Before The End

New Things

The sound of the bell rang through my ears. The normally irritating sound was music to my ears as I finally felt relived. Others were already packing their bags and leaving. I decided to wait till everyone left like I always did before. It felt weird to be in high school again. Mainly because I left my last school somewhere in the middle to get away from all the chaos I had brought down on myself. I watched as the last few students in class finally left. I took my bagpack and got up. I turned around to check once again whether he had really left. He had. I sighed and headed out of class.

The crowd in the hallway had reduced as people were already gone. I put my stuff in my new locker and turned to walk out.I took little steps wanting to be the last person to leave.

Most of the students at school already seemed to know each other which meant that thet were from here. There were only a few others like me and Luke. And so I pretty much ended up eating alone. Luke had disappeared right after break began and came back in right after class started. I tried my best to not go back to thinking what he was up to.

Soon after lunch I left the cafeteria wanting to find a good place to be alone. I suddenly remembered the rooftop of the school. I went up the stairs and opened the door that led up to the rooftop. It was different from my old school's. There were much more walls and was easier to hide there. This place was a bit too out in the open.

I sat down leaning on to the wall near the door and opened my phone. I opened my old texts trying to remember the last time I'd talked with my friends. I completely regretted where I had left things. I never got a chance to clear things up. Everything had ended in such a mess and now I had to live with it.

By afternoon I was dying for school to end and everyone to leave. Everything about school was tiring as hell. But as the bell rang I was finally relieved. I still wanted to be one of the last person to leave. To me it was the people more than the school which was tiring. Seeing the school all empty feeling the quiteness of a place which is usually bustling with people made me calm.

There weren't much cars in the parking lot at all. After the ARC came to power, price of gas had gone up pretty high. Very high exactly. People barely used cars anymore. Also, they didn't give away fuel that easy now. They claim to be using it all for government purposes.

I took little steps towards the exit. Now I had to take another bus back home.

I sighed again. That's all I did these days, sigh. Not like I enjoyed it, but I just couldn't help it.  I decided to wander around Reels a bit more before going home. I stopped by a place to grab something to eat and then walked till the town square. I heard from school that Reels had changed, become what it is now after the catastrophe ; that it was much less crowded and much less  advanced. Now Reels was a popular place and even had an ARC control unit. There were many people on the streets these days and on bikes. The roads were empty except for public vehicles and occasional cars. But the streets were almost crowded. I walked through them alone. After I felt that I had explored enough I went back to the bus stop. 

A small part of me hoped that Luke would be there too. And as soon as I reached there I realized that he was. But the bus came sooner than expected. He suddenly turned his head to the side and then saw me. He smiled. I was a bit taken aback but I managed to return back a smaller smile. He got on and I followed him. The old driver checked to make sure that we were the only ones and then started the bus. Just as before, the bus was packed leaving only the last three seats. I took my old spot and sat near the window. 

It was almost 5:30. I decided to sleep on the ride back. I didn't want any more of the awkward situations. I put my earphones back in and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes we were right about to stop. Luke was already standing up and as soon as the bus stopped he got off. By the time I got down he was nowhere to be seen. So I began walking home.

I continued thinking about how I had seen someone I never thought I would again.
I clearly didn't want my past. Not even a bit. Sometimes I wish I could just wake up again and believe it was all just a bad nightmare. Even though I do act like they were, deep inside I knew they weren't and I knew the effect it had on me. Even though Luke wasn't in it at all he was there right when it all started and his presence reminded me of school. I could feel the old me returning bit by bit every time I saw him. The me in the very beginning when it hadn't even started. The me that was after the enigma.

I stepped out of house again. Staying in there was suffocating. The sky was dark and the clouds covered the moon. I walked up to the park near my house. At the far right corner of the park there was a bench. They were seemingly hidden by bushes that grew in front of them and so hadn't been noticed at all until I found them. I was looking for a less crowded spot when suddenly tripped over a root. And right when I fell I saw it, next to the huge tree on whose root I had tripped on and behind the bushes was the bench. It was perfect for me. I could see what was going around and I could see most of the park but I was hidden.

I sat there on the bench and hugged my knee. I took out my phone and decided to read a book. A while later I was feeling sleepy and had decided to go back. Right then my phone buzzed. As soon as I saw the notification my eyes widened and I immediately opened the text.

It was from my brother Kyle. He was a few years older than me and he was one person I always looked up to. He was the only one to whom had told all about the mess I was in last year and I was glad he understood. He had been recruited by the ARC even before we even moved to New Lavens. And since then he hadn't maintained any kind of contact with us. It was like he didn't even exist anymore. But now he finally had and I felt relief rush through me.

But the moment I read the text confusion took over me.

I'm coming to New Lavens but don't tell mom and dad. I'll send another text when I reach there. I need to see u.

That was it. No reasons, no 'I hope you guys are fine', nothing! Why would he wanna see me and not tell mom and dad? Something was wrong. I immediately replied to his text but he didn't reply back. I was just about to call him back even though I knew he would never pick his phone up. But right then I saw Luke. He was at the park and he surely didn't look very happy. I was sure he couldn't see me and I continued to watch him. I had never thought he would be in this part of town as I had never seen him before till today. But he was at the the park which was just a small walk away from my house.

A man walked up to him and they shook hands. I couldn't exactly hear them but I could bet I saw him pass something to Luke with that handshake. They seemed way too serious and I could see them frown a lot. Then all of a sudden I saw the man raise his hand to punch Luke. I wanted to go there and help him but there were too many reasons that I couldn't. Luke stared back at him but didn't say or do anything. The other man just walked away.

I waited for Luke to leave so that I could too without being noticed. When I was sure that he had left and waited for a few while so that he wouldn't return, I left the place and walked back to my house. My mind was filled with questions.

Coincidence had just brought back my curiosity.