Keep Dreaming Up Ways to Survive

Chapter 39

Felix closed his eyes as his stomach churned with anxiety. When Dawson's car turned into the student parking lot, Felix's heart couldn't help but beat at a rapid pace. Dawon glanced over at him and asked, "You ok?"
"I-I don't know, It's... I-I just know that people will stare at me." Felix mumbled.
"What? No, no one will even notice anything! The cast is pretty much covered by the sweater and the limp is barely noticeable!" Dawson affirmed, parking his truck.
"Are you sure?" Felix asked, looking up.
Dawson looked at Felix's scarred face, his swollen eye, and the corner of his lip that had a green tint.
"Of course, don't worry your pretty little head, you look fine." Dawson consoled.
"Ok..." Felix swallowed hard, "I guess let's go."
Dawson got out of the car, opened the door for Felix, and started the walk into the building. Opening the front door, they both were hit with a thick atmosphere. Most of the lights were off and the students walked around with their heads down, talking in a whisper. Dawson and Felix walked through the sullen halls, confused, Dawson's high posture almost sticking out from the slouches of the rest.
"The fuck..." Dawson muttered under his breath.
"What happened?" Felix whispered to Dawson.
"I don't know..." Dawson then went up to a girl looking through her locker, tapping her on the shoulder, "Hey, why is it so, like, sad? I haven't been to school in a couple of days."
"Oh... yesterday, we got the news of..." The girl let out a sniffle, "Of Ms. Ann's death..."
Felix felt his stomach drop and goosebumps rise from his skin. The girl continued to tell them how she didn't come to school, how the police were sent to her house, and how they found her body. Felix felt a pounding headache as the girl kept speaking, he tugged on the bottom of Dawson's shirt.
"I'm going to class..." Felix uttered.
"Wait-" Dawson tried to stop him.
Felix turned away from him and started his limped- walk to class.
Felix then sat at the back of his first bell, not exactly paying attention to the teacher. His mind raced with thoughts, not staying on one for more than one second.
"She's dead. Dawson killed her. Will he go to jail? Do they know it's him? Do they know he did it? Why is everyone so sad about it? Not all of them even knew her. Why... are they all so sad...?" Felix thought, looking up.
Felix felt his breath stop in his chest, his tongue dry up, and his body starting to tremble. The entire class was turned around staring at him, with big eyes and enlarged pupils. Their eyes were glossed over and twitching, the people's focus being exclusively on him. Felix swallowed dryly, feeling the anxiety rise from his stomach up to his ears.
"What..." He mumbled shakily.
"What?"
Felix whipped his head to the side to see the boy who just spoke, looking at him questioningly. Felix looked back to the front, seeing everyone sitting forward, paying attention to the teacher. Everything was back to normal, as if the event that just happened, never actually did.
"You good?" The boy asked again.
"Yes..." Felix croaked, slouching in his seat, afraid to look into people's eyes.