Somewhere Only We Know

XX - Run, run, runaway

Jesse found himself sitting in the empty classroom, his mind in a haze. He could still hear the distant sounds of laughter and chatter from the corridors, but it all felt muffled and far away. His head was spinning, and he struggled to grasp reality. "This is why you don't do drugs, kids." He said to himself.

As he sat there, trying to steady his breathing, he couldn't shake off the feeling of being weightless, as if he was slowly drifting away from everything. His thoughts swirled in a blur, and he couldn't make sense of anything.

A soft knock on the door startled him, and before he could respond, Edward peeked inside. "Jesse, are you in here, mate?" Edward's voice sounded concerned, cutting through the fog in Jesse's mind.

Jesse kept quiet, holding onto his knees tightly like a little boy. "Listen, I know a dece-ish place 'round here that sells second-hand Louis Vuitton's."

"Well, go on!" Maxine said, giving Edward a soft push into the classroom to make sure Jesse wasn't in there. He watched from the corner as Edward got closer to him, "Jesse, we have to go. If you're in here, come out."

He covered his mouth and nose to avoid making any noise as he watched Edward stumble upon the desk that was in between them, "Aw, fuck. He's not in here, Max! Fuck, my leg, man." Edward winced as he held his shin, hopping with his other leg.

He watched as they went out of the door, "Where the hell is Chase? He should be here by now." Maxine said, looking both ways before going to the classroom across from her. They heard a man shouting and banging on a desk in a classroom causing them to quickly run to that room, thinking it was Jesse.

He slowly exited the classroom, checking his surroundings, and then making a run for the cafeteria, which was about four classrooms away. Once he got there, he quickly bought a small bag of chips and a can of soda. He sat on one of the benches near the exit of the cafeteria.

As he ate his food, he felt like he was normal again. He stumbled upon a large trash can, grabbing the attention of a few students who were at the back of the cafeteria. He stood there in awkward silence, glancing at each of those students. As he looked at them, their faces shone brightly as they loudly screamed his name. He watched as they all stood up, practically pushing each other to get to him, which startled him. "That's Jesse Davidson!" One of the students screamed, making Jesse's ears ring.

He ran toward the nearest door that wasn't the exit, and then he locked it. As he took deep breaths, he backed away from the door. It seemed like someone was trying to punch and kick the door down, as it was shaking and banging.

"Can I help you, sir?" A woman's voice from behind him said, making him jump.

He turned around slowly, a crooked smile on his face, his eyes widening as he scanned the room to find about 50 students in graduation robes scattered throughout the auditorium.

"Oh, my! Jesse Davidson, is that you?" As she walked quickly toward him, the woman said, giving him a tight, uncomfortable hug, "I am so glad you could come. By the way, did you come here with your little sister? She was supposed to be here about two hours ago."

Jesse stood there silently, unable to tear his eyes away from the students behind the woman. They were all in disarray, whispering to each other. He had already heard his name mentioned about 10 times, which made him very nervous.

The woman put one of her hands on his shoulder, worriedly asking, "Are you alright, Jesse?"

"I, I'm sorry, I have to go," Jesse responded as he backed away, his eyes wandering. He felt light-headed. As he backed toward the door, he felt the banging and kicking from the other side, making him jump again, "Is there another way out of this room?"