Reaper

A Look of Near-Horror

"He just randomly gave you a tiny skull?" Jason asked skeptically.

"Yes, and then he just disappeared." I said.

"This kid is super weird." Ben said with a confused look on his face.

"You're telling me." I glanced down at the ceramic skull that I pulled out of my pocket to show them a few minutes ago.

"Well, the Blackmane family does have a history of strange family members." Ben said.

"Blackmane?"

"You've never heard of them?" Jason asked as if it were something every person in the world knew about.

I shook my head.

"Their entire family consists of freaks and psychos. They're rumoured to be the most feared family in history." Ben said as if it were obvious. "The women born into the Blackmane bloodline are supposed to be unnerving and either one step down or one step up from creepy and disturbing, but never violent. The men, on the other hand, are basically born psychopaths or sociopaths."

"Rumor has it that the Blackmane men have killed so many people in their history, they've been nicknamed Reapers." Jason said. "And your new friend that sits in the back of the class? He's a Blackmane."

I wasn't buying it. "Do you guys seriously expect me to believe that? It sounds like you just made it up on the spot."

"We're not joking, Raven. But if you want to die, feel free to hang out with the next Reaper all you want."

Both of them started walking away.

I was just about to say something else when I felt a now familiar chill run down my spine.

"Geez," Jason said as he pulled his jacket around him tighter as he walked. "Does Mr. Jackson always have the AC set this cold?"

I saw Jasik out of the corner of my eye and stepped into his path to stop him as soon as he stepped through the door.

He almost ran into me, and had to take a step back so that it wouldn't look like something it wasn't to my peers. The air around him at this proximity was nearly as cold as the grave. He was almost a foot taller than me, and I hated that in this situation.

I held the skull up. "Why did you give this to me?" I half-expected to see my breath when I spoke.

"I don't appreciate being confronted over a very small thing the second I step through the door." he said, not even the slightest bit mad or irritated.

"And I don't appreciate you disappearing without an explanation, or even a simple 'goodbye'." I crossed my arms across my chest. "So, what exactly is this thing?"

"It's a ceramic skull. I was sure that part was quite obvious."

"Why were you just carrying it around with you?"

"I carry a few with me at all times." He adjusted the strap on his messenger bag.

"Why?"

"It's a family thing."

"Why is it a family thing?"

"You have to ask my parents about that."

"Why can't you just tell me?" I shifted legs to stand on, as I was starting to get tired of standing in one place. I can't stand still for long periods of time.

"It's not my place to give personal information about my family."

"Why did you give the skull to me?"