Conspiracy Theorist

Chapter One

Scarlett clutched the random throbbing in her head just as a sharp pain sliced through her abdomen. She clutched at the desk in front of her, trying desperately not to fall on to the hard linoleum floor. The terrible, merciless pain coursed through Scarlett's body and black spots clouded her vision.

Just one more hour, she thought. And she could go home and lay down. Lying down seemed like a very pleasant thing right now. Scarlett dug her dark blue fingernails into her hair trying to massage the ache out of her brain.

She was so busy trying to submerge the pain ripping through her body that she didn't even feel her phone vibrate in her pocket...

***

Jocelyn managed to type something along the lined of "Help, the pain" into her phone and send it to her best friend Scarlett. The pain jarring her insides was too much to bear.

Just one hour, she thought. Then she could get out of this Hell hole. Her teacher was babbling on and on about Neils Bohr and it was just making Jocelyn's headache intensify.

No response from Scar. Great, just great. Jocelyn thought as the pain tearing her apart steadily gravitated. It was a struggle all in its own to keep from crying, she wasn't a cryer and she wasn't about to start, especially not in front of all of her classmates.

***

Scarlett barley managed to trek all the way to her bus before she collapsed. Sitting down brought her the wonderful refuge she so badly needed.

Scarlett believed the pain that found a home in her body couldn't possibly get worse- until she stood up. She simultaneously groped at her head and her stomach, her vision still getting cloudier, threatening to take away her vision all together.

She was so absorbed in herself that she didn't notice Jocelyn plop down next to her. Scarlett just barely registered in the back of her mind that Jocelyn had spoken.

"What did you say?" She managed to choke out.

"I-I Don't-Don't feel-eel g-good." Jocelyn stammered out.

Scar noticed Jocelyn clutching at her head and stomach. "What pain are you feeling, Joz?" Scarlett asked quietly.

"My head..." She paused because of the pressure mounting in her skull. "...it hurts and my stomach too."

A wave of worry washed through Scarlett. "Where-re?"

Jocelyn pointed and slumped back onto the seat and closed her eyes making Scar anxious. Joz was so pale and frail looking; whatever was racing through the two of them was bad, really bad.

"Joz, Honey, I feel the same way you do." The pain in the right side of their skulls, the pain seizing their upper abdomens. They must have contracted something from each other.

Jocelyn opened one eyes a slit, it was as if it would be to excruciating to open both. It was enough to see that her blue eyes had turned gray, something that only happens when something is seriously wrong.

Scarlett's mouth was dry; she ran a shaky hand through her short blonde hair. It's just the flu... or something, she thought. That's it, nothing to be worried about. In a few days everything would be fine, that's what Scar told herself. But something in her mind was telling her that that was not the case...

***

Scarlett groaned as her mother made an awful racket down stairs. Fumbling around drunk, no doubt. It was pretty pathetic, who got drunk at noon?

Scarlett was holding a bag of frozen peas to her forehead and sweat was pouring down her cheeks, or was it tears? She couldn’t tell anymore, they seemed to blend together and she didn’t care anymore.