Chasing Companions

Chapter 5

I wake up to jack shaking me like a madman. He has a wide grin cracking his face into two halfs. He stops when he sees that my eyes are open.

"Guess what?" he sits up straight. I do the same.

"What?" my voice is hoarse.

"I got you a date!"

"What!" I can't tell if I am upset or excited. "With who?" I ask as I eye suspiciously.

"I can't tell you. Well, you don't know her. She is coming tonight." He laughs and wipes a tar from his eye. I personally don't find this very musing.

"So you set me up on a blind date?"

"Exactly!" he points finger at me and winks.

I sigh, pull off my covers, and climb out of bed. Jack follows me out the room and into the kitchen.

Zack isn't there today, but, I can smell something tasty. I wander towards the fridge and open it. Inside are two plates enclosed by tin foil. Underneath the thin sheet of metal is a Cinnamon Roll. Even though they have been in the cold for a while, they are still a little warm.

I take one out and eat it. Although it is not as good as some of his other meals, this one is still pretty good. The icing melts in my mouth and the cinnamon blends in perfectly with the actual roll.

"You should really try Zack's baking" I tell Jack. He has been sitting on the couch the whole time i have been eating.

"I already told you. I personally don't want to look anything like Zack." he stands up and pretends to rub an imaginary pot belly.

"Why have you been such a jerk to him?" I ask. Jack gives me a sheepish look.

"He is just the odd man out in our apartment. He is the fat one here."

"Try mildly plump." I shoot him a disgusted look. "It sounds a lot better."

"Fine, 'mildly plump', still, he could lose some weight. Maybe put on a little muscle?" He flexes his arms above his head and kisses his biceps. I shake my head.

"Still, you could be a little nicer than you are right now." As I say this, Jack glares at me.

"I'm sorry for being honest." His frown becomes a vile smile. "But, you will have it your way or just this once." this confuses me.

Jack walks over to the fridge and retrieves a Cinnamon Roll from inside. Then He stuffs half of it into his mouth, barely chews it, and the swallows the it. This makes me gag and that makes Jack laugh. Between breaths, he finished the last of his roll and heads to his room.

Since it is eight forty three, I decide to do the same. I slink into my room and into my shower.

As water from the faucet runs down my back, I try to think of who jack has set me up with. He said that I don't know her, so that opens a whole new world of possibilities. Questions begin to fill my mind.

What if she is rude? What if she tries to use me buy her stuff? What if she is taller than me. No, don't think like that! These though race through mind like Thoroughbred horses on a track.

I yelp as the water falling onto becomes increasingly hot. Soap falls out of the ceiling, lands on my forehead, and rolls into my eyes. It burns. More soap falls onto the ground and I step into it and slip. My back practically screams as I slam into the tiled wall. The tiles spread and warm air swirls around me like a hurricane. With one quick jump, I am out of the shower.

My eyes still burn and my hair is loaded with wet conditioner. In the mirror, I look like painting made by a five year old.

I decide to wash out all the soap with the one thing in that room that I really know how to use; the sink. I wash out my hair the best I can and try to rub some of the soap out of my eyes. When I look into the mirror again, i look less like an abstract painting and more like a wild animal with savage, pink eyes.

I find towel under the sink by yesterdays can of hairspray. Being dried off with a towel seems to be more humane than being dried off my a tornadoe. Before I leave to get dressed, I brush my teeth and do my hair.

In my closet, gym shorts and a T Shirt are really calling my name. At this point, I don't care how I look, so I pull on the shorts and shirt. I slip on some old beach sandals and leave for class.

The elevator seems to understand me this morning and I feel like it is going slower than usual. Because my eyes still burn, the brightly lit hallway to my class is excruciating to walk through. When I walk into the classroom, I find Zack and Calla talking in the crowd. When Calla finds me with her cat eyes, she jumps back.

"What happened to you?" she looks at my puffy, pink eyes.

"Let's just say that these shower and I are enemies." This makes Zack laugh.

"Does it hurt?" Calla rubs under my eye with her thumb. "Sorry." She pulls away as I wince. As if sensing my pain, the black monster behind the glass wall screams, reminding us all that she is still here.

"We came up with a name for her." Zack points the demonic shape in front of us. "We named her the Dark nightmare."

"It suits her well." My eyes begin to water up and the Dark Nightmare's shape starts to blur. I wipe my eyes.

Suddenly, Mr. Kent walks into the room. "Everyone sit down!" We all do as we are told. Zack and Calla sit on either side of me. "Today, we are going to go over the rules of this school." He yells at the top of his lungs. "The rules are simple. Don't do anything stupid. Most rules have simple punishments if you break them. For example, if you steal, you have to give back what you took and more. If get into fights, you and your opponent will be living in a twelve foot by twelve foot room together for two weeks." This causes a waves of snickers to ripple across the loaded bleachers. "But other punishments are not that way! If you were to rape someone, you would be sent to prison for twenty five years. If you were to murder someone, you would be euthanized like a dog." he cracks his knuckles. "Hopefully, none of you do this because I am the one that punishes you." he begins handing out small packets. "These are all the rules of the school.I am just giving you these because I am too lazy to tell you all of them myself."

"I would probably do the same thing." Calla whispers as a pamphlet is handed to us.

"Now, get out of my sight. Mr. Kent glare at us.

Students begin to scramble out of their seats and out the door. I walk out trying to look as calm as possible.

When I get to my apartment, I walk to my room. Zack heads straight for the kitchen.

Once in my room, I plunk down onto my bed, the silk covers absorbing my. A sharp pain burns my back like fire and I wince. With great effort, I waddle to the bathroom and turn my back to the mirror.

I lift up my shirt and find a rainbow of different shades of purple, green, and blue that covers the right side of my back and a little of my hip. The sight makes me nauseous.

Once again I fall onto my bed, this time face first and drift off into a light nap.

It seems like it has been seconds when Jack shakes me into consciousness.