Hiding in the shadows

Chapter 13

I clamber onto the bus, finding a vacant seat I sit down and rest my head against the window.

"Tired huh?" A voice came from next to me.

The bus had pulled up at school.

"Shit, did I fall asleep?" I ask, rubbing my head, looking at the person next to me.

"Sure did Love. Might need to get to bed earlier." It was the bus driver. How embarrassing.

"Sorry." I said, blushing. I grabbed my bag and got off the bus. Walking towards the library groggily I realised that I had to put my bag away first. All the way down the other end of the school. I let out a small groan and turn around, nearly running into someone.

"Watch were you're going!" They growled angrily.

"Sorry." I apologised lamely.

I stumble across the school yard to the shed where the arts lockers are. The lights are off but I can still see. I reach for my locker and put in my code. 31-17-3. It doesn't work, so I try again before coming to the same result. I look at the number locker. 350. I chuckle to myself then go to the next locker, 351. I open my locker and put my books and bag away but when I go to close my locker a piercing pain drives its way through my head. My hand instantly flies towards my temple and I crouch in pain. I quickly look in the corner of the locker shed and see a pair of bright green glowing eyes. I scramble for my bag, grasping for my torch. I hear voices walking towards the locker shed. This isn't good, I think to myself, really not good. Frantically I pull my bag out of my locker and tip it up so all of its content is spread across the floor. The Shagara snarls and makes a low growling sound, all the while the voices are getting closer and closer to the locker shed. I see my torch roll out of the small pile. It was headed for under the lockers. Panicking I dive to it but it had disappeared under the lockers. I throw my arm under the lockers, feeling around for the torch. The Shagara takes a step towards me.

"Hey, what's this torch doing here?" A voice comes from the other side of the lockers.

"Throw it over." I say hastily.

"What?"

"THROW IT OVER!" I scream.

A torch flies over the lockers, ricocheting off the shed wall I stretch my hand out and grab it, only just catching it with my fingers. I click it on and shine it on the Shagara who was reaching is hand out to scratch my neck. It shrieks and fizzles up, dissipating. I collapse against the lockers, hitting my head on the way down. Cool sweat trickles down my forehead onto my lips.

"Are you okay?" A male voice says from behind me. It was the same voice behind the person who threw me the torch.

"Oh my God!" A collective amount of voices gasp. They were the people who's voices I could hear getting closer to the shed. I slowly shift myself around to face them all.

"Go find a teacher." The boy says. All the people in the group stood still, shocked. "GO!" He shouts urgently. One of the members peel themselves away and run to get a teacher.

"I..I'm fine." I say, pushing myself up against the lockers to stand.

"You're bleeding, and you're also laying among a pile of school papers and books."

I look around, remembering having to tip my bag out. I put my hand to my forehead then take it away. It wasn't sweat, it was blood.

"Honestly, I'm okay, I just need to grab my things and head to the bathroom to get myself cleaned up."

Just then a teacher came in.

"Oh dear." I didn't recognise the teacher, but they help me up and instruct the boy to put everything back in my bag and bring it to the nurses office with me.

"What happened?" The school nurse asks me.

"I was putting things in my locker one minute, then the next I had a sharp pain in my head and I must have fallen, hitting my head on the lockers, bring my bag with me on my way down." I say, covering up the truth so smoothly it was as if I wasn't even lying.

"Alright, well, the cut on your head is only small, I cleaned it up and it should heal fast, as for the pain in your head, have some aspirin and get some rest. You can take the day off school if you need."

"Oh, I should be fine thanks. I can still attend class." I say, getting up and heading towards the lockers again to grab my books for my first class, art.

"Just be careful," the nurse says, "and here, give this to your teacher." She finishes signing a piece of paper and hands it to me.

Walking into class, I put my books and art case next to Gus. Jenks was sitting at the front of the class, working on something of her own. I walk up to her and hand her a note from the nurse explaining why I was late. She nods and I go to take my seat. In class we were just experimenting with different tools and methods, easy enough. An hour and a half pass and the lesson is over. I look down at my paper to see that I had drawn a girl with fire protruding from her hands. I close my book as the bell goes and make my way to the front of the room to leave for recess. Suddenly a hand grabs my arm, startling me. I spin the heels of my feet, causing a dizziness to wash over me and making me stumble. The other hand grabs me, helping to steady me.

"Meet me at your tree after school today." Elijah said before walking out.