Holding On

Chapter Twenty-Six

          As soon as my eyes flickered open, everything came rushing back — the words that slipped from Sam's mouth to me running out of the cafeteria with tears rushing down my cheeks. A huge headache aroused. The light shinned brightly, making my headache more severe than previously. The surface beneath me was firm, yet comfortable. I promptly sat up straight, identifying my surroundings. The room was not fancy, but not dull like a hospital room. The walls were coated with fresh white paint. The atmosphere was clear, nothing too skeptic. There were only a few pieces of furniture: a desk, a filing cabinet, and the bed with the thin mattress (which I was on). It was more than crystal clear that I was in the nurses office.

          After leaving the nurses office, I went to my locker to grab my belongings and go home. Outside the nurses office, the atmosphere thickened rapidly. The halls were almost empty; there were a few adolescents here and there, each minding their own business. Some were talking, but when I passed by, they ended their conversations and walked away. This made me feel like a walking disease.

When I made it to my locker, there was a paper taped onto it. It had a picture of me— my hair was up in a messy bun, I was laughing and happy in the picture, my eyes were not quite focused towards whom ever took the picture, but to the person beside me, Joey. Joey wasn't in the picture, but I remember when that was. It was just before he got run over. My heart shattered for a second time at the memory of Joey. Under the photo, there was a phrase, all bolded. It read, "BEWARE OF CRY BABY! EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS AND LIFE THREATENING!" I swerved my head around, only to see several other pages (identical to the one on my locker) taped up on lockers, walls, and bulletin boards. I felt tears swelling at the brink of my eyes. Not wanting to cry in public (although no one was around), I let my eyelids shutter rapidly, which eventually made the tears disappear.

Now, everyone in the halls was gone. The lights turned off. No. No. No. This can't be happening. The school is being locked up. I took deep breathes. Then I saw three figures walking down the hallway in my direction. Before they spotted me, I hid in a locker bay with my back pressed up against the lockers. The moment I did that, I began to regret it. The lock of the locker I was leaning on was pressing into my back. Let me tell you, that is not a very pleasant feeling. A little spark of light beamed down the silent hall. The trespassers were using flashlights. When the light left the area near me and began going in the separate direction, I poked my head out, just a little bit, to see what was going on.

Two of the three figures looked bulky. The other was thin and petite, that must've been a female. The two male figures were wearing ski masks. The female, however, was not, but her back was to me, so I had no way to identify who she was. And I was not planning to stick around to do so.

They were communicating in hushed voices, but I could make out a little of what the female was saying. "We need to do this now, before the school janitor comes and catches us. But if the janitor did, by any chance, you two pretend to be harassing me. Understood?" Both grumbled under their breath, then one spoke up, "how come we always take the blame?"

Huh? How odd? His voice seemed too deep to be a teenager. Of course, this female like figure would never allow for two teenage guys to help her. The risk would've been too high.

She scoffed, "you listen and you listen clear. You agreed to do this and now you will follow through. Understood?" Her voice was low and tenderly soft, yet so menacing. The male figure didn't answer and the guy and himself proceeded to complete their task. I took this opportunity to make a run for the closest corner to me before they spotted me. I, being my clumsy self, bumped into the garbage can. It toppled over and bounced a few times making a clashing sound echo through the deathly silent building. Two sets of heavy feet were moving in my direction. I ran without looking back and slammed the front doors of the school open. When I was no longer in the school, I continued running until I have made it to the bus stop. There were a few others, so I was hidden, for now. I took deep breathes to stabilize my heavy breathing.

Who could she have been? I know that voice, I've heard it before. I'm quite positive I have. Did she even go to my school?