I walked down the hall the next day after the "incident". The delinquents eyed me and their words halted as I walked by, their faces screwing up in disgust. There was no doubt that word had gotten out.
I scoffed as a group of giggling girls - all clad in dark crop tops, barely-existent skirts or shorts and fishnet stockings - walked past me.
I looked behind me when an exclamation from down the hall reached me. "Red! Red!! RED!!!!"
I glanced backwards but kept walking, not wanting to deal with her. I saw a flash of blonde, blue and red before she was holding me by the shoulders, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.
I sighed. "Yea?" She smiled the kind of smile that one finds when they're On the Verge of Insanity(A/N: *cough* no shame). I gave her a weird look and almost backed away, except for that she had let go of my shoulders, grabbed my hand and ran off.
I scrambled to catch up with her. She was dragging me along so it was slightly awkward as I struggled to find out where she was going. Running was against the rules and I always tried to blend into the crowd, now we were standing out and it was brilliant.
I had no idea where this girl came from, but she sure is insane enough to do this. The punishment for running was two weeks in solitary.
I shivered, thinking about the last time I was in. I barely escaped with my own sanity and sometimes I wonder if I even had that. In all honesty, the only reason I'm here is because I worked to save endangered species of plants. What's so wrong with that? Well... I mean I did kill hundreds of people... But it was all for a worthy cause!
I was shaken out of my reverie when the girl opened a panel in the wall and climbed in, tugging me along with her. I sighed, crawling behind her.
As soon as I got my bearings and realized where we were, I pulled her back just in time. The panel below her was the vent that has been known to swing open occasionally.
"Noob," I muttered underneath my breath. She looked at me.
"Didja' just call me a noob?" she asked, the word rolling off her tongue in such a way that it sounded contorted. "Red," She started, fully turning around and sitting on the vent.
"I've been doing this for seven years. This isn't my first run. I think I know what's okay and what's not..." she continued on, for once in a moment of partial sanity.
While I was pretending to listen to her, I looked down to through the vent. There was the principal. And vice principal. And secretary. And all head security guards. I could feel my face drain as the girl went on speaking.
Finally, a hand waved in front of my face. I flinched back and she moved forward slightly, inspecting my face. In that second, I knew the hinges would open. I heard a slight creak and the shock on the girl's face was unmistakable. And then she was gone, through the open air where the vent was. Or so I thought.
I didn't hear voices raise in alarm. I didn't hear her scream. I didn't hear anything besides the soft murmur of voices below us. I eased my eyes open to see the noob staring at me in shock, exactly where she was before. With vinse twined around her, holding her up. I let out an easy laugh at the look of shock on her face.
Through my laughter I choked out a couple of words. "I told you... so!"
