Plan B

Chapter dos :)

I arrived safely back into the building where everyone was cheering for me, though Grant was the loudest. I cut through the noisy crowd to reached Grant. He patted me on the back.

"You totally saved my butt out there." He said, a little too impressed. I was a little shocked, but I still couldn't wrap my head around what just happened.

"That was really insane!" I giggled uncontrollably.

"Maybe we should take a small break... in your room." Grant suggested shyly.

I hated the loud crowd, though all of the praise was deserved for everyone who committed to getting rid of that scary beast.

"Enough!" Mr. Zack raised his voice, using his hands to lower the volume. "Lucas, can you come repair his wall?"

A boy with puffy blond hair stepped out of the crowd. He proudly walked up to the hole in the wall and raised his hands. Everyone watched in aw as he slowly placed the missing stones back into the wall. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle until the whole wall was completely fixed. The students all clapped, but all sound and sight slowly turned to a blur.

I shook Grants arm to get his attention. "Let's go hang out in my room." I dragged him sleepily up the steps, feeling both nauseated and shaky at the same time. I locked the door to my rooms behind us so we had some privacy.

"Um, Clem?" Grant said, holding my limp body by my shoulders. "You look really tired, you should probably get some sleep." He helped me wobble to my bed and tucked me in. I wasn't that uncomfortable with him helping me since we spent every day together. "Goodnight." He whispered before shutting off the lights. I wasn't sure if I said anything back, but I knew that I did snort very loudly before drifting off into a drool filled sleep.

Two small knocks came from the door. The only reason why I heard them was because I woke up six hours earlier than I usually did.

Surprised and not even tired, I opened the door. "Oh, hi!" I whispered, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

The girl waved back. "Uh- Mr. Zack wants to speak with you urgently, and he told me to bring you to him." Without question, I followed her in my pajamas- since she wouldn't let me change- to Mr. Zack's office.

I took a deep breath before entering his office. He waited there calmly, with his fingers locked on the table.

"Take a seat, Clementine." He offered. I sat in the chair in front of his desk, sitting on my hands. Mr. Zack chewed his lip while pondering for a few seconds. "Have I ever told you how much I trust you, Clementine?" I shook my head in an honest response. "Well, I do. And I wanted to tell you that-" he started. I waited for him to finish, but he just sighed like he changed his mind. "I noticed that this beast problem has gotten worse, and I wanted you to be aware that if anything happens, be sure to protect everyone on your side. Beware of the people you do not trust, always trust your gut."

"But... why, Mr. Zack? Why would I have to trust the people on my side if there is no one that isn't on my side..." my memory of the lady that told me to just leave Grant for dead, even though she knew he needed help. Maybe that's what Mr. Zack was talking about.

  I remembered every word that he told me on the way back to my room. I told him that I understood his concern and that I would be cautious.

———————————————————————————-+——-+——————%——-%————-|- xzxxxxfxxx

   The rest of the night drew into a loud thunderstorm that shook the walls of my rooms. I tried to go back to sleep, but what Mr. Zack said kept me up all night, staring at the ceiling. To make me feel better, I remembered the glorious feeling of having zero pressure when that girl showed up at my door.

  Her name was Lily- I think. She had flowers woven into her braids, that wove to the back of her head. She usually slept early just to catch the sunrise every morning with her friend Sunny as she grew plants out front.

  It got stormier an hour after talking with Mr. Zack, probably why Lily was up so early.

  I turned to my side, listening to the thunder outside and smirking at how afraid Grant must've been.

  I felt ashamed that I finally used my alarm clock. It blared really loudly as I tried to shut it off. As soon as I did I was awake.

  I took a cold shower and did my hair for the first time. I wore a cute outfit since I had options and went downstairs. I wanted to make myself feel comfortable since it had been a very rough night as I walked into the lunch line to get myself breakfast.

  I got excited when I remembered that every Friday Mr. Zack would tell us on a screen projection who the best student was for that week. I was hoping it'd be me, since he did tell me that yesterday. I giddily joined Grant at our usual table. He played with his food, seeming a bit tired.

  I slammed the table to try and wake him up, making him jump like he hadn't noticed me.

  "Oh- sorry. Yeah, it's been a rough night. Can you give me some time?" He asked, falling into his elbow lying on the table.

  I laughed at him. "I knew you didn't sleep last night! That storm, though. Sheesh, that really was rough." I tapped my fingers on the table while I waited for my watch to say ten thirty.

  The projection showed and I nearly jumped out of my pants when it was lady.

  "Hello, students! I know you're all wondering where Mr. Zack went, but we'll get to that after my announcement of the day." She didn't grin, her mouth twitching, almost like she was trying to keep her smile in. "I will be your new teacher since Mr. Zack won't be here anymore."

  Everyone gasped, some dropping trays of food.

  "Oh, I won't be that bad! Try me."

  "Wasn't she the helper?" Grant asked, waving his fork around like he was suspicious. "I think she came to this place a week ago and barely showed her face at all."

  "Yeah," I agreed, not remembering any other time except for yesterday that I'd seen her. "And Mr. Zack is gone?" I raised my hand high in the air, then quickly brought it back down. He did tell me to trust my gut, right? And my gut was telling me something bad happened to him.

  Really bad.