Holding onto my lunch tray, I walk to where I had eaten lunch the day before.
To my surprise, the table is completely empty. None of Ryan's friends are to be seen. Did they really not like me? Did Ryan tell them to not sit with me? They can't all be absent.
I look around the lunchroom for someone else to sit with. I spot Carmella, another one of those friends I only talk to at school, and an empty spot next to her. "Hey Jen! How was your summer?" she asks and we go through the same conversation everyone goes through during the first week of school.
After lunch, AP Psychology and AP Literature go by at the same slow pace as every other class I've taken. Finally, I'm back in Physics. Mr. Stoppelmoor gives us all the equations for Kinematics. He also has the audacity to think that we care about how the physicists came up with these equations, so he makes us take notes on their derivations. Then he passes out worksheets for classwork and homework, saying how any classwork that's not turned in today will be homework.
At the end of class Mr. Stoppelmoor gives me the extra worksheets for Ryan. "Don't let Mr. Higa's recklessness affect you" he grumbles.
Finally the bell rings and the day is over. I shoot Ryan a text when I get in my car. "Got the work for today and the homework. Let me know when I can come over" I type and hit 'send.'
Once I pull into my driveway I see I have an unanswered text from Ryan. I open it and see his address and that I can go over to his house now.
I look over to the passenger seat and see my bag right where I had thrown it. Well, I guess now is the most convenient time. I'm already in my car with his physics work.
I bring up the 'Maps' app on my iPhone and search Ryan's address. I start the navigation and pull out onto the road. Within a few minutes I'm pulling into Ryan's driveway.
I put the car in park and pull the keys out of the ignition. Then, I grab my bag and walk up to Ryan's front door. I ring the doorbell and wait. I hear what sounds like someone using stairs and then the door opens.
It's only open enough so I can see Ryan's face and part of his chest. He's shirtless.
"Jen" he says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.
"Hello Ry- Hey you're bleeding!" I exclaim while pointing to blood trickling down his chest.
"Oh. It doesn't hurt" Ryan says and I see his hand move, about to rub the blood off. His hand oddly stops right before he touches the red liquid. "I wouldn't want to piss Stoppelmoor off by turning his physics homework into bio homework" he jokes.
"Right" I say with a laugh and begin to dig through my bag for Ryan's work.
As I'm digging I hear a muffled scream come from behind Ryan. My eyes shoot up and meet Ryan's.
"What was that?" I ask.
"My friends are over. They're probably just tackling each other" Ryan says quickly.
"Oh" I say and I start to wonder if they went with Ryan to the college tour. That would explain their absence.
As I start to dig I hear another scream, this time it's clear the word that comes from behind Ryan: "HELP!"
I drop my bag and shove my way past Ryan and inside the house. There are stairs that lead to a basement across from the front door.
"Ryan someone sounds like he's in trouble!" I exclaim and start to run down the stairs.
"Jen wait! I'm sure they're fine!" Ryan yells but I ignore him.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs and look up the sight I see is unbelievable.
Tied to a chair is Liam. Blood and sweat is all over his face and tattered clothes. His left eye is completely swollen shut. Around him stand Will, Josh, Greg, Derrick, and Sean, all gaping at me. They hold crow bars, wooden planks, and various metal objects. All that could be used as weapons. Derrick and Sean are shirtless like Ryan, the rest with used t-shirts. There's a little blood on everyone's bare or clothed body, and I realize that the blood must come from Liam.
"Jen" Liam barely whispers.
As I start to process that the blood on Ryan was no wound, and it probably came from his own undoing on Liam, I hear "I'm sorry" from behind me.
I turn around to recognize Ryan, and suddenly something heavy and hard is knocked onto the top of my head. Immediately I fall to the ground, everything going dark.
