Dead and Gone

Am I going insane?

When I got out of English, Gavin was waiting for me outside the hallway. We walked to the cafeteria together and got our lunch, sitting at whatever table was empty.

"Jade, who's this?" I heard a familar voice ask. The voice belonged to Michael. I blinked in confusion, scanning the cafeteria for a glimpse of Michael.

"Did you hear something?" I asked Gavin.

He shook his head. "No, why?" 

"It's nothing, nevermind." I replied, waving him away. He looked me in the eyes, probably wondering what was going through my head. I stared down at my plate awkwardly, still feeling his eyes on me. 

But when I looked up, Gavin was lost in a puzzle game he was playing on his cellphone, munching on a bag of chips. It wasn't Gavin's eyes I felt on me but Michael's. And sure enough, there he appeared on the seat next to Gavin.

"Man, this kid must really be into that game. Can't he see me?" Michael asked me. I shook my head slowly. Nobody saw him or heard him but me. I suddenly felt sick. I wondered if I was losing my mind.

“Have you been to science already? Did you finish the homework?” I heard Gavin ask me. But my eyes were focused on the dead boy sitting across from me, smiling. Suddenly he disappeared and I blinked. Did I just see that? I thought to myself. My head was hurting. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think.

"Jade?" 

Realizing I didn't give Gavin an answer, I opened my eyes. "No, Gavin, sorry. I haven't been to science."

Michael was gone.

Gavin nodded but he no longer seemed interested in the homework. He set his phone down. "Are you okay, Jade?" he asked. 

Sighing, I nodded. Am I going insane? I thought.

Nikki and Casey came and sat down with us then. The three of them then got into a debate over whether Vans were better than Converse. Nikki was for Converse and the guys were against. I tuned them out, eating in silence. I was lost in my own thoughts.

"Jade!" a voice said loudly in my ear. 

Snapping back to reality, I saw it was Nikki who said my name. "Yeah?" I asked.

"Converse or Vans?" she asked me.

"Converse, probably. They have more designs," I replied. 

They all groaned. "It's a tie!" Casey exclaimed. "Well Jade, besides just the shoes, Vans also does have a  kick-ass music fest like the Vans Warped Tour. Does that make you change your mind?"

Looking down at my blue Converse, I shook my head. "I still think Converse are better." 

He shook his head slowly. "Well, those are some nice shoes, but don't you like mine better?" He asked with a grin, gesturing towards his dirty checkered Vans and laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him and smirked. "Sure, Casey. Whatever you say."

Gavin walked with me to our next class, which we had together. And of course, he noticed how strangely I was acting. So he stopped me before we got to the next class. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.

"Well, I'd say my thoughts are worth more than a penny," I said, a lame attempt at a joke. 

He wasn't amused though. "Jade, tell me what's up?" 

"It's nothing." I replied softly, staring down at my shoes. "I'm just tired."

But he knew all the excuses. He knew the signs. He could tell when something was wrong or when I was feeling down. He was about to say something when a teacher called, "Get to class!" 

He frowned and glanced back at the teacher, who was waiting impatiently for us to get to class. So we headed to our next class and we sat in silence.