Pink: A (very) Short Story For Breast Cancer Awareness

There was no fear or embarrassment as he climbed off the bus and headed into the school building. He made his way up the stairs towards his locker ignoring the people poking fun at his pink socks and backpack. As he neared his locker the crowd of boys that greeted him everyday circled around him.
“What’s up, gay wad?” the first asked smirking. The crowd behind him laughed as he pushed him by the shoulders into his locker.
He kept quiet as he stood himself up and opened his locker. One of the pink ribbons that hung from the top of his locker fell out, but before he could grab it another kid picked it up.
“Here you go fag, here’s your hair bow.” The crowd laughed as Mitchell took the ribbon from his hand and draped it across the hooks along the top of his locker.
“Will you go out with me?” one asked from somewhere amongst the group of boys.
“Hey!” another shouted, “lay off, that’s my boyfriend your flirting with!” The audience erupted in laughter.
Mitchell looked up at Jason, the first boy who led the assembly of harassers. His eyes burnt with emotion. They penetrated as he stood up for himself after months of countless ridicule for the pink ribbon draped across his locker, the pink shoelaces that replaced the original black ones, and the variety of pink shirts he wore every day. The look in his eyes was not pain, sadness, or even anger, but it was intense and the group of boys grew silent as he stared Jason down.
“You want to know why I wear pink?” he began steadily.
“Cause you wish you was a girl?” Jason answered with a sly grin.
“Nope,” Mitchell replied plainly without any emotion, “you guys want to know something? My mom abused me; she lost her rights and I’ve been living with my aunt and uncle for seven years. Earlier this year I lost both my aunt and my grandmother. They died within a month of each other. I wear pink to remember my aunt and grandmother, who within the same month died of breast cancer. I wear pink for my grandmother, the one person I could go to about everything. Me and my uncle wear pink for his wife, the closest thing to a loving mother I’ve ever had.” The crowd remained silent as Mitchell took a pink notebook from his locker, turned on his heels, and left the still crowd behind him as he walked away, never to be bothered about pink again.