Hope For Garbage by Alex Tully

him.  He thought it best if they didn’t talk anymore.  It was short and to the point.
    Lorene wouldn’t have expected something like this coming from Trevor.  Based on meeting him Monday night, she thought he really liked Bea.  But she guessed there was a lot about the boy she didn’t know.
    “Can you believe him?  He just calls and leaves a voicemail—with no explanation.  Can’t even face me.”  Bea walked over to the fridge and took out a Diet Coke.  “I called him yesterday because I hadn’t heard from him after the dinner.  Then I sent him a text just saying I wanted to talk.  He didn’t send anything back.”
    She took a sip of her soda, “I just don’t get what I did.  We had a good time Monday night.  I thought everything was fine.  I just wonder if my mom freaked him out.”
    “Your mom?”  When did Mrs. Stewart enter the picture?   Lorene wondered.
    “Yeah, it was really bad.  Trevor’s friend, Mr.Tyminski, never showed.  Mom had to drive Trevor home.  Talk about embarrassing.”
    Things were starting to make a little more sense now.  Lorene could definitely see Mrs. Stewart telling Trevor to keep his distance.  He was from Westwood after all.
    Lorene tried to offer her best advice, “Sometimes people just make rash decisions.  I can tell you one thing.  If it’s meant to be, he’ll come back to you Bea.  Don’t you go chasing after him.”
    Bea cracked a weak smile and Lorene figured that was probably the best she was going to get.  She took a skillet out of the cupboard and placed it on the stove, “Now what would you like for dinner?”
     
    ***
     
    Trevor didn’t like Thursdays.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, instead of first period study hall, he had gym.  He wasn’t athletic in the first place and who in the hell wanted to run around at seven-thirty in the morning?  He also had his sessions with Dr. Fisher on Thursdays.  And this Thursday in particular really sucked because he had just broken things off with Bea.
    He purposely called her mid-morning, hoping she was in class and he would get her voicemail.  It worked , and he was able to leave her a really lame message without having to talk to her.
    Trevor tossed his books in his locker and stuffed his sweatshirt into his backpack.  He headed toward the exit when he heard Mrs. Dixon behind him, “Trevor, can I see you for a second?”
    Mrs. Dixon was one of the high school guidance counselors and a major pain in his ass.  Trevor turned around and waited for her to catch up.  She hobbled down the hall waving a yellow paper in her hand.  “Just a minute!”
    This was the last thing he needed.  He sighed, “I’ve already told you, I’m done talking to the guidance counselors.”
    “Oh, it’s not about that.”  She needed to lose some weight in a bad way, and now she was almost out of breath.  “The SAT scores are in and you scored the highest in the school.  Let me show you.”  She pointed to the yellow paper, “Let’s see here…” she scanned the paper with her chubby finger, “Here!  Here is your score.  That’s good enough for most Ivy League schools Trevor.  Congratulations!”
    “Thanks.”  He thought he had done well.  No real surprise there.  School had always been pretty easy for him.  Good skin and a high IQ—two things he guessed he had his parents to thank for.  Two very important things he realized, but pretty much the only things.
    He turned and headed to the door.  Mrs. Dixon yelled after him, “Well Trevor, have you thought about college anymore?  With your grades and these scores, you could probably get some kind of scholarship!”
    He just kept walking to the door.
     
    ***
     
    The Beaumont Mental Health Center, a.k.a. the Crazy Kids Center was recently voted the number two facility in the country for pediatric mental health.  Trevor only knew this because there were billboards all over the place proudly stating the fact.
    The building itself was pretty