Cracked Perfection

8) Numb

I dragged myself through the morning. The late night and intense dream had totally whipped me of energy. My thoughts and emotions were dull and I barely noticed that both Kaci and Tesa were absent today. I had been way too out of it to pack a lunch this morning, so I was waiting for the hot lunch line to progress. I shuffled forward slowly with the line. I tried to bury myself in my sweat shirt. I felt numb everywhere and I had quit trying to put the pieces together. It just left me with a massive head ache. Kaci could be dead for all I cared.

But that wasn't true. I did care. All the emotions I thought were dead came back to life all at once. I twitched an eyebrow as pain wracked through my body. No way was I going to lose it in front of half the school, so I held firm. I told myself to calm down and count to ten. When I regained my mental stability, I was at the front of line. I grabbed the crappy food and continued on my way. Numbness filled me once again as I sat down in my usual spot.

"Where the hell is Tesa?" I growled at Glo and Avery. They looked at me in shock. I was not one to curse frequently.

"I haven't heard from her" Avery said trying to shrug it off, but the concern was written all over her face. "She's not one to forget to tell us stuff. Considering she's got that phone of hers next at her side 24/7"

"Maybe she lost or broke it and is going through a mental breakdown, and isn't at school because of it." Glo tried to stay optimistic.

I laughed hollowly. "You think that would stop her? She can easily text me from her iPad since they're both Apple. Or her MacBook for that matter." I scowled. What was going on?

"What do you think's happened to Kaci though? She's been gone for three days with no contact." Avery knit her eyebrows tightly. Maybe I wasn't the only one who was being effected horribly.

"Well there could have been a huge emergency that her whole family had to go out of state on a moments notice. They might not of even thought to contact us. Maybe there's no way they can." Glo tried to reason. I looked at her. "Same for Tesa. She did say grandma was in the hospital a while back. It's just a freaky coincidence they fell two days apart."

" You think there were two emergencies that they both had to take care in a two day window?" I asked her seriously.

"Do you have a better explanation?" She returned. I shrugged.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm freaking out for no reason. Maybe I'm totally blowing this out of proportion. Maybe I just need to relax." I sighed. Easier said then done.

"Yeah. We all do." Glo said reassuringly. "Whatever has happened, I'm sure things will get back to normal before long" I smiled at her. She was a great friend to keep around. Always looked on the bright side of things.

"Thanks, Glo. I'm sure you're right, too." The great thing was I actually did relax. I believed her. But it was all just the beginning of a new chapter.