Prism Core

A Wounded World

Three Months Later

"I have an idea." Walking across campus, my friend Brad looked at me with curiosity. "Why?" His gaze was technically looking at my general direction, but he wasn't looking at me. His reddish hair was faded, and his expression had a hint of sadness. "Why? Well, since the incident, everybody's been a little down. I miss him, and so do the rest of us..." A group of kids ran past, and the trees around the campus rustled in the wind. Everything was sunny and full of life, so why is everyone so... cold? "The school was shaken by the whole thing, but can we change the subject? Did you see the latest episode of Dragon Ball Super?" Brad said quickly, a friendly smile masking the pain he had previously displayed. I didn't want to tell him that I hated Dragon Ball.

"Alright class, please take out your science books and we'll get started,"The teacher announced. I sat down in my desk. I looked around, and I immediately noticed it. The usual cheeriness that was once here was gone. The emerald green walls had lost their shine, and the usual chatter was absent. Everyone stared intently at their desk or laps. Even the teacher, a large bulky guy who usually had a positive sort of aura, was off. My heart grew heavy. I wanted to something about it, but I wasn't so sure if my plan would work.

During lunch time, I sat with my group of friends. Brad had his hands tucked in his jeans, and wasn't eating anything. Three other people sat around, and they were chatting. They didn't notice me sit down. "What do you think about the reports? The police said that the body wasn't found," Gabe said. Cora looked at him with a startled expression. "Maybe whoever did this got rid of the evidence," She quickly said. Kate, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table,  gave her a face, one that said "I can't believe you just said that." Gabe and Brad looked at each other and turned back to Cora with worried expressions. I sighed. After the whole thing, Cora had changed. She was always so outgoing and expressive, but now she was silent and kept to herself. Every now and then, I would catch her staring at the hallway where the incident occurred. I needed to break this up. "Ahem." The four of them quickly snapped their necks into my direction. "R-Ryan! How long have you been sitting there?" Gabe asked. "That doesn't matter, I think this is a good time to mention my idea." Brad nodded, since I had told him about it earlier and he had approved. Kate and Cora seemed glad to move on from the previous topic. "So, I want to start a club." Everyone stared at me blankly. "What kind of club?" Cora asked. "Not interested," Kate said. She was staring at the wall now. "It is technically a club to hang out and study, but I want to create it for us. For us to get better and have fun," I said, and my heart started to pound. Would they accept? Cora looked unsure. "I mean, why would we need a club for that? We can just hangout like we always do. Besides, we have this amazing thing called the library to go study in," Gabe said. I slouched in disappointment. Brad then suddenly said, "Have you noticed the way we've been acting?" Everyone suddenly looked at him in confusion. "We're really, REALLY messed up. I think this is an opportunity for us to reconnect. We haven't had a real hangout after...that. So, I think we should do this." Gabriel ruffled his short, brown hair in nervousness. Cora started to cry, and Kate seemed to be thinking to herself. After what seemed like an eternity, Cora finally answered, "I hate this place, but I cannot keep waking up in fear of coming here everyday. I need to get over it, and I want to go back to how it was before. I think... I think this is a good idea. I'm in." Gabe smiled. "Yeah, you know what? Screw the soccer team, I'm taking some time off. I'm in too." We all looked at Kate She looked at us and sighed. "I guess I have no choice, hehe." We all started talking about how we would set up the club. But I could not remember a single thing we said. I was busy looking at everyone's smiles.