The Manipulation Room

Chapter 9 - Free Period

Manipulation Room victim no. 24364
Name: Fallon McQueen
Age: 87 years old 
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Family Member: 56-year-old son, Addison
Description: Choked by hands over the neck area before receiving three stab wounds in the chest 

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"You and Ezra?! I knew it!" I looked down the corridor to see if anyone was listening to our conversation but they were all so wound up in their own lives that they weren't even paying attention to us at all. I turned back to Kierra and hushed her. "I already told you, we're just friends. It's a friendly thing." I explained, loading my folders into my locker for the third time that day. I had them rearranged by order of my timetable but sometimes it could be a bigger struggle than it was worth. I don't know why I still bother. She smirked at me, putting her hands on her hips, "A date more like!" 
"I hang out with you all the time, doesn't mean we're dating." 
She gave me an unamused look though I could see a large grin reaching the surface of her face. "Okay, okay, but this is still the next step of your relationship." She put her hands up. "Just saying."  

I looked up at her, just as one of my folders fell from my locker and landed pages-down, on the ground. As I knelt down on the floor to pick up the folder I replied, "What relationship?" 
"A friendly relationship." She answered, putting a certain emphasis on the word 'friendly' that made me snigger. I rolled my eyes, picking my folder up from the floor and pushing the pages back around the ring binder. She watched intently as I sorted out the fallen folder, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. "You waiting for something?" I asked, staring annoyedly at her foot tapping against the floor. She stopped tapping her foot and nodded rapidly, "Jaxon. He was supposed to be here -" She looked at her watch. "-two minutes ago."

I let out a muffled laugh, turning my amused face away from her and towards my locker, as I pushed the folder into it's rightful place. "What?" She asked, folding her arms. "You're not the only one going on a date with a guy, you know." 
I flashed her an annoyed look and she smirked at me. "Look, all I'm saying is it would do you some good to get out there. Find someone you really like." She explained as I slammed my locker door shut and closed the padlock. It was such a cliched thing to say. 'It would do you some good to get out there.' I didn't need 'some good', I didn't need anyone but myself either. I followed her down the corridor, mildly considering her idea, before forgetting about it all together. 

"What, so they can just get ripped away from me a few days later?" I responded, clutching my books to my chest as we walked down the corridor together. She flashed me a sympathetic glance before shrugging, "You need to stop thinking of relationships as temporary things. It's not the time that matters, it's who you spend the time with." 
I stared at her, shocked at the wisdom she'd just possessed. "Woah, is Kierra still in there somewhere? Are you holding her hostage?" 
She chuckled; a low, amused laugh. "All I'm saying, is you can't spend your whole life alone because you're afraid of losing people. That's what life's about...losing people." 

I considered all that she had said and it made perfect sense. It's not the time that matters, it's who you spend the time with... It all made sense to me now. I followed her to the end of the corridor before stopping at her own locker. She pulled a sandwich from the lower shelf of her locker before slamming it shut again. I raised an eyebrow at her, "Where's your folder? For your next lesson?" 
She winked at me, "Free period." 
"You have a free period too? Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have asked Ezra if I knew-" 
"-exactly! That's why I didn't tell you. I want you to spend today with Ezra, see how it goes." She winked. "Besides, Jaxon has something planned." 

I snickered, "What, are you Cupid now?" 
She winked at me, pretending to shoot an arrow from a bow as we walked out of the school's front entrance and down a winding path towards the field. "I just want you to get to know him. Is that too much to ask?" 
I groaned, "Yes." 
She nudged me playfully, "Come on! You know you want to get to know him...don't deny it." 
I didn't deny it, mainly because I couldn't. I did want to get to know him, I really did.