translucent [markson]

[Thirteen] Absent

As Mark made his way to second period, he wasn't sure what he was going to do when he faced Jackson. Part of him wanted to just scream at Jackson, but, at the same time, he didn't have the heart to. He understood that Jackson was busy, so he couldn't fully blame Jackson for not showing up. The fact that Yugyeom didn't show up to BamBam's dance practice also worried him, since that meant something bigger might have happened. If Yugyeom and Jackson were both gone, it wasn't that hard for Mark to imagine that something bad happened to one of them.

Mark took his seat, anxiously eyeing the door. He watched each student come into the classroom trying to spot Jackson, but the start of class came and there was no sign of him. His worries were confirmed, leaving Mark feeling guilty for getting so worked up. Despite having strong opinions of Jackson, he hoped Jackson was okay.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Mark heard anything about Jackson. BamBam, who had dance class right before lunch, had the opportunity to figure out what was going on. With Yugyeom in his dance class, he was able to ask the most direct source, other than Jackson himself.

"Have you seen Jackson?" Mark asked the moment BamBam sat down.

"Jackson? What do you need Jackson for?" Jinyoung questioned. After JB and BamBam had introduced Jinyoung to Mark, they became quick friends. Everyday, Mark sat with BamBam and Jinyoung at lunch, easily allowing the three to become close.

"I was supposed to do a project with him," Mark briefly explained.

"No. Jackson is sick," BamBam answered, sighing and looking at his food.

"What's wrong?" Jinyoung grabbed BamBam's head and moved it around, as if to check if anything was wrong.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I just..." BamBam pushed Jinyoung's hand off and scooted away.

"Yes?" Jinyoung gestured for BamBam to continue.

"Yugyeom," BamBam mumbled, poking his food.

"Yugyeom what?" Mark leaned in closer, his interest rising. First, Jackson was sick. Then something was up with Yugyeom too?

"We sort of got into an argument." BamBam didn't mention that they were fighting about Jackson or that Yugyeom had slapped him across the face.

"Your show is on Monday. Is everything alright between you two?" Jinyoung's concern was almost overwhelming to BamBam.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Our performance should be fine, as long as Jackson gets better quick."

"What's wrong with Jackson? Does he have a cold or something worse?" Mark blurted out. He didn't know why he cared so much.

"No. He just overworked himself." At the sound of BamBam's tone, Mark and Jinyoung knew to change the topic.

"So... How about that weather?"

~

After a period full of Jinyoung's shitty jokes and another period of monotonous lecture, Mark was on his way to English. He could feel his heart race as the reality of his grades got closer and closer. It was almost like he could feel the weight of the incomplete assignment in his gut, and he just wanted to get rid of it. He knew it wouldn't be that bad -- one assignment wasn't going to dictate his academic reputation -- but it was still the first time he hadn't completed such a big project and he was scared.

The moment his teacher was in his line of sight, Mark speed walked his way over. Sure, he had accepted that he would get a failing grade on the project, but he wouldn't accept the grade without an explanation. Something in him just wouldn't allow it. If anything, he wanted to make sure the teacher didn't think too badly of him, even if that meant slightly blaming Jackson.