Walk Through Thorns

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The final bell rang. Avery hadn't spoken to me since our blowout. In fact, she'd spent the rest of the day sulking from desk to desk not even looking at me.

I tried to catch her between science a PE, but she'd cut me off with a stern, "Not right now."

But, we were at the end of the day now. Before I could reach the freedom of the hallway, Mr. Feral stopped me at the door. "I need to speak with you after class young woman."

Ugh, what now?

I stared at my shoelaces while the rest of the class filed out. Greta whispered a quick, "Meet you outside," before she disappeared into the seething flow of students, following Avery.

Once the room emptied I said, "So what's up?"

Mr. Feral reached behind his desk and pulled out a box. A moving company had emblazoned it with their logo. Rumor was that Mr. Feral was from Vancouver before he moved out here.

He said, "Your friend Brandon, he used to go to school here?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, not knowing where this was going. "He dropped out at some point before graduating."

He said, "Avery told me he runs the adventures for your group."

Was this about Dungeons and Dragons? Seriously?

I nodded, embarrassed that our silly hobby had gotten so exposed.

"In that case," Mr. Feral said as he slid the box towards me, "This was in the lost and found. I believe it belongs to Brandon."

I looked from him to the box and back. There was no question that the box was in good condition. It hadn't been sitting anywhere for very long, and Brandon had been out of school for over a year.

"You want me to give it to him? What is it?" I asked.

Mr. Feral nodded and said, "A surprise. And don't you dare peak inside."

Greta stared as I carried the box out. "What is that?"

"I don't even know where to begin explaining," I said, "But it is for Brandon, from Mr. Feral."

"What's inside?" Greta reached for the box.

I pulled it away. "I am under strict orders to deliver it to Brandon unopened."

"Have you ever seen the movie Seven?" Greta asked.

I rolled my eyes at here. "I'm pretty confident our teacher didn't give me a box with a decapitated head in it. Can we just get going so Brandon can open it already?"

Balancing the box on my handlebars proved to be a challenge. It wasn't a terribly large box—I could see over it. But, I was having a hard time keeping up with Greta at a normal speed.

I asked, "Is Avery still cool with me coming over?"

Greta laughed at me. "She's been worrying all day that you wouldn't want to come over!"

"Of course I do," I said.

Greta said, "Tell her yourself!"

Brandon and Avery were up on the balcony smoking as we approached. Brandon was disheveled and leaning on the railing, it was the only thing holding him up.

Avery shouted, "What's in the box?"

Greta took one look at my annoyed brow and broke into laughter.

I said, "Just let us in and I'll show you!"

Linda's speaker thrummed with heavy music from the kitchen. She was cooking while wearing a shirt that I am pretty sure was Avery's. The smell of stir fry suffused the apartment.