Fools

Four

Ralph stepped out of the rain and through the threshold of his aunt's house. His nice black shoes squeaked against the hardwood floor while his wet slacks made small puddles of water around them. He shrugged off his black jacket and laid it across the metal heater under the coat rack. Ralph didn't expect to be out this late, but then again he did decide to have hot chocolate with a complete stranger and tell his whole life story to her. He was glad that his aunt hadn't waited up for him so that he would have some time to himself before he got lectured in the morning.

He didn't bother changing out of his school uniform. He just plunked himself down onto his bed, not caring that he was getting the blankets wet. Ralph was tired. Too tired to deal with anyone or anything. He was too tired to worry about homework or his aunt's awaiting lecture or even his journal. He just wanted to sleep, and he didn't care that he was cold and wet.

***

"Ralph Cornelius Monroe, you'd better be awake young man!" His aunt was furiously tapping at Ralph's bedroom door. Ralph had shot out of bed and opened the door without any hesitation.

"Where were you last night? I told you to be home by dinner time and you came home well past twelve!" She shrieked. Never has she had to yell at Ralph like this before. He was usually home all day after school, but ever since he'd started going around to Jack's house, she noticed that her nephew was becoming more careless.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep over there." Ralph lied. "I didn't know I was asleep that long until his dad woke me up to tell me to go home."

His aunt eyed him up and down. "If you hang out with him, I want you home at six o'clock every school night." She said in a warning tone.

"Yes ma'am." Ralph replied quickly. It wouldn't be that difficult to follow this rule now because he wouldn't dare go back to Jack's house. He didn't want to risk getting himself or possibly Jack hurt. "Can I get dressed now?" He requested.

His aunt didn't say anything; she just turned on her heel and went back down the stairs. Ralph sighed and shut his bedroom door. He checked the time on his alarm clock before deciding he had enough time for a shower before the bus came.

***

Ralph was nervous when he got on the bus. He knew that Jack's stop would be coming up after the next one and he didn't know what to expect. He hoped that he was okay, but he had this fear that Gregory might have hurt him. What was he supposed to do if that happened? It wasn't like he could defend him, he wasn't physically strong. The thought of going near Jack's father again terrified him.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the bus pulled up to the curb outside of Jack's house. Ralph stared out the window with wide eyes when the front door didn't open. Where was he? The bus driver waited another minute, but he didn't come out. Ralph's fingers twitched as the bus pulled forward. He wanted to yell for the driver to let him off so he could go check on Jack, but he held his tongue.

Ralph leaned back in his seat, panicking silently. What was he supposed to do? He wouldn't be able to see him after school, that was obvious. Would he be in school tomorrow? He could ask then.

He raked a hand through his wet hair as another sigh left him.

Jack had rushed out the door in a hurry. He was late and it was a twenty minute walk to the high school. He had both his and Ralph's books under his arm as he rushed down the sidewalk. He knew that he shouldn't have went to sleep with only an hour before his alarm. He knew there would be consequences, but he did it anyways and now he was an hour and a half late for school. He was hoping that he would make it on time for his chemistry test. He needed to take that test in order to bring up his grade.

Just as he entered the high school, he crashed into someone. His books were scattered everywhere as he glared harshly at the younger student. Jack bent down to collect his and Ralph's books off of the floor while the other student walked away without helping. It didn't matter too much to Jack because he had all of them picked up quickly. He caught sight of a clock hanging on the wall in a classroom, realizing that it was third period, he headed to his rightful class.

"Mr. Merridew," The teacher said with an annoyed tone. "How kind of you to join us, please have a seat." Jack felt his face go red as he mumbled an apology to his teacher. He quietly took his seat in the middle row and pulled out his notebook. He didn't have Ralph with him in this class because Ralph was taking another one this period.

Jack leaned forward in his seat and pretended to pay attention, when really he was looking at the clock behind the teacher. It ticked silently, but the sound was drowned out by the teachers lesson.

***

Ralph's leg bounced impatiently while he sat in his honors English class. He thought that he'd saw Jack walk by the door, but he wasn't sure. He kept looking at the clock, counting down how many minutes and seconds he had to wait until he saw Jack. At this point he had exactly one minute and thirty three seconds left of his class and he was sure that the teacher wouldn't stop teaching at the bell, something that Ralph despised more than anything. The bell was there for a reason, teachers needed to understand that sometimes students needed to go to their next class for important things like tests or to make sure your best friend didn't get beat up by their parent.

The ring of the bell made Ralph jump slightly. He grabbed his small stack of papers and waited for the other students to start exiting before he did. The hallway was crowded and people seemed to be moving slower than normal, only irritating Ralph further. He just wanted to make it to his locker to get his chemistry supplies and go to his next class.

Once he made it to his locker, he let out a breath of relief when he saw Jack standing there with an arm full of books and a smile on his face. Ralph looked him up and down, trying to see any if he was hurt in any way.

"You left these at my house." Jack said as he handed him his journal, english notebook, and psychology textbook. "Are you feeling alright? You look pale."

"Are you alright? Your father was furious last night." Ralph couldn't help but continue to look Jack over.

"I'm fine." Jack said, still concerned about Ralph. He looked more pale than normal, his nose was slightly pink and he had red rimming the skin of his eyes. He raised his hand and pressed the back of his palm to Ralph's forehead. He felt really warm. "What time did you get in last night?" He asked as they started walking to class.

"Somewhere around twelve." Ralph replied. "I stopped at a coffee shop for a little bit and ended up walking in the rain."

Jack sighed at this. "You can't just do that, Ralph. You've gotten yourself sick-"

"I'm not sick." Ralph said. "I'm fine."

Both of which were lies. Ralph was, in fact, feeling very unwell and he was not fine. He was stressed to the point of complete frustration. He was upset that Jack had gotten to school late, upset that he was so worried about his redheaded friend, and upset that he had a big test next period. He wanted to yell at Jack, but he knew that it would be entirely pointless because Jack didn't know how Ralph felt. It wasn't fair to him.

"Ralph would you please slow down?" Jack said. Even though he was tall, he had a very hard time keeping up with the small boy. Ralph, however, didn't hear Jack's plea and continued on through the sea of children.