The (Temporary) Creators

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I'm standing in the math classroom. All around me there's a ring of fire. Lightning comes from the ceiling lights, and it's dangerously close to my head. I can see Cody standing behind the wall of fire. He's screaming but I can't hear a word he says. The more he struggles to be heard and get my attention, the higher and closer to me the ring of fire becomes. After a few minutes I have to sit and hug my knees to avoid being electrocuted or burned to death. It's getting extremely hot in here. The fire keeps inching closer and closer until it touches my arm and I pull back. It doesn't hurt but the side of my arm is red and blistering. Eventually the fire manages to attack my other arm and legs. I feel so hopeless but I can't think. I know if I tried I could put out the fire, but no matter how hard I try, I can't move. The fire's consuming me.

It almost gets to my shoulders when I hear my alarm go off. I bolt upright into a sitting position. I'm laying in my bed. My alarm's still going off, but I'm too dazed to turn it off this second. It was just a dream. I'm not dead. There was no fire. I am alright. I think like this for a few seconds before I finally turn off my alarm and slide out of bed. My phone vibrates on my dresser. I grab it and see that Cody texted me. "Remember we're going to school today ;) ," it says. For a second I don't know what he means since it's Saturday, but then I remember I was supposed to meet Cody and our principal at school today. "Okay, thanks. See you later :) ," I reply. I throw on a t-shirt, jeans, and grab two random socks. They don't match but I'm running late so who cares. I brush my hair and teeth, then run downstairs to grab some breakfast.

Before I walk out, I leave a note for my parents telling them where I am. Dad finally has a day off, so I don't want to wake him or Mom up to tell them right now. But I do have to get to school somehow...

I creep up the stairs to my brother's room. He just got back from college a week ago, so I got lucky. Well that's if he decides to drive me or not. When I knock on his door he opens it right away. "Hey Nick, you're up early," I start off.

He makes a face at me,"So are you. What do you want?" He asks in an annoyed tone.

"Could you please drive me to school?" I ask, trying to sound cute. It doesn't work.

"It's Saturday, idiot," he responds.

"I know, but I need to meet someone there. It's really important. Please?"

He looks at me, still annoyed, for a few seconds before sighing and saying,"Fine."

We get to the front of the school a few minutes later. "Just drop me off here," I say as I open the door and run into the school. When I walk in, I see Cody standing in the hallway waiting for me. I wave and walk over to him. "Is Will showing up? The principal said he should come."

Cody shrugs his shoulders. "No idea. I didn't tell him to come or anything. He needs to cool off a bit before I try talking to him again. And the principal probably called his house too."

"Yep. Do you... know anything about what happened to Will's father? Like why or how he died?"

"Nope. I know just about as much as you do. Will doesn't really talk about it much. It almost seems like he doesn't know himself." We walk down the hallway to the principal's office and find it empty. Then we hear a voice from behind us.

"Oh look, it's the new couple. How are you guys?" I turn around and see Will standing there, smiling.

I respond first. "Hey, Will. Are you... um okay?"

"Oh yeah. Don't you worry about me, Alexandra and Cody. You're not the only people in a new relationship."

I look at him quizzically. "We're not in a relationship... And what do you mean?"