Chasing Cars

Chapter Twenty

   "What do you think is taking so long?" Krystine asked, sounding bored as she slumped against the wall and sighed loudly. I shrugged and glanced at the door. "I don't know. He's more polite than both of us combined, so he's probably sucking Since there was nothing better to do, I scrolled through the lyrics of a song I wanted to learn. It was longer than I'd anticipated, but with the amount of time Andrew was spending in the office, I could probably learn it and five others. "Were we in there this long or does the time just seem to fly when you're staring at McDonalds?" I asked Krystine. She groaned and shifted in her spot again. "I don't know, probably! This bench is uncomfortable," she complained.

"Sorry to hear that," I smirked and scrolled through the lyrics again, paying more attention to the words than to Krystine's complaints. I didn't suffer her pain in that bench; I was in my wheelchair, which had always been rather comfortable. And I've done my time in that bench already, anyway. "I hate you," Krystine sighed and layed down across the bench, as if that would be more comfortable. Speaking from experience, I knew it wouldn't be.

"You love me," I said before turning to give her an innocent smile. I'd forgiven her for her behavior towards Andrew and I earlier, thinking it was just a little outburst. Everyone snaps once in a while. We didn't speak of our time in the office. It was like it was completely confidential, because Andrew and I didn't either. I didn't want to know what had been said to them, and I'm sure they thought the same. I was just glad nobody was hurt this time around.

A loud bang from somewhere in the main office startled me, and I dropped my phone on the floor. I watched as cracks spiraled across the screen, but I was more shaken by whatever had happened. Krystine gave me a confused look and sat up, looking around. The secretary didn't move at her desk, and there was nobody else in my line of vision. "What was that?" Krystine asked no one. I was unsure if it even happened, as nothing was going on. Maybe something in the walls had burst.

"I don't know," I whispered, rolling my chair slightly ahead to get a better look around. My friend bent down and grabbed my phone just seconds before I rolled right over it. "Thanks," I chuckled, taking it from her outstretched hand. "I saved your life. I deserve more than a thanks!" She replied, faking bitterness. "My phone isn't my life," I laughed, looking over the damage. It turned on just fine, and other than the crack there were no obvious problems, so I deemed it useable.

"It's indestructible, I tell you," I said, showing Krystine the phone. I'd dropped it so many times before and had the screen replaced when it cracked. Given my lack of coordination, one would think I would be on my tenth phone or something, but I'd had the same phone for years and it worked just fine. "It was made for a person like you," said Krystine. She took the phone from me and ran her thumb over the cracks.

"Nice job this time," she nodded and handed the phone back to me. When I took it, a second loud noise sounded again, this time seeming closer. Krystine and I looked at each other in fear, then Krystine walked up to Charleston's door. "I'm going to see if I can hear inside," she whispered. It was no use, Charleston's room is soundproof, there's no way she'd be able to hear her conversation with Andrew. "Pointless, Krys," I sighed and rolled down the hall to the main section of the office.

There wasn't a single person besides the secretary, and every door was closed. I began to feel suspicious about our situation. "Karev ... can you come here?" Krystine called, her voice shaky. Without a response I headed over to her. She was leaning against Charleston's door still, but she looked nervous. "Do you smell that?" She asked.

I sniffed the air, which seemed no different than normal. That is, until I caught a whiff of burning food, accompanied by the faint sound of chains rattling. "Oh my go-" I began, but was cut off by the screeching of a fire alarm. "Fire!" Krystine shouted. The smell was slowly growing stronger. There was no obvious sign of where it was coming from, and it took everything for me to deny that it was coming from the principal's office.