DUSK TILL DAWN

3

it's strange; my heart is heavy and empty all at once

It didn't take long for Neve to notice that the boy who'd been sitting next to her - Zachary Coast - was the same Zach she'd run into earlier in the day. He glanced at her as he sat down, but she quickly averted her eyes to the desk in front of her.

It wasn't long before Mr. Lloyd was finished getting the seating chart down, his main focus on the first lesson of the school year.

Doing her best to focus, Neve took down any notes she could. She ignored anyone who might look in her direction - which was thankfully only one or two people in the class. Everyone else had more important things to worry about than the new girl who didn't talk to anyone, and she liked it that way.

It wasn't too long before she learned that this class was split. It had the first half, then they'd be released for a quick lunch then would come back for the last half before getting let go to their study hour. It was odd and new to her, but she didn't mind as it gave her a break from all the 'learning' she'd had to endure so far.

"We'll continue this lesson when you guys get back from lunch. I expect to see all your happy, smiling faces in half an hour." Mr. Lloyd said as he released them when it hit a specific time.

Neve watched as everyone stood up and rushed out of the room as if their life depended on it. She didn't understand the hype of running as if the room was on fire, but she understood to an extent that they just probably wanted to see their friends.

Everyone left their belongings where they were before, probably because they had to return to what they'd been learning. She decided to leave her stuff as well, grabbing only her phone.

She followed the others out of the classroom and into the hall where they led her to what she can only assume was the cafeteria area. It was separated into two sections  - the actual cafeteria where people got their food, and the common area with lots of different-shaped tables to sit at.

There weren't as many students as Neve assumed there'd be, so she just came to the conclusion that the lunches were separated into different times so not everyone was eating at once, and that way there was more than enough room for everyone to sit and enjoy their meal.

She followed everyone to the beginning of the line, standing toward the back since she was one of the last to arrive. The line moved up slowly, and so as she waited she took her time in glancing at her surroundings.

If she needed to make a quick exit, she'd be able to if she ran straight to the entrance of the school - which was almost directly across from the cafeteria she was standing at. However, if that entrance were blocked or held up for some reason, she'd need to find a different exit.

Glancing around the room, she noticed one in a nearby hallway. She also had taken notice that almost every other hallway had an extra exit, probably for easy access when it came to people needing to leave at the end of the day. But were they also secured when coming in? Were they unlocked from the inside and locked from the outside or could anyone come in and out with ease?

As she grew closer to the cafeteria, she also took notice of one that was more hidden in the common area. It was an emergency exit - but it was accessible if she had no other options and needed to flee in a rush.

When Neve got to the line, she grabbed a plastic blue tray from the pile sitting at the beginning of the line. She watched as the people in front of her told the lunch crew on the other side of the counters what they did and didn't want, and she quickly copied their actions by picking and choosing what she'd prefer over the main course and the side options.