Mr. Benj studied Alex as she sat in front of him, animatedly talking about a book she had read recently. He was just as much confused as he was concerned about Alex's presence in his classroom during her lunch period. He knew the girl was rather quiet and didn't seem to have too many friends, but almost all the students he had ever had were always excited to go to lunch because that's when they got to socialize. Mr. Benj honestly wasn't sure if Alex ever went to the lunchroom as he had passed her more than once in the halls during this time of day, eating her food and walking in silence, usually with an earbud in.

The reason Mr. Benj became a teacher in the first place was because he wanted to help kids through theatre. He hadn't had a good relationship with any member of his family. But then again, nobody in his family had a very good relationship with each other. His situation had been a bit worse though.

Mr. Benj came out as gay to his family when he was fifteen. At first, they refused to believe him, saying that he was being influenced and that he couldn't possibly know something that big about himself at such a young age. Unbeknownst to his parents though, he had started suspecting this at the age of eleven and was almost positive he was gay by the time he was thirteen. He had a very hard time accepting himself because he knew his family would disapprove. He often cried himself to sleep and he started cutting himself. Once his family finally accepted the fact that he was gay, they kicked him out, which only made everything worse for him. They kicked him out right before sending him off to school one day. The conversation went something along the lines of his dad saying that they knew this was a part of him, but that they couldn't support it, and that they couldn't have him living under the same roof as the rest of the family for fear that he would "contaminate" them. He had said it like it was some sort of disease, liking someone of the same gender. His father said this goodbye was the last one they would ever have.

Mr. Benj went to school that day, not feeling a thing. Then throughout the day realization began to hit him and he realized what had happened. His parents had kicked him out. His sister couldn't even look at him. They didn't support him. Then as the last bell rang to get out of class, his father's last words that Mr. Benj hadn't really realized he'd spoken until now rang along with it: "You are not my son."

Mr. Benj ran out of the school sobbing and not looking back when his friend, Mikey, called his name. He got on his bike and rode as fast as he could. He remembered not knowing where he was going, and barely even seeing his surroundings because his vision was so heavy with tears. Once he got to a place where there weren't any people he dug his razor out of his backpack and started making gashes. He didn't have any intention of killing himself, but he needed to make himself pay. He needed to come close enough to the edge without falling that it hurt more than anything inside of him did. With each wound he cut deeper and longer, engraving into his mind and skin that he was nothing. He was a disappointment. He was useless. He would never be worthy of anything.

By the time his friend found him, Mr. Benj was bloody and had completely broken down. He was sobbing and holding himself on the grass, too weak to do anything else. Mikey saw the razor in his friend's hand and quickly removed it so that Mr. Benj couldn't do anything else to himself. He called 911, and an ambulance arrived. Mikey told them everything he could, which wasn't much seeing as he hadn't been informed of the events leading up to that point.

After the hospital had cleaned Mr. Benj up and gave him an extensive amount of stitches, Mikey and his family took him in. Mr. Benj told them everything that had happened and they were understanding. They listened and hugged him and just...loved him. It was something Mr. Benj hadn't experienced before. He liked it- a lot.

Mikey's family paid for him to see a therapist because he had gone through more than any kid should have to, and he wasn't going to get through it alone. In addition, they treated him like he was really part of their family.

Once Mr. Benj started getting better, Mikey convinced him to try out for a school production. Mr. Benj agreed and the two rehearsed together almost constantly. Once the audition came up, they gave it their all and both of them landed decent roles. After Mr. Benj went to his first rehearsal he knew it was something that was going to stick with him in some way for the rest of his life. For once he felt accepted for who he was, and he felt safe. The community he was surrounded with immediately welcomed him with open arms, and he fell in love with the world of the theatre.

As Mr. Benj went through the rest of his high school years he knew that he not only wanted theatre to be a part of his life, but he also wanted to help people because no kid deserved to go through that pain he had felt or anything like it. He wanted to be able to be a father figure in some kid's life, for those who couldn't rely on their own elders. He decided to become a theatre teacher to do both those things. He could introduce kids to the magic that he found in the theatre, share his passion. He could also be there for each and every one of his students. Mr. Benj spent time trying to build up trust with his students. He wanted to be someone that they felt like they could go and talk to whenever they had something they needed to get off their chest. He could tell when one of his students was not in a good place, and he always made sure he paid attention to their feelings so he could help them to the best of his ability.

"Mr. Benj are you okay?" Alex asked him, snapping Mr. Benj back to reality. He realized that he had zoned out and his eyes were starting to mist up from recalling his painful memories. He quickly blinked away his tears and squeezed Alex's hand. He knew that something was going on with Alex, she was hurting. He wanted to help her, but he didn't want to push. He knew he had to build up a good relationship with her first which would take some time, but that was time he was willing to take. The first step would be to let her know that she's always welcome in his classroom.

"Yeah Alex, I am. I want you to know that you can come to my class whenever. If you ever find that you need a place to hang out during lunch, I would love a buddy." Mr. Benj gave Alex a genuine smile which she returned. She looked like she was about to say something when the bell rang.

"See you at callbacks, Alex," Mr. Benj called as Alex walked towards the door.

"See you then Mr. Benj!" Alex called back and then disappeared from view.

Mr. Benj smiled as his students started filing in. He was going to be there for Alex and be someone that she felt like she could come to, no matter how much time it took.

***

A/N: I want to reiterate the disclaimer stated at the beginning of the book. In chapter 6.3 when Carson and Alex are doing their cold read: I DO NOT OWN THOSE LINES THEY BELONG TO DISNEY!!! I ALSO DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL CHARACTERS!!! (in all caps because it's very important)

Thank you all so so much for reading this story, I really appreciate it!!! I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I hope you continue to enjoy it! If you liked this chapter consider leaving a vote or comment!!

Love,
Sunny <3 <3 <3