Fire and Matches

Part 5

I was almost to Misty's house, following the directions she had given me during the tour. I had almost knocked on the door, but I couldn't make it. The night had set in, and the moon had been covered by clouds. It was pitch black. And I was tired.
I set down my bag and slept on it. I forgot the argument, the meanness of my dad, and the fire in my chest. The bag was comforting, and I easily fell asleep under a big tree.
The next morning, I picked myself up from the grassy ground and dusted off my hands. "Wow," I said to myself, surprised by how easily I slept in the forest. I started to walk again towards Misty's house. I was feeling confident until I realized something: it was a school day. Misty was at school.
I sauntered into the town square, dodging adults and store-owners on the sidewalk. I pulled out a few hundred bucks that I had stolen from the safe in my parents' closet, and decided to get breakfast at one of the newer restaurants, as to not let anyone recognize me. I jogged across the street to America's Diner, a classic diner that had a light up sign hung up about five yards in the air.
As I walked into the diner, which was empty, I was greeted with a confused look from the Hispanic waitress behind the counter. "Hi," she simply said. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
I froze, and thought about it for, like, 0.2 seconds. "I'm studying the nature of people," I lied. "I was let out early so that I could, uh, study the nature of people. Yeah."
The Hispanic waitress clicked her tongue and nodded. "Okay. What would you like?" I looked at the menu above her head and replied, "A biscuit and... toast." She nodded again and went back to the kitchen.
I sat down at one of the many empty booths. I pulled out Wicked, the book, from my bag and started Chapter 17. After a few minutes of reading, the Hispanic woman brought my breakfast, and I dug in. After eating and paying, I thanked her and walked back into the town square.
My phone buzzed from my back pocket, and I swiped it into my palm. Misty had texted me.

MistyGirl: wher r u? The teacher's getting mad like 😡 mad

I smiled at the message and typed back.

GrayS: don't tell anyone, but I ditched

This wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie either. I had skipped school. Just not because I wanted to ditch. Because my father disowned me.
Misty texted me again:

MistyGirl: wha--! Why?

GrayS: if you come to the theater after school, I can tell you⏰

I set my watch to 3:00 and made my way into an alley. I set myself up to read in front of a dumpster. "Whatcha got there?" I heard, and looked up to see a teenager with bad acne and a sneer across his face. He puffed his cigarette and laughed. "I said, 'whatcha got there?' You deaf or somethin'?"
I stood up. "Go away," I deadpanned, hearing my voice go up and down with fear. I clenched my fists. "I will beat you up."
The thug teen laughed, and pushed me up against the brick wall behind me. "No no no," he cackled, punching me in the jaw. But I was furious. I had just been disowned by my father, and I was currently being best up by a scrawny acne-infested creep. I kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling against the wall. He held a hand up to a bloody nose, and snarled. "Freak!" he yelled as I ran away. It was already 1. I ran away to another diner, ate lunch, and then ran out, back towards the theater. Time to meet Misty.