Numerical Apocalypse

one

Ever since I was a little girl, I'd always been pretty paranoid.

The numbers over people's heads only accelerated my uneasiness.

Every person I encountered had a semi-invisible number from 1 to 20 written in the air over their head. My newborn cousin was a 2, while my gym teacher— a retired Navy Seal in his thirties— was a 15.

The numbers sometimes went up and down.

The highest number I'd ever seen was a 17 when my gym teacher caught some kids messing around with poisonous chemicals after school in the science room. I had stayed afterwards to finish a lab experiment, and had assumed they were doing the same.

Well, that had been the highest number until now.

Cautiously eyeing the form near the doors, I tried to catch a glimpse of their number while not seeming suspicious.

My water bottle fell from my hands onto the ground with a loud thud, and rolled towards a kid named Jake, the school almost-bully.

He picked it up and held it over his head. "Hey, nerd, this belong to you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, actually, it does."

"Pfff, look at you," He inched farther away as I reached for my bottle. "Pathetic."

I sighed and turned back to my locker. "I guess if you're so intent on keeping that from me, you can have it." I slammed the metal door shut. The sound of my locker door banging echoed off the walls, turning more eyes towards me. Great.

"I didn't realize I had a fan." I smirked.

Jake's expression suddenly turned to a scowl, and he dropped my water bottle like it was a hot coal. "I don't want your junk."

"Oh, my mistake, I thought you did." I quickly grabbed the handle of my water bottle and rushed to my first class.

Only once I was haphazardly seated did I remember the new kid.

Crap, I didn't get their number.

Oh well. How dangerous can a high schooler be?

The shimmery digits in front of me caught my eye, and I mentally went through every student in school.

The highest numbers were on the football team, as seemed normal, with the few martial arts kids mixed in their group.

As my teacher began discussing the homework, which I had in front of me, I zoned out and started thinking of what my number would be. I had never been able to assess myself before, since mirrors wouldn't capture the transparent letters, and I was the only person to my knowledge with my ability.

A tap on my shoulder pulled me from my musings, and I turned to face the kid to my right.

"Huh?" I smiled just a bit so I wouldn't seem weird or depressed or anything.

"Oh, uhhh...." He stared at me for a second.

Ohhh nooo. I was pretty sure this dude had had a crush on me for a few months now.

"Do- do you have a pencil?"

I nodded and fished a green mechanical pencil out of my bag.

"Thanks." The tips of his ears started turning pink, and I looked back at the teacher.

I couldn't sit still all through the first, second, and third periods. My knees bounced, my pencil flipped over my fingers, and my hands wouldn't stay out of my hair.

Finally, the bell for lunch rang, releasing me from the clutches of my social studies teacher.

"Hey, Alex!"