Immunity

safe

The sun blazed down on the concrete sidewalk which caused my shoes to feel like smoldering coals underneath my feet. Underclassmen hurried out of the school followed by seniors casually strolling out, pulling out packs of cigarettes as they go.

Ah yes, the joys of high school.

I sighed, pulling my beaten up skateboard from its place between two parked bikes. I set it down on the sidewalk and kicked off, determined to get home. I decided to take a shortcut so I could pick up a pack of gum. The trees lining the sidewalk provided enough shade to prevent me from completely burning to a crisp.

I pulled into the small gas station to spot a group of boys around my age leaning against the glass walls of the store, smoking cigarettes and having a good time.

Great. Just what I needed.

I gripped on to my skateboard hoping they'd ignore me. To my luck, they did. In the store I was greeted by a girl not much younger than me reading a gossip magazine behind the counter. I hurriedly grabbed two packs of gum and set them on the counter. She obnoxiously dropped her magazine, gave me a dirty look, and practically threw my change at me. I awkwardly tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear before walking out the door.

I had completely forgotten about the boys outside, so I definitely was suprised when one of them ripped my skateboard from my hands.

"This is a nice board," the boy laughed as I turned around. His jet black hair was slicked back as he flicked a cigarette in his other hand. I rolled my eyes, reaching for my board, only for it to be pulled out of my reach.

A few boy the boys chuckled while the boy blew a puff of smoke in my face, causing me to cough. I quickly stood up as tall as I could manage for 5' 2" and glared.

"What do you want," I spat, pulling out a stick of gum from my recently bought pack of mint gum. The sun had since been covered by a thick layer of clouds.

"Feisty, ain't she," A tall boy with sunglasses grunted joyfully.

I noticed a boy standing off to the side. Of course, he was dressed coordinated to the attires of the rest of the boys, but he didn't look comfortable there. Unlike the other boys, his hair was tousled and instead of a cigarette, he casually played with a toothpick between his teeth.

"Let's make a deal," the boy who had my skateboard, who seemed to be the ringleader of their little pack, spoke up, "you come to the back seat of my car and we can work things out."

I was disgusted, embarrassed, and uncomfortable. He got closer to me, so close that I could smell the odor of cigarette under his breath. I wanted to puke. Just then, my savior Toothpick Boy spoke up.

"Yo, back off bro, just give her the board," Toothpick boy reasoned.

Cigarette Breath turned around, and in the rudest voice he could manage, snarled, "What did you say, Austin?"

I wanted to run. I wanted to run very far, very fast. I knew they'd outrun me and do whatever sick and twisted things they had planned for me if I did run.

"I said back off," Austin said protectively.

There was an eerie silence. Austin glared at Cigarette Breath, I stared at my skateboard, the rest of the boys shared fearful glances.

And then all hell broke loose.

Although Cigarette Breath was pretty lean, his tallness made him top heavy, so when he lunged at Austin, Austin was fast enough to dodge it. The rest of the boys quickly ran into the mix to get the two boys away from each other.

Now was my chance. I took off, sprinting as fast as I could. Up and down the winding streets I ran, eager to get home. The sun was starting to set, even though it was only six.

The moment my foot met the stairs leading up to my front door, I realized that I had left my skateboard. Of course, there was no way in hell I was going back to find it. I slipped inside and locked the door, catching my breath.

Victory.