Real irony: the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Chapter 23
Things between Harper and I weren't that bad, but they weren't as good as they were before.
Tonight he was working on a project at school (since it required the use of the artroom printer which could print A1 sized papers) and I had offered to keep him company.
The great thing about Easton High was, that the school remained accessible to students use up to 9:00p.m., after which everyone was required to go to their homes.
The initiative had been started to aid students who came from problematic homes and needed a place to study and do their homework. Of course there were libraries, but the school did it anyway.
"Let me go to the bathroom," I said sliding off my stool.
"It's not cool taking a crap at school," Harp shouted as I reached the door.
"Ha-ha, real funny!" I said sticking my tongue out at him.
Ok, so maybe I was heading to the loo for a second time; but it wasn't me, it was the Mountain Dew! I'd been having a serious craving for the stuff for a minute.
I had to go towards the school entrance since those were the closest loos as opposed to those of the cafeteria.
The hall lights buzzed in a long humdrum as I made my way down the isolated hall.
It was around 8:40, and most of the kids had already cleared before Mr. Miserly -who was on night duty today- could shoo them out.
I took a nice long wee imagining how relieved my bladder must really be feeling if I felt this great!
I had just left the bathroom when I heard the echo of a closing door and shuffling of feet behind me.
Turning, I saw a guy clad in a puffy jacket coming down the hall. For all I knew, he might've been a student here, so I opted to continue on my way. But when I turned, he called out.
I wasn't 'hey!' But I stopped any way.
"What do you want?" I asked when he got closer.
He had black curly hair, light blue eyes, thick eyebrows, a nose that had seen its own fair share of blows, a strong jaw. Although he was a bit shabby and rough, he wasn't exactly bad looking.
"Is there anyone else here?" He asked dipping his hands into the pockets of his pants.
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"Well, I don't know because that's not exactly my job. I have to go," I said turning away from him.
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in apprehension.
When I looked back, he was still standing put.
F*ck! Psycho!
I started to run away and soon he was on my tail.
He was very fast as the pounding of his boots against the floor sounded closer and closer still, and then he rammed into me.
We fell to the floor my body suffering the full impact of the fall beneath him.
After a bewildering moment of confusion and deja vu, I started to try and crawl out from beneath his heavy body.
He seemed to be using his weight to pin me down, and I could feel his arm pressing across my back as well.
The only logical option left was to scream for help.
I let out a classic blood cuddling scream, but before I could let it all out, he shoved me face down into the floor.
My mouth felt as if it was on fire, and I could see smudged blood on the light grey tiled floor as well as taste it on my tongue.
Slowly but forcefully, I started to turn beneath him until I was facing him.
"Let me go!" I shouted pounding him with my fists before he imprisoned my hands using one of his.
"Sh," he whispered as if someone was nearby.
His pupils were completely dilated and he looked like a complete nut job, except that, this nut job seemed to know exactly what he was doing!
He was undoing his pants!
No! No! No! No one was ever going to do this to me again! Not even Frank!
I pushed my elbows out hard and his firm grip on my wrists broke. Without giving him a chance to react, I struck him hard on the face. He swung at me and I moved my head making his fist connect with the floor.
Scrambling beneath his slightly perplexed form, I pushed him back with my feet causing him to fall backwards.
"I'm still going to kill you!" He sang out like a childrens' nursery rhyme over and over.
"Stay away from me," I warned him, but he didn't seem to take caution. Instead, he removed a string or wire of some sort from his pocket and started coming towards me.
I simply stared at the cord intended for my strangulation as he came closer.
He didn't know it yet, but he was about to meet his doom. He might be stronger and faster, even a murderer, but this round the bout was mine.
As he charged towards me with his cord primed in placed for him to wind round my neck, I waited for him to get right next to me and struck.
My left arm went to his back, and just as the cord touched my neck; my knife (which I had skillfully extracted from my boot) sank into the flesh behind his thigh, and as he began to collapse in shock and pain, I stabbed him in the lower back again and again.
He looked at me in horror and I just smiled back at him.
He would've killed me smiling and I wanted to return the favour.
By the time we were both on our knees on the ground; me alive, him half dead, Mr. Miserly finally came around shouting about one thing and another and the police.
Letting go of the man, I watched as he fell to his side in slow motion with the cord still held in his hands.
I had an overwhelming sense of achievement thinking that he wasn't going to hurt anyone soon, and that he'd probably deserved what he got.
Looking down at my bloodied knife, I wiped the blood smears on my pants and returned the knife to its rightful place.
