Confessions of a Secondary Character

Inciting Event (Chapter 4)

"It was 9:39. Second period. World Geo. All was silent. All was still. Except for one.

"She meandered down the school's pathway, pausing every so often to throw a quick, furtive glance over her shoulder. The coast was clear. Or so it seemed...

"Unbeknownst to her, a shadow behind a potted plant watched her, growing closer with each passing second, while she fearfully scanned the area before her.

"But there was nothing particularly frightening to be seen. Or really, anything to be seen. The courtyard was barren except for a lone tree and a trash ca-

"-and she's gone. Where the heck did she go?" I muttered aloud to myself, breaking my unconscious narration.

After tracing Em for only two minutes on my "bathroom break," she had already disappeared. It was unsettling. She had never been this subtle or quiet until this point, and I was ready to stage an intervention. If I could just find her first.

Suddenly, I spotted movement behind the single tree, a skinny little thing so fragile it required two thin wooden poles to hold it up. There she was, crouching down as if no one would see her if she really wanted believed she was "one with the tree." But I had no time to question her faulty logic. Carefully, I picked my way across the courtyard, though I really had no need for caution, seeing as I was the only one there to be witness to Em losing it.

Her eyes bore into the trash can with enough intensity I nearly expected the trash can to catch fire. Granted, it wasn't the strangest thing she had ever done, but it was freaky, regardless.

Still, I crept closer, wanting to see what the heck she was doing holding a staring contest match with a trash can at 9:42 AM during school. Even if she were caught- caught doing what exactly? -Em would inevitably evade punishment one way or the other.

I was now close enough to see that she wasn't just staring at the trash can. She was studying it, scrutinizing its every surface, peering at it so closely that she almost stuck her head in. It was at that point I knew I had to say something. For both of our sakes.

"Cough cough."

Em jumped about five feet in the air. I forgot how jumpy she could be, even without accounting for her current nervous state.

"Fancy meeting you here..."

Silence.

Only moments earlier, I had been ready to find out the truth, ready to shake it out of her, and now, I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to know it. How bad could it be, for Em to be so distant? Half of the time these days she was a million miles away and I didn't know if I would be able to bring her down.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. With Em still looking shell-shocked, I took it upon myself to continue our scintillating conversation. "So... What's the deal with the trash can?" I asked casually, raising my eyebrows slightly.

"Oh. Um...yeah...The, uh, trash can just... it uh."

"Uh huh. The trash can just it uh. Classic trash can behavior..." I gave her a look, the 'How stupid do you think I am?' one.

She stared back for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, your face...! You seriously need to work on that," she managed between gasps.

"Ha ha. Glad to know you find me so amusing," I said dryly. But she kept laughing. I swear she almost peed her pants right there.

Even though she was laughing at my expense, it was nice to see any kind of reaction from her. Lately, it seemed Em was devoid of any emotion that wasn't fear.