The Ink Infection [Brief hold and Editing]

Chapter 5

"AAarrggh!" I yelled, scrambling backwards on my bed. Odir and Derek grumbled something and shuffled their position in their beds.

"Oh my god! What is wrong with you? Shush!" whispered Cody, frantically covering my mouth with his hand.

I blinked my eyes a couple of times. In front of me was a normal, smiling Cody. He had a mischievous smile on his face, which I mistook for the smile from my dream. My heart kept pounding hard, but my breathing calmed down. At least I knew that I was safe.

I pulled his hand away from my mouth.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed at him, still angry that he gave me a heart attack.

"I have to show you something!" he whispered back excitedly.

"And why are you showing me?" I asked, arching my eyebrows.

"I don't know, just thought you ought to know," he said, looking down. "I came through this vent under my bed-"

"Sorry, Cody, but I want to sleep right now. I have a tight schedule tomorrow. Show me tomorrow," I said, irritated with him.

"Oh," said Cody sadly.

"And you go to sleep too," I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

Cody left my bed and walked to his bed, hanging his head. Did I say too much? I mean, he didn't know what I dreamed of... ugh, what was he doing anyway in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?! It was his fault! Although... I should have told him way nicer than that...

I sighed. I felt like I was losing one of my friends already. I was restless and couldn't get back to sleep. Frustrated, I tossed from one side to another, bouncing this way and that, until my eyes closed and my mind went to sleep.

I felt a zap on my left wrist and woke up. The lights were still off, but the sun was shining through the glass windows. I looked at my left wrist. My wristwatch. Seriously? To wake me up? I checked the time: 7:00 a.m.

Angry, I stormed into the bathroom. I was urging to go after I drank two gallons of juice last night. I quickly got dressed in my jeans and gray hoodie, as the air was cold today. I had to say, the bathroom was huge. 10 sinks with a three-foot space in between them. I looked at the mirror. My left side of my hair was straight, and the right side was messy from sleeping. The zap must have been a powerful one if my hair turned straight. I tried to brush it down, and barely managed to make it normal again.

I hurried out of the bathroom and filled my backpack with school supplies, and put pepper spray in my pocket just in case. I looked at the beds of Derek and Odir. No one was in the room, their beds completely made, immaculate from wrinkles. I opened my phone to message them. At the top of my screen, a notification showed me a message from Odir from yesterday.

Hey, Neil. I just wanted to let you know about TEA. You know how...

That was all I could see. I sighed and pressed the home button. What a great reminder to start my day. I opened my messaging app and started to type:

Hey guys! Where are you?

Message pending...

No service. I wandered around the room, hoping to find service. I found none. Frustrated, I flung my phone on my bed. I gave it a second thought and quickly shoved my phone into my pocket.

Then, I left my room, jogging to the cafeteria. Oddly, I didn't hear any noises coming from the cafeteria. I neared the cafeteria, only to find it closed and locked. That's when I noticed the sign a few feet above my head, in the middle of the door. I kept jumping to read what the sign said. My memories came rushing back.