Hollow

Chapter 13

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I left the classroom of my second period class with the rest of the students. They rushed past me and I took a step away from the crowd to avoid being shoved.

I waited for them to leave before I made my way back to my locker.

Before class, Molly had shown me which locker was mine, so I knew where it was. I put my trigonometry text book inside and shut the door.

Molly had gone to class, leaving me alone without a map or my schedule. Luckily, I had a good enough memory to know that I had Spanish for third period. Even luckier for me, the classroom was room 302, which was just a few classes down from my second period.

Spanish class began and, to my disappointment, I didn't recognize one face.

I had been hoping to see my cousin a little bit more, but she was one year younger than I was. She had different classes. Eric, Angela's friend, was in my grade, but I hadn't seen him yet either.

Before I knew it, I was following the sea of students to the cafeteria. Everyone swarmed around me, pushing there way past. There were students in every direction; brushing against me, filling the hallway with their suffocating body heat.

I tried to keep track of everyone coming too close, but there were too many. I could feel my chest tightening with every person that crossed my line of vision. I felt someone bump into my back and I jumped.

I spun around, but they rushed past me, posing no threat. I let out a deep breath and tried to calm the erratic beating of my heart.

I caught a glimpse of a bathroom door and rushed towards it. Inside it was quiet and empty and I let out a breath of relief. I supported myself on the edge of the sink and leveled out my breathing.

The hallway seemed twice as full as it had been earlier today.

I looked up at myself in the mirror. Aside from the red coloring that filled my cheeks, my skin was pale. My eyes were wide and I had loose strands of hair that had escaped from my ponytail.

After taking a few more deep breaths, I fixed my hair and splashed some water on my face. When I was more composed, I prepared myself to go out into the hallway again.

Thankfully, most of the other students had dispersed and the hallway was near empty when I reentered.

I followed the few people that were left through two large double doors with a plaque reading "Cafeteria" next to them.

I held the lunch that Miranda had made for me in my hands as I gazed around the large room. There were students everywhere, occupying every table.

They were all seated with their own lunches in front of them, partaking in various conversations. Their loud voices echoed off of the wall and filled the space.

Angela was luckily very easy to find in the cafeteria. Her blonde hair curled down around her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked around.

She was surrounded by other people; her friends. She had a lot of them. I could tell that she was quite important based on the way that they were all vying for her attention. One of the other girls at the table was tapping her shoulder, but Angela brushed her off distractedly.

When her eyes met mine, they brightened and she immediately stood up and skipped over to me.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you."

I hadn't realized how tense I was until my shoulders finally relaxed. Finally, I could be with someone that I knew; someone that I was comfortable with.