Rise of the Nightmares

Chapter 14

She remembered the time where they first met as if it was just yesterday.

She was just a child, probably around eight or nine. Having been the newbie in the school the previous year, it wasn't easy to make friends. The other kids knew each other since kindergarten, the kids she knew at her old school were in a whole other school district, so their school year schedules were different. And frankly, most of them probably forgot her at this point. And as the newbie, she was an easy target for the bullies, especially since she couldn't understand why she was so different from everyone.

But despite how she was bullied a lot, she remained a good kid, and had hopes to make a real friend again. And that's why, when he was the newbie, she wanted to treat him with kindness. The way she wished to be treated when she was in his shoes. She wasn't going to join in on the kids who tormented her. Tormenting him wasn't going to remove a target from her back. It would make the target bigger, but she didn't care.

She wanted to be his friend.

So after the teacher took role call for the first day and assigned everyone their seats, Kate found herself sitting next to the kid who was new to the school. Now that he was sitting next to her, she could see what he looked like. He had dark brown hair, skin slightly tanner than hers, and brown eyes just like her. He was also a little bit taller than her, but that didn't seem intimidating to her.

"Hi!" she greeted him.

"Oh... hi..." he said, a little quietly.

"You must be new to the school. I know how intimidating it feels. I was new to the school last year like you," said Kate.

"Wait, really?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I miss my old school, but this school is pretty nice," said Kate.

Suddenly, a crumbled up paper hit Kate on her head, catching the attention of both her and the boy. Kate's smile faded, and she formed an annoyed look. They then turned to look over at a couple of tables away from them. Four boys, two sitting at each set, had turned their attention to them. They were both laughing and had smug looks on their faces.

"Ha! Take that freak!" said one of them.

"Hey, newbie! You like a freak like her? You're a freak too!" said another one.

The teacher saw them taunting the two, and she immediately came over and tapped their desks with a ruler, catching the attention of the four boys and making them turn back. And upon seeing their teacher looking down at them, their smug looks almost instantly faded away and shifted to worry.

"Do you four wish to have detention on the first day of the school year?" she asked them with a stern look.

The boys didn't respond. One of them even slouched down into his seat.

"First warning. Don't get another," the teacher said firmly.

She then turned around and walked back to the white board to start the first day of school.

With the bullies no longer bullying them, at least for now, Kate and the new boy sighed in relief. Kate turned to the new kid again, and held out her hand.

"I'm Katelyn. Katelyn Staples," she said.

The boy nervously smiled and reached out and shook her hand.

"Andy. Andy Vallaros," he said.

After that first day, their friendship grew as they grew older.

Things were simpler when they were younger kids. Their days consisted of going to school, learning new things, avoiding the bullies, playing games together, helping each other with homework, and hanging out together on weekends.