.

Untried skills to be learned,

Years of reticence to be burned,

Decades of shyness of whom all is aware,

Disappears as that flag goes up in the air.

A fear too great,

Disbelief too strong,

Sends her running back into the throng.

Another season begins,

Another year passes,

All the while someone is lost in the masses.

A want too big,

A call too strong,

Being ignored for far too long.

A love of performance,

A need to prove,

To banish all that held her aloof.

The season continues,

A new family surrounds,

From whom all love freely abounds.

New wells are discovered,

A sense of courage and might,

Carrying her long into the night.

A new year begins,

The last year ever,

Separating her for forever.

The feelings are lost,

Forgotten and ignored,

The disappointment of dreams cast to shore.

Time flies quickly,

Slipping away,

 Down and down,

Bringing to all involved a frown.

Panic runs abound,

The time finally approaches,

The arrival of a new year broaches,

And for the last time,

She knows how it feels,

 Having the field underneath her heels.

Sunlight shines down upon walkways,

That were once filled with people.

A lone leaf flutters to a stop in a vast empty space,

That not too long ago was packed with no room to spare.

A lone voice calls out in despair,

And eyes brimming with tears begin to overflow as no one answers.

Footsteps echo down an empty hallway,

A door slams in an empty building,

A lost soul looks for peace,

Looks for happiness where she had found it once before.

But, all has fled and gone,

Leaving her walking down the lonely pathways

Of her memories, with no hope left in sight.