He's Just a Kid

Something's Wrong

I knew I shouldn't do it.

But I couldn't stop myself.

I carefully pushed the window open, praying that it wouldn't squeak. It was 7:30 at night. I had thirty minutes to get to Mission Creek High and meet Marcus. My heart was already pounding at the thought.

Luckily, Mom was already in her room trying to sleep. She had to go to work in the morning and her sleep schedule had been really messed up. This was her attempt at fixing it, at least partially. It was the perfect time for me to sneak out.

I somehow managed to close the window behind me without much noise. I don't recommend anyone sneak out at any time. It's not smart. Do as I say, not as I do.

And so, I started running.

My house wasn't that far from school, it was always the bus that made the trip to school long each morning. I understood that they needed to pick other kids up, but some of them could take forever. We've had to leave kids before, not even joking.

My body tingles as I shift into my other form. I make better time like this. While senses like my hearing and smell stay enhanced in both my normal and tiger form, other things don't; my speed, appearance, eyesight, and . . . blood lust. I never liked the fact that the last one was a thing. I mean, who would? If you did, you'd be sick. And not like the "Man, that's so sick!", more like the "you're sick. Like actually messed up in the head." I think I just explained that horribly, but whatever, I can't take it back now, can I?

I was luckily smart enough to change back into my day clothes and slip on shoes before going outside. If I had showed up at school in my pajamas, that would have been the most embarrassing thing in the world.

My feet pounded on the pavement as I continued to sprint toward the school, my breathing slowly speeding up. I had to keep to the back roads to prevent people spotting me, and I would occasionally have to slip behind houses whenever I heard a car coming. This was taking more time, but not much. I would still arrive at the school at least on time, maybe a few minutes later.

The hulking building of the school came into view as I rounded the next corner. My heart started beating faster as my pace slowed. I had to concentrate really hard to shift back to my human form, as anticipation was eating away at all of my rational thought. I only then seemed to realize the extent of what I was doing as I took another step toward the building, and I froze.

What was I doing? Why was I going to meet the guy I was sure had something to do with Leo's near death experience only hours before? This was probably the dumbest thing I had ever done, and I was walking straight into it without a second thought until I was actually there.

I could either turn around and risk waking up Mom, resulting in something possibly getting thrown at my head and Landon getting traumatized again, or I could just meet Marcus and then lay my suspicions to rest once and for all.

Let's be honest. No one ever wants to willingly take the option that includes my mom.

So I walked on.

I decided to take the route around the outside of the building so as to avoid most of the security cameras in the school, keeping my ears open for the familiar buzzing that came from the small devices. Chase and I were the only ones every able to notice it.

The football field yawned out before me. There was no telling if Marcus was there yet or not without walking out onto the field. It wasn't like I was about to yell his name. That would be extra stupid. Wow. Look at me, huh? Doing something not stupid because it's logical while also being in probably one of the most stupid and irrational situations in the world. The only thing that would be considered more stupid than this would be walking into a fire because you were convinced you were the Human Torch after watching the newest Marvel movie, because "No, Mom, you don't get it, I saw it on TV! This is stuff that actually happens!"