Monday morning was a stressful morning for me. In a way, I was scared to see Austin, and I wasn't quite sure why. Usually once I enter the school doors, I see Austin hanging around in one of the hallways with his friends.
To my surprise, he was no where to be found.
And it worried me.
Maybe he was somewhere else. Maybe he didn't know that his one week suspension was done. I'm thinking too much about this.
It was very rare that Austin was ever absent, because of track. So whenever he was absent, he was either sick, or laying on his deathbed.
After what had happened last Monday, I've been worrying about him since. I told Cheryl about the dinner at his house, and even she feels bad for him.
He doesn't deserve to be treated like that.
He's all I could think about. Ever since Friday, he's the only person in my thoughts. I haven't seen him for a whole week.
I flinch, seeing Cheryl, as well as her friend, O.P, also known as Karin, appears behind my locker door, upon closing it.
"Jesus- you guys appear out of nowhere." I laugh, taking off my headphones.
Cheryl would chuckle slightly. "Boo." She teased me.
I roll my eyes, jokingly. "Have you guys seen Austin?" I ask. "Usually he would've hit the back of my head by now."
Karin laughed softly. "Why, you miss your boyfriend, eh?" She asked.
My eyes widened a bit, feeling my face heat up. "Wh-What? He's not my-.. I'm literally dating Cher-"
"She's kidding, Jared." Cheryl snickered. "We know he's not, obviously."
I glance away, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, I know just... don't say stuff like that." I glanced at O.P and Cheryl. "I don't want rumors to spread around. Austin would kill me."
Cheryl would give an understanding nod. "..Right. We won't." She glanced at O.P, as if there's an inside joke between them, that nobody quite understands. "Well, O.P and I were heading to class anyways so.. see you later, Jared."
I give her a faint smile. "See you later. I love you."
Her and O.P turned around, and skipped away from me, like some married couple.
She didn't even say 'I love you' back.
Ouch.
Maybe she didn't hear me. I didn't think too much of it though, as my mind was placed on Austin. I don't know why I'm so worried about him, I hate him.
But I can't help but feel sympathy for him.
———————
The rest of the day moved by slower than a snail could. As the last bell rang, I didn't bother staying for track. There was one thing, and one thing only on my mind.
I need to see Austin.
Since I usually stay at school until 4:30 during track anyway, my parents wouldn't even notice.
Instead of driving myself to school, like a normal junior kid would do, I ran to school. Although I had gotten my drivers license, I didn't bother driving to school, when I have two perfectly good traveling devices myself.
My legs.
Walking out the school building, I rushed to Austin's house. Well, I wouldn't say rush, but I definitely walked faster than my normal walking pace in the halls.
