Roll of the Dice

Chapter 4

A few days after the last game, as usual, the teens went about their regular mundane school week. But this one wasn't going to be like any other. It was the last week before summer break. Naturally, the clock on the wall of the class ticked by painfully slowly. Students stared eagerly, checking the clock every few minutes. Even the teachers were less rigid than normal. The countdown to summer break was starting. Pencils tapped, students shuffled in their seats, teachers sat lazily at their desks, a little bored and indifferent themselves. Three...two...one...the bell finally rang. There was a cheer as the students jumped from their seats and hurried into the halls.

Tanya and Nicholas, who were now officially graduates, met in the hallway at their lockers. They gave each other a smile.

"Congratulations, graduate," Nicholas said with a smile.

"You too," Tanya replied with a laugh. She opened her locker one last time and took her Artizia bag and placed the lock into the purse.

Nicholas leaned against his locker waiting impatiently for Tanya. He had cleaned out his locker days ago. He wondered what Tanya even needed to keep in her locker. He watched her in silence as she placed the final items in her purse—a makeup bag, hairbrush, iPod, wallet and water bottle—and turned to face him. She raised her eyebrows.

"Are you okay Nicholas?" She asked.

"Oh...sorry...everything's fine," he replied with a blush.

He pushed himself off his locker and placed his backpack over his shoulder. For a while now Nic had loved Tanya. She was pretty, popular, smart and yet without any apologies, she was also nerdy. Of course, he knew, that she also came with history. But he was willing to look past all that. The only thing that was stopping him was his own awkwardness when it came to women. Whenever he wanted to ask her out, he found that he was always tongue-tied. So, he never bothered.

"Hey Nic, are you coming?" Tanya asked.

Nic shook his head, coming back to reality. Already she was half way down the hall. He nodded dumbly and followed her down the hall. As the two left the building, they noticed that the others had already made it to the flagpole and were, no doubt, waiting anxiously. Lily and Izzy were sitting on the grass, talking amongst themselves. Chris was casually looking at his phone, shoulders slouched, bag by his feet, an unlit cigarette dangling in his mouth. Meanwhile, Lucas was reading the newspaper intently—something had interested him.

"Hey there fellow nerds," Nicholas said as they approached.

The teens looked up from what they were doing. The two sitting got to their feet. Izzy slipped her hands in the pockets of her shorts.

"Shall we go?" She asked.

Nicholas nodded. "Yeah."

Slowly they began to walk towards the main gates at the end of the school property. Sensing that they were missing a member, Nicholas looked over his shoulder to find Lucas lagging behind, his head still buried in the newspaper.

"Hey, Earth to Lucas, what has you so distracted?" He asked.

"Hmmm?" Lucas looked up from the paper. "Sorry."

He got to his feet and hurriedly walked over to the others. "I'm just reading this weird story. Apparently, a homeless person died last night."

"Okay, how is that newsworthy though?" Nicholas asked.

"Because, according to the article, this person, named Chester MacMillan, was on his way to recovery. According to this, the shelter manager explained that Chester, became homeless about ten years ago due to a drug addiction, but recently was on his way to recovery and was even taking special classes to help him get a job," Lucas read. "The article continues by saying that he left the shelter Monday morning but failed to return that night, which is unusual because he was normally punctual. The manager just thought it was a one-time thing so thought nothing of it until his body was found last night at the corner of Sherbourne and Dundas. When police inspected the body, they found nothing in his system relating to drugs or alcohol. But they did find strange marks on the side of his neck. Apparently, there have been other disappearances from the same shelter over the last few days. The bodies have yet to be found."