When It Starts

Chapter 4 Part 3

"This is the freshman hallway.. And the only entrance to our little, 'club'." I say. Marc gazes at the row of lockers as we pass. I clear my throat. "Okay.. This is the lockers we use to get in. 216 and 217-" "Why these two?" He interrupts. "Uh.. Our school was made out of an old mansion. From the early 1900's and this is a little shaft the slaves and workers used to get around to the lower levels of the mansion. The constructors were supposed to knock down all of the rooms in the lower level but one was neglected. AKA the hang out spot." He nods his head. I shift uncomfortably and point to the locks. "The combination is a code. 'Lost Boys.' The numbers would be 09-01-02, and 10-06-09-" "Why?" He interrupts. I sigh with annoyance from his constant interjections. "It spells 'Lost Boys.'" "How?" Marc asks. "I take out a sharpie from my pocket and roll up my sleeves. I write down the alphabet. "The letter 'L' is the twelfth letter in the alphabet. 'O' is the fifteenth. 'S' is nineteenth. 'T' is the twentieth." I write down twelve, fifteen, nineteen, and twenty under the alphabet. "One plus two equals three. One plus five equals six. One plus nine equals ten. Two plus zero equals two. Basically you keep adding. Three plus six equals nine. Then ten. Then two. That made the first combination 09-01-02." Marc slides closer to me to examine my arm. I can smell him from here. It was unidentifiable, but it was pleasant. "Wait. Why isn't the second one ten?" "Chare, the girl who met you first, she decided to make the first combination single digit numbers first. She took the zero from the ten and put it in front of the two. Voila! The combination. Then just do the same thing for 'Boys' and you have the combination." He examines my arm closer and nods his head slowly. He takes a step back and his eyes pierce into mine. I don't like making eye contact with people, but I couldn't look away. HIs eyes seemed to stretch for forever. I felt everything dissipate around me. For the first time since this little tour began, I felt calm and then he looked at his feet, and the spell was broken. "What is wrong with you!" I yelled at myself. "I should have never suggested that idea to Chare! Now look at me! I'm entranced by this person I don't even know! I'm wandering around the school, with a boy, of which I know nothing, and I can't think straight! I can't believe Chare convinced me to do this!" My thoughts were interrupted by him clearing his throat. I realize I was still staring at him and I blush and look down. "Umm.. There are a couple basic rules. Just don't cuss, and don't tell anyone about the hideout." He smirks and my heart flutters. "Nobody knows about this?" I shake my head. "How do you all get your work done?" He asks. "We have someone in the class get an extra copy of classwork and homework and bring it to us. We study at our house, and appear to class on Test Day." I say simply. "The teachers don't notice?" I shake my head. "Nobody notices the Lost Boys." I give a slight smile. He furrows his eyebrows but doesn't ask a question. I lean back on my heels and rock back and forth. I fill the silence with a question. "Why were you hitting a locker?" He puts his hand on his neck and laughs nervously. "I uh.. I... I'm not really sure. Just felt like it." He gazed up at me through his hair and waited for my reaction. I waited to see if he was joking. He didn't appear to be joking. His eyes shown through his hair and I smiled. He seemed relieved and stood up straight. "Where to now?" The bell rings and his eyes grow wide. He looks around panicked. I laugh and grab his hand as bustling freshman push past us. I drag him through the crowd towards the doors of the school.

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The sun was shining bright against my skin as we walked on the sidewalk away from the school. I look up at him and he grins down on me. I realize I'm still holding his hand and I pull back quickly. I fold my arms and shake my head. "Sorry.." I say. He chuckles, but doesn't reply. A few more minutes pass by in silence. It's not an awkward silence, it's a peaceful silence. I'm following the sidewalk, just enjoying the moment when he breaks the silence. "Where are we going?" I look at him. "I don't know." I reply. "Where do you want to go?" He shakes his head. "I don't know what's here. New remember?" I smile sheepishly. "Right.." "I just want to get out of the town. I want to go somewhere quiet where I can think." I nod my head and smile. I know just the place.