A Terrible Fate

Chapter 3

The next day, I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off. I really need to stop setting it for 5:30 in the morning. Mumbling under my breath, I turn it off and sit up in bed, looking around. It's bright outside, since it's spring, but the curtains are drawn, so that shadows dance across my room. Shivering, I close my eye as I make my way to the window, throwing it open and letting light spill into my room before opening them. The sun isn't fully up, but the Dawn light is enough to see in. 

I grab the clothes I set out last night for myself and go to take a shower, making sure that my mask and sunglasses are already in the bathroom before I get in. The water's cold (otherwise I'll just fall back asleep). And as soon as I'm out of the bathroom, I put the sun glasses on, and head downstairs, quickly eating breakfast before sitting down to play Video Games. I know that I should probably hate Video Games after what happened, but I've played Majora's Mask for days on end when my parents go on business trips. Always keeping a kitchen knife beside me. I hope that one day, someday, I might be able to murder that Brother Killing Demon that took Adam from me. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I turn, swearing under my breath as I pause the game and go over to the door. "What do you want?" I ask, as I looked up at Everette's face. He rocked back on his heels and looked behind me, into the house. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk to school together today?" Walk to school together? Most people avoided me on the streets, even the adults seemed a bit freaked out. I had stopped taking the bus after Adam had died, I didn't want to deal with the noise and the commotion of the other kids. "It's not even close to school time yet, wanna come in?" I stepped aside, really unsure of what I was doing. "It isn't? Oh, grandfather just told me to come over here right now"

Of course he did.

I face palmed and muttered a swear under my breath. "He must have gotten the time wrong. Come in, I'm playing Majora's Mask right now" in all honesty, I wasn't very good at video games. I'd often find myself looking up How To's on YouTube or writing Fanfiction on Wattpad. But I wasn't naturally good at playing any video game besides The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. "You mean you still... I'd think that after..." I waved him off and motioned to the couch. "It's better to face your fears than run from them" I walked into the kitchen and picked up a kitchen knife. Everett flinched, and I realize how odd it must have looked. "Just in case he comes back. I'm not going to stab you anytime soon" I promised, handing him the controller. 

"How far have you gotten in the game?" he asks, looking at the screen with interest. 

"I still haven't found the Ocarina of Time"

"How long have you been playing"

"Since before Adam died"

"Can I say something, that I don't want you to take personally?" he asks, looking over at me. 

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You really suck at video games" I let out a short laugh. "Alright, let's see if you can do any better"

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

He can in fact do much better than I can. 

In half an hour, before we both had to start heading to school, he found the Ocarina of Time and did what I couldn't do in years of playing.

I then proceeded to beat his a** in Mario Kart. 

"That was fun" he admits, grinning like a little kid as we begin to make our way to school. "Yeah... I suppose it was" I let a little smile creep onto my face under my mask. "It's nice to have a friend here... All the people at my old school thought I was a bit... odd" I smirk, punching him in the shoulder. "And you think I don't?" He chuckles, elbowing me. "What class do you have first?" I think for a moment. "It's Friday, right? So I have three study halls, and a few creative writing classes, you?" 

"That's not much" he points out, elbowing me again as I push past him. "Eh, Friday's my day off. Maybe we have a study hall together or something. Quick tip, I'm pretty sure the Social Studies teacher is a time traveler" He gives me an odd look, but says nothing. "I suppose that I'll see you at lunch. Any other tips?" he asks as we round the corner and face the school. "Don't tell anyone about my scars or I'll beat you to a pulp" I don't elaborate, I just walk towards the school building at a brisk pace. A few people scuttle out of the way, their voices hushed whispers as I enter the hallway.

Ignoring them and muttering to myself, I make my way to my locker. You may expect me to say that I have some oddly numbered locker. Like "666" or "333" or even "13". But in truth, I'm at locker number 17, which stands just like all the other lockers. Inside is what you would find in any other locker. My books, my notebooks, and a small whiteboard that I always update everyday with the date and the number of days until Summer Vacation. When I was younger, and Adam was still around, I used to love to go to Summer Camp. I'd swim and make friends and try to do the high ropes without freaking out (I hate heights). But now, I spend my Summer Vacation at home, swinging for hours on the swing that my parents got with the house. They always tell me it's not good for me, being out for hours at a time without any sun block. But the fence is high enough (and we don't have any neighbors) so that I can take my mask and sun glasses off, and enjoy myself. 

But right now, even though it's towards the end of the school year, I don't really use the swing all that much. I'll go to the library or the movie theater in town (the theater is dark, I can pull my mask down and eat candy all I like), but never use the swing. When Adam was alive, we used it all the time, regardless of the time of year. But Adam's not here anymore, and he's never coming back... I catch myself as I start to cry, pulling open my locker and hiding my head inside. I have a Social Studies project to work on... not to mention an English paper, and studying for my upcoming Science Test. I can worry about those things, and when I'm done, I can write a Legend of Zelda fan fiction or something. 

There's no time to cry right now. 

But even as I throw my bag over my shoulder and make my way down the hall, the thought of Adam's deep brown eyes haunts me. The look on his face as he was stabbed to death and I couldn't do anything. The look in Ben Drowned's eyes as he laughed and stabbed.... A sob escapes my throat as I sit down, and a few people look up at me. "Do you need to take a walk?" asks the teacher, her sharp eyes snapping to me. "No" I force out the word without any malice in it. "No, I'm fine"

I open up my Social Studies book, and begin to work.