Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter Two

It had been raining for about fifteen minutes and students were huddled under the roof of the school, staring at the dirt road leading to the main street, closed off by a massive puddle of brown water.

Curse words were thrown around and unaddressed insults were shouted from the guys trying to open the door overcrowded by complaining teachers and stressed children.

"Well, this sucks." Andy commented under his breath, Sam nodding in approval.

Zackary hummed in agreement, knowing very well that this was only a minor inconvenience. The real issue was how he was going to head back to bus stop without an umbrella.

To think that only mere seconds ago, the sun was shining and the air smelled like a fresh summer breeze, giving him goosebumps in anticipation. Only a few seconds before he had hope and excitement for the afternoon, enthusiastic enough for once to walk back home and talk with his friends instead of going in the bus and acting anti-social with the help of his headphones.

Sam's blond hair stuck to his face since he had tried running out and had only managed to slip and fall on his butt, returning back to them limping like a wounded soldier after battle. Andy on the other hand, seemed amused by the whole situation. Then again, he loved chaos. He always talked about how it was the only constant in the universe.

"Do you guys have an umbrella to lend me?" Zackary asked but they shook their heads, pointing at the jackets they were planning to hang over themselves as protection.

Zack nervously paced around in the little space he had, bumping shoulders with a few kids crushed against him, trying to find a way out without tripping and falling into the rain. He glanced to the side where a few students had tried walking in the muddy grass around the puddle, getting their brand new white shoes dirty with stains that would be difficult to remove.
Two girls were gripping each other for dear life as they dared to walk into the rain and around the puddle, almost tripping because of the mud and wet grass, getting to the other side completely soaked from the bottom of their jeans brown with earth to their top of their head.

Sam cringed beside Zackary at the sight and someone at the back yelled: "Move! You cowards are so scared of getting wet!"

Zackary rolled his head back with a groan and screamed back at whoever spoke, "Shut the fuck up! Some of us don't have umbrellas and don't want to go home dripping all over the floor like we've fallen into some river!"

Arguments broke through the crowd and two first-years were pushed forward into the rain on their knees and they desperately scrambled back to the dry safety they had left so abruptly.

"Come on guys!" A voice spoke and Zackary was propelled forward by someone, barely staying on his feet and when he turned around to complain, his mouth was screwed shut.

Jared stepped to the edge between warmth and cold and he turned around as he gestured at a blond girl and another one with brown hair standing near the back.
"Elizabeth! Candice!" He smiled at a friend of his who joined him at the front of the crowd. "Jamie!"

Jared then turned and faced Zackary, shoving an umbrella against his chest without warning. Zack had no choice but to grab it so that it wouldn't fall and the moment his fingers closed around it, Jared smiled with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Desperate for an umbrella weren't ya?"

The black haired teenager wanted to wipe the grin of the other's face, but he was already long gone.

Jared stepped into the rain and waved at Elizabeth to join him, Candice following close behind without complaint, the Jamie guy already twirling in the rain. The free spirit at the front ran with a loud victorious cry straight into the puddle, splashing water everywhere and having it go up to his knees. He didn't seem to mind and only cheered louder.

After a minute of hesitation, Elizabeth finally started running out after them with a laugh and soon enough, many students followed close behind her as they ran into the puddle to cross to the other side. Some more space was left and Zackary could now move more freely and he looked around only to see a third of the original crowd now gone.

"Huh, they started a movement." Andy stated with a perplexed face.

"Seems like they did." Zack breathed out through his nose.

He looked down at the umbrella in his hand and then back up at the students walking out of the gate completely soaked but with grand smiles on their faces. His fingers twitched and he felt an aching in his throat as if he were meaning to express something he himself didn't know of.

Zack threw the umbrella at Andy who barely caught it in time and who questioned him, "W-what are you doing!?"

It didn't matter to Zackary anymore and he leaped forward, plunging head first into the torrent of emotions bubbling in his chest. He ran with his eyes closed and only opened them the instant his shoes dipped into the dark water, his whole body breaking into uncontrollable shivers. When he turned around, he could see his classmates staring at him in awe and shock and he was well aware of the fact that this was unusual behavior from his part.

"Try it!" He yelled at Andy and Sam, his teeth clanking because of the cold and his arms wrapping around himself in an attempt to contain some of the heat still present in his body. "It's refreshing!"

They cursed out loud and swore as they joined him, his school teacher watching him from afar with his arms crossed. Zackary shook his head in dismay, regretting his choice but sticking by it anyway.

He had officially gone crazy.

*

The random strangers sitting in different areas of the bus as far away from each other as possible all looked up at the same time as the doors opened and Zackary stepped in.

His squeaky shoes left a trail of puddles behind him as he went to the back, sitting down with a squish of his soaked jeans on the worn out seat. He calmly combed his hand through his wet hair as the old lady sitting in front of him stared at him with concern. He gave her a small nod and a smile before turning his head toward the window and looking out with nervous cough.

Zack held his headphones and phone in a plastic bag, his moist school backpack lying between his feet as he cleared his throat repeatedly, doing his best to ignore the comments directed at him from some middle school kids at the front rows.

Zackary shoved Jared's umbrella deep into his backpack as if blaming the boy for his sudden risk-taking idiocies.

When he got home, his mother gave him a thirty minute long lecture about his immaturity and his ungratefulness by not taking care of his clothes like he was suppose to. Yet despite it, once he was up in his room after his shower and sprawled onto his bed, he couldn't help but smile.