2 Adults, 2 Teens And A Child

Chapter 6: Are You Fucking Kidding Me?!

Friday, September 17th, 2021. Buffalo, NY, United States of America. 3:18 pm (4 years, 1 month, 29 days since we ran away)

He couldn't breathe.

Peter knew he was on the verge of a panic attack, but he couldn't move. He was frozen to his seat, trying to process the words the teacher just spoke 'We are going on a field trip to London, England!' London, England kept repeating over and over in his head. 'No, no, no! I can't go back! I can't! I can't face them again; I just can't! They'll be so disappointed in me!' Something nudged his side. Peter turned towards his friend Kyle, who worried about his face. "Are you okay?" he mouthed. Peter gave a weak smile and nodded. Kyle seemed satisfied with the answer, so he turned back to the teacher who was explaining what was going to happen and the date. He tried his best to listen, but he was only able to pick up a few things like 'Going in October on the 22nd' and 'Ask if parents can come, we need chaperones.' as well as 'You don't have to come.' Peter let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 'Ha! I don't know what I was worried about; It is a field trip after all so of course, it wouldn't be mandatory to come! God, I was so worried-' "But, this trip is 70% of your grade. So you don't have to come, but you most likely won't pass history if you don't. So it is better if you do come." Peter felt the panic come back. ''70%?! No way! That's not fair at all! There is absolutely no way that I'll pass if I don't go!' Frantically looking around the other side of the gym, Peter spotted Emil, who had a horrified expression on his face. They made eye contact.

Emil could see that Peter was panicking and that if he didn't get out soon, he would burst into tears. Luckily, the assembly ended and Peter bolted out, not even bothering to grab his bag. He watched as Peters's friends grabbed his bag and sprint after them. He quickly grabbed his bag and went after him, leaving a confused Cian behind. After jogging around the school, he found Peter's friend's outside of an accessible stall in the second-floor boys' bathroom. "Hey, It's okay you two; I'll talk to him." The two ninth-graders turned around to look at him. Once they realized who it was, they left quickly, stopping to hand Emil Peter's backpack. Knocking on the door, Emil called out to Peter to let him in. A minute later, the door opened to reveal a panicked Peter who had been sobbing. He pulled Peter into a hug and shut the stall door behind him, locking it so that no-one could come in. "Shhhh, shhh, shhh. It's going to be okay; we'll get through this." "H-how?! T-his trip is-is worth 7-70% of our fuck-ing grade! There's no-no way we c-an't go!" Emil was on the verge of tears but held them in for the sake of Peter. "I can't see them, Emil, I can't! They hate me! They fucking-fucking hate me! I'm such a disappointment!" At this point, Emil started to cry too. He knew how Peter felt; there's no way that he could see his brother again. He couldn't. The two boys continued to sob into each other until finally, Emil calmed down enough to pull out his phone. "I-*hic* I'm gonna c-call Alfred to get us, okay?" Peter nodded into his chest. Hitting the call button next to his name, he put the phone on speaker.

"Yo, what's up, dude?" Alfred's cheery and carefree voice rang out of the receiver.

"Al-Alfred.."

Alfred went into parent mode.

"Emil? What's wrong, what happened? Are you or Peter hurt?"

Emil ignored the questions. "I need you *hic* to come to pick us up..please.."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We'll explain wh-when you get us. Please come *hic* get us."

"Okay, I'm on my way. It's going to be about half an hour, okay?" I'll meet you outside the office." Alfred hung up.

Emil pocketed his phone and looked at Peter, who was still sobbing into his chest. "Hey, Alfred is co-coming to get us, okay? He said he'll-he'll meet us at the office." Again, Peter only nodded. The duo stood up, grabbed their bags, and started to head to the office, only to be bombarded by their respective friends. "Hey- Woah, man, are you okay? What the hell happened?" "Peter! Why'd you run out like that?" "Why are you crying? Did something bad happen?" The two looked at each other then back to their friends. "No, nothing bad happened. Well, guess it is bad for us-I'll explain to you guys at the office." Peter said and started towards the office again, the others soon following. Once there, Emil and Peter sat down in the chairs while the other three stood around them. It was silent for a few, then Jeremy spoke up. "So, why are we at the office?" Peter answered, "My brother Alfie is coming to get us; he said to wait for him in the office." It was Cian who spoke next.