Dark Alley

Chapter 37

     It wasn't real.

     What I saw wasn't real.

     I am at school.

     I did not ditch English class just to go with Mrs. Dekker.

     I never found the truth.

     Or at least it's what I want.

     For now.

     I saw Q and R around the hall, I realized they noticed me first when Q waves his right hand at me to get my attention.

     "Foster," Q says, "are you dead?"

     "What?"

     "Are you dead?" He asked me again still waving his hand.

     "What? No."

     "Well stop acting like one," he says. Q was right I should act like today was just another normal day. Normal, what do I know about being normal?

     I slowly nodded.

     Later as walked into the hall, we met Tracy, she gave me the usual smile with her blue eyes sharpened. "Where were you Foster?"

     "Huh?"

     "We've been looking for you," she says, "I was worried if someone did it to you again."

    I shook my head very fast, "no, I'm alright."

     "Well then let’s get going," she says, Tracy quickly grabbed my skinny arm and crossed them with 

hers, "I don't want dad to worry for us too." I realized that Tracy was in a good mood today, I like her bubbly eyes and charming smile, I like the way she leans her head on my shoulder as I smell her hair covered with strawberries.

     I waved a hand at the twins, they waved back and we parted to walk in opposite ways.

     Tracy was giggling for ten like ten minutes. We look awkward, everybody stares at us differently. Tracy's grip on my arm was harder.

    "Tracy what are you doing?" I asked her, trying to take off her arms away from mine.

     "Tell me the truth Foster," she says, "where were you the whole afternoon?" Her tone became more serious, and her grip on me was even tighter.

     "What are you talking about?"

     "If you don't answer my question then just say well by to your skinny left arm."

     "No!" I exclaimed, "I'll tell you."

     "I know," she says, "you're cute when you're naive." I hear her weird giggles, like she was horrifyingly victorious. "But it doesn't make you the cutest if you lie Foster."

     I gulped. My head was either should I tell her or should I not?

I sighed. "Fine, but not here."

     "Okay," she says pulling her hands away from my arm and putting it down, "you can tell me anything, okay?"

     I nodded as Tracy shows me her face of contentment, thinking that I am already ok - but her telling me to tell anything especially what happened right now was different, its worse. My stomach suddenly ached. I don't know whether to tell her or not.

     Tracy walked with me in the hall as we walked opposite ways with the twins. I look at the time and it was almost quarter to four; no one was in the hall except for me and Tracy. Something came into my mind, I realized I was doomed. Mrs. Dekker would confront me any time and I should tell her that using my paralyzed father as a reason to hate Calvin is not anymore needed.

     "I'm still worried Foster," she says. I was wrong; her face doesn’t seem to give me the message, "because if you are going to tell me that you are okay and you are having a long face is just normal, then it will just make things worse and my conclusion real."

     I chuckled. Tracy was right.

     "I know you're not okay," she says, "and you'll never be okay."

     "I'm okay Tracy," I say. Tracy raised an eyebrow on me, "well at least when I'm with you."

     I look at Tracy, her face turned red so red it was like someone threw a bucket of tomatoes on it.

"Of course as a friend," I told her.

     "Well," she says, "that is not what I want to hear. You still have an explanation to tell me Foster."

     "I saw Mrs. Dekker," I said. Tracy rolls her eyes.

     "Of course, we see her every day."

     "But this time is different," I say, "I saw my father."

     "Oh my god!" Tracy's eyes widened, her mouth forms a big O, "what's the connection? I don't get it."

     "Seriously?"

     Tracy nodded.

     "Mrs. Dekker is my sister!"

     "Oh my god!" She repeats the same wide face reaction again.

     "I know it was weird."

     "Friggin awkward."

     "Now what?"

     "Yeah what?"

     "What?"

Awkward.

    Tracy grabs my arm through the exit, "let's just go."