Death Has Wings

I Felt Such A Badass

It was Monday. I know that almost everyone hates Mondays and I did too back then, but right now, I absolutely love Mondays. I went to school as usual, but that day was different. As I got to the school gates, Alexandria was there, waiting. She came up with a smile on her face.

"Clark!" She was looking right in my eyes, as if trying to read my mind. I smiled back at her. We walked through the gates just as Samantha and Tyrone, the school's longest lasting relationship, walked past. Alexandria linked her fingers with mine. I tensed. Samantha glanced at me and Alexandria but stopped walking when she saw us holding hands.

"OH MY GOD!" Her voice was really high pitched. She ran over to us, a beaming smile on her face. "Oh my God!! Are you two going out?" Alexandria nodded and smiled. I just stood there, impatient. "OH MY GOD!! That's so sweet!" Samantha linked arms with Alexandria and walked off with her, talking, leaving me alone. Tyrone came up to me, sharing my impatience.

"So, you've got a girlfriend now?" I nodded slowly. He laughed. "Bad luck, man. You're gonna be stuck with her until she decides to break it off...or you do. I mean, she'll get tired of you soon. I wish Sam got tired of me. I can't take her constant need to be with me." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Anyway," We started walking to the entrance. "Who asked who out?" A small smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh...she asked me..." I shoved my hands into my pockets. He looked at me as if to say 'really?'. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep quiet. The girls were about two metres ahead of us, laughing and giggling together. I breathed out heavily and looked at the ground as I walked.

******

We got into assembly just before the bell went. We all sat in our seats, with Alexandria sitting next to me. Mrs Sears, the deputy head, walked to the front of the hall.

"We have some tragic news to deliver to you today." She paused and took a breath. "Mr Rogers is no longer head of the school." She looked down at the floor, trying to hold back tears. Everyone in the room was confused. They all liked Mr Rogers. I didn't. He was always trying to get me into counselling. I didn't need it.

"Why?" Someone shouted from the back of the room. Mrs Sears shot them a look and wrung her hands.

"It's none of your business!" Her voice was shaking badly. I could sense that she was about to cry and I was right. The tears came flooding down her cheeks and she ran out of the hall. The whole room was in shock. No one spoke. Mr Fredrickson stepped into Mrs Shears' place at the front of the hall.

"Alright! Everyone, go back home, there's no need to be at school with no head teacher to keep you all in line. Come back next week when everything has been sorted out." He stood there, staring at us all with his cold, blue eyes. "Go then!" He bellowed. Everyone sprung into life and grabbed their stuff. They all filed out of the hall and into the playground. The mutter of voices filled my head. My headache was back again. I tried my best to hide it. I really need to get this checked.

I was accompanied by Alexandria on the way home. She held my hand all the way. I felt really uncomfortable but I kept quiet. I didn't want anything bad to happen. I mean, this was possibly the only good thing in my life, I didn't want to lose it. She kept talking about someone called Callum. I didn't really care. I just wanted to get home.

Feelings of dread filled my whole body as we neared the house. John's car was in the driveway. Great, he's home from work. Alexandria waved goodbye to me when we got to my house. I smiled at her and watched her turn the corner. I sighed and walked to the front door. I stopped with my hand hovering over the handle when I heard shouting from inside.

I knocked on the door loudly and the shouting instantly stopped. It was thirty seconds before mother opened the door. Her eyes were all puffy. She smiled weakly at me and let me in. I went in and closed the door behind me. Mother went to the kitchen and sighed. She stood at the sink, looking out of the window. I could hear John mumbling in the living room, the tv in the background.

I went up stairs and into my room. I went to the window, looked outside for a few seconds, then drew the curtains. I felt lethargic, so I lied down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen. Mother and John were arguing again. They were arguing about...about...even now I forget. I think they were arguing about Mother getting a job. It doesn't matter now, and it never will. I just kept staring at the ceiling, listening to them argue.

Out of nowhere, waves of nausea swept over me. I began to feel really warm and my heart began to beat faster. I tried to calm myself by breathing slowly and deeply but it didn't work. I got up and sat on the edge of my bed. The room spun around me. I kept staring at the floor beneath my feet to try and steady myself. I closed my eyes and looked up. When I opened them, everything was back to it's previous, stationary state. The nausea was gone and so was the warmth. My heart had slowed back to it's normal rate. I didn't know what was happening to me, and I didn't really want to know.

At least not yet.

******

It was after dinner and me, Mother and John were in the living room. I had always sensed a bit of tension between us all, but not this much. It was like running into a brick wall at full speed. We were all silent until John muttered something under his breath and looked at mother. I heard it clearly. He said something along the lines of "...better get a fucking job...". Mother sighed quietly and rolled her eyes. I felt really uncomfortable again, but this time it was like being in a place where you really weren't wanted. I couldn't take it.

"I'm going out." I said as I got up and walked out of the room.

"You aren't going anywhere Clark." John was standing in the living room doorway, leaning against it.

"You can't tell me what to do." I unlocked the door and waited a second for John to explode. I smirked. He deserved to explode, his flesh all over the place, his blood dripping down the walls.

"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING AND THAT IS FINAL!" There it was. I turned and smiled.

"You can't tell me what to do. You aren't my real father." I said this with the smile still on my face. He stared at me, mouth slightly parted, looking like he'd just been slapped. I laughed on the inside to see him like this. I opened the door, walked out and slammed it behind me.