Out of Everyone✯Vikklan

Chapter 13

I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of my window opening. I immediately sit up. Someone dressed in complete black is getting ready to climb out. I jump out of bed and pull him down onto the floor. He has black cloth covering most of his face too, which I pull off. Mitch snarls at me before pushing me off and jumping out the window. I fall back into bed, asleep.

I'll assume whatever that was last night was a figment of my imagination after what happened yesterday. Someone trying to sneak into my room, thieves stealing things from me, Mitch dressed as a ninja, classic Vikk dreams.

I'm not sure how I managed to pull myself out of bed and on my way to school, but I found myself dragging my feet across the cement an hour after my alarm rang. Why I do this to myself, I don't know. I just know I'm dreading the place I'm forcing myself to go to right now.

I keep my eyes on the floor, counting the steps I take and the cracks I skip over, a bad habit of mine. Because of it, I bump into someone, and they fall. I immediately yell a sorry and help him up.

"Hey, Vikk. I didn't know you lived around here," He says. "What a coincidence."

"I didn't know you lived around here either, Jerome." He shrugs, but the smile on his face disappears.

"Yeah, I normally hitch a ride with..." He mumbles the last part quietly, and I couldn't hear it. I assume it's Mitch, though. Who else would it be?

"Come on, then. We'll walk together."

"Say, how far do you live from here?"

"Exactly 354 steps or 177 cracks in that direction," I answer, pointing behind me. Jerome gives me a look that says what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you and starts walking with me. Neither of us talk much as we walk, both of us deep in thought. I can guess what he's thinking about, though. He probably doesn't want to talk about it, so I don't mention it either. Let's just say yesterday wasn't a good day for any of us. Not Rob, not Preston, not Mitch, not Jerome, not Brandon, and certainly not me.

We're greeted with a quite insane Rob at the front of the school. He has bags under his eyes, and his hair's a mess. I ask if he's okay.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Why do you people keep on asking me that?" Rob exclaims irritatedly. I hold up both my hands in a defensive manner and back away.

"Chill dude. We're just making sure if you're okay," Jerome says. Rob sighs and tries to apologize. I forgive him, even if the apology sucked. I owe all of them. After all, it's my fault they're so upset. I pulled them into this. I wonder how Brandon's holding up.

"Brandon wants to talk to us during lunch," Rob tells Jerome. "Plan V and L 2.0. Now including M and J, B and M, and P and R."

"No fair, I never get invited to anything," I whine. It's important for them. Sorry, Rob says. I sigh, nod at both of them, and leave to my locker. I don't think I'll be able to stand this much longer.

First period I have biology with, unfortunately, Preston. I avoid him staring at me and my seat two away from him. When I sit and settle down, a note lands on my desk. 'I'm sorry.' I rip the note in half, and then for good measure, ripped it in fourths and glare at him. He should get the message.

He doesn't. A few minutes later, another note lands on my desk. 'I really am sorry, Vikk. I had to help him. He's my friend.' And we're not? I rip up the note again and put it in the pile of trash in the corner of the desk. Too bad Preston can't fit there too.

'Can you at least tell Robby I'm sorry for what I did?' I see the teacher walking by, and I stuff the note in my mouth, not sure what else to do. I swallow it. I find Preston staring at me again. I draw a stickman onto a scrap of paper with an arrow that says Preston pointing at him and show it to him. Then, I stab the stickman till it had a giant hole in it. If he still doesn't get the message, I don't know what to say. It's simple. Apology not accepted.