Whispers [complete and non-edited]

Chapter 18

The clock ticked calmly as Deeliah and Laehal waited for Teriaj to return with the pencil crayons. There wasn't much time left of detention. If the bell went off before he came back, their mission would blow up in their faces.

And leave a pretty big mark.

Laehal was getting more worried by the second. He new that it was stupid to worry, that Teriaj should be there soon, but he couldn't help but doubt their plan. He glanced nervously at the clock often, and other times he glanced at Ms. Fowler.

Deeliah had tried to reason with him, but to no avail whatsoever. His mind was set, and from what she had learned it would take proof--that she didn't have--to change it.

Deeliah had tiny doubts of her own, but she didn't dwell on them like Laehal did. She also knew that there was a better chance of her getting eaten by a shark than there was for the bell to ruin their plans. She had taken to drawing another picture of a fox, a horse, and three wolves, to signify the relationship between the three of them. Laehal would seldom steal a look at her paper, before nervously biting the end of a pen she gave him and glancing at the clock.

Just when Laehal was about to get up and storm out the door to look for Teriaj, Ms. Fowler stirred in her sleep. Deeliah and Laehal locked eyes in terror, and then watched as the teacher moved around in her chair to get more comfortable. No one in the room blinked.

The door clicked, and everyone held their breath as it opened, making a tiny squeal, and Ms. Fowler groaned. Teriaj closed the door as quietly as possible, and then tip-toed to his desk, handing Deeliah the pack of pencil crayons.

She smiled for a second at him, to thank him silently, and them continued to stare at the teacher.

Ms. Fowler sat up, stretched and then relaxed back in her chair, head hanging forwards, drool leaking over her shirt. For a few more seconds, the classroom was silent. So silent, you couldn't even hear breathing. You would be able to hear a cotton ball fall on the floor.

Nobody moved, until they were sure she wasn't going to wake up instantly, and when they did, they moved as quietly as possible, wincing when they made a sound.

Laehal kept his eyes on her for a few more seconds, then his breath gushed out in a flow of carbon dioxide. He looked over to see Deeliah colouring in her family crest. She used silver on the wolves, red and blue on the swirls, and yellow and green on everything else.

"Wow," Laehal whispered.

"Thanks," Deeliah whispered back. "I love it. I think you can see why."

"Yeah,"

"If you want, I can bring you a set of better pencil crayons from my house. You could use them whenever you feel like it, instead of using mine all the time," Teriaj suggested. "I have a bunch of art supplies at my house. I rarely use them."

"Sure, thanks Teriaj. That sounds great."

She turned back to her work. Laehal watched for a few minutes, and then grew bored, and took to looking around the classroom. He laid his eyes on a clear tub full of colourful...things. He looked closer to see that it was a tub of pencil crayons.

-------------------------------------------

The car chirped at her she she locked it. She had her bag, her cupcakes, and a smile carved onto her features. She opened the door to her house, walked inside, calling, "Laehal, I'm home!" and dropped her stuff on the counter. "And I brought cupcakes!"

She closed the door behind her and took off her coat, hanging it on the coatrack. Taking off her shoes, she began to worry. Had he not made it home?

"Sweetie?" she called. "Are you home?"

When there was no reply, she dashed up the stairs to his room. The door was closed, but it always was, and she opened it quickly--without knocking--to see it empty. She was shocked.

She searched the house high and low, but she could not find Laehal anywhere. Shayel began to panic.

"Maybe he was staying at a friend's house tonight? Or maybe he was shopping and didn't see the time?"

Questions and possibilities rushed through her head, and before she knew it, the world was fading away.