The Outcast

Chapter 17: The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 17: The Calm before the Storm

Nirvana Evans

“They’re everywhere. Silent and invisible to the naked eye, they’re on everything we touch, eat, breathe…”

That’s how the book I was reading described germs. They were like deadly ninjas. You never knew when one could attack you or where it had been last. The only thing you could do was try to protect yourself with lots of antibacterial soap and hand sanitizer. But even then you were never completely safe.

So far, my second day in school had been quite normal (besides a few rude comments from people who had probably seen my locker yesterday). But I was still on my guard as I walked through the halls of school. No one had done anything drastic yet but the threat I’d gotten on my phone yesterday had been constantly on my mind. Just because whoever had sent the text hadn’t made their next move yet didn’t mean I was in the clear yet.

There was no doubt in my mind that it was Tara though. She and her minions were constantly around, like germs. Every time I turned a corner one of them was around watching me. Everywhere I went they were there. I didn’t know if it was a coincidence but I was starting to feel stalked. They hadn’t done anything yet but I wasn’t letting my guard down.  

River had told the principal about my locker and luckily they had gotten the janitor to paint over the nasty words. Too bad no paint brush could erase it from my memory. It wasn’t a secret that people thought I was weird but did they really think I was a bitch? Or a slut and a loner? It was true that I didn’t have many friends but I was never rude to anyone. I simply avoided people because they avoided me. River had told me not to let it get to me because Tara was probably responsible for my locker but how could I forget about it when there was always someone constantly reminding me with rude comments. I was used to being labeled as the germfreak but now everyone had started referring to me as the backstabbing slut. I couldn’t help but wonder if Tara had started a rumor about me or if this had to do with Hazel? 

River and I had chosen to sit outside during lunch to avoid stares and whispers since I’d been getting a lot of those today. And like the nice guy he was he’d offered to buy my lunch again but this time I made him take the money.

I hadn’t seen Will at all today which was weird. I didn’t want to become paranoid but I had a strange feeling that he was avoiding me which made absolutely no sense to me. Yesterday he’d picked me up at my house and today he was MIA. But all thoughts of Will were forgotten when I spotted River heading over to our table with the trays of food. He was wearing a tight white v-neck shirt that subtly showed off defined abs that hid underneath with a green flannel long sleeve over it. I couldn’t help but notice how well the green from the shirt brought out the slight hint of green that swarmed through his grey eyes.  

“Here you go; one apple, pb & j and a water” River announced as he handed me the food. My stomach growled in anticipation at the sight of the bright red apple. The juice of it slid down my chin as I took a big bit of the delicious fruit. River’s grey eyes watched me with such intensity that I almost dropped my apple.

“What?” I asked feeling a bit self conscious. He shook his head at me and looked away. I shrugged at his weird behavior and continued enjoying my apple. I was going for a third bite when the sound of a click went off. I glanced over at River to find that he had his camera out and had the lens directed right at me.