Annalise

Chapter 23: Recruitment

"...Drop your worries, you are gonna turn out fine. Oh... you turn out fine."

Andy Grammer's song went muted to my ears as my thoughts swept me away. I could only be located in the realm of my mind, a place where it was all white but the color black was tainting the area.

I didn't catch a glimpse of any faces, there was none to be found. All I could observe was the darkness and the light while voices murmured in the background.

As seconds ticked endlessly, the low murmurs gradually rose in volume. The incoherent words being spewed finally became comprehendible. 

"Did... did he do something to you as well?"

A shaky girl's voice popped up, growing louder than before.

Who was he? Ricky? That was the only dangerous guy in world's issues class, unless you count the guy who I still haven't gotten a name for.

"I can't be here."

"Don't touch me!" The girl snapped, the brown eyes of Hayley etching itself into my mind, staring back at me with disconsolate features.

I know something's wrong with Hayley, but she won't say anything. How am I suppose to help when she pushes me away? We haven't known each other for so long, it's understandable.

How will I know if she's pushing me away so I can leave her alone, or pushing me away in hopes for me to stay and show I care?

I really needed to speak with her, but she was absent for the past two days. I've been worried, I wanted to contact her but no one I knew had her number, to make things more worse, they didn't even know who she was.

She really did have no friends. I guess it is truly hard being the new kid at school.

Maybe it's not the school that's the problem for the new girl, maybe it's just her, snickered a voice inside me.

Or maybe it's just the people, I pondered.

"But, you gotta keep your head up, oh oh," Hannah sung, the telltale sign of the chorus, which is the part she sings with the guy with thick rimmed glasses, aka the main lead.

"And you can let your hair down, eh eh," the guy shakily sang, his vocals wobbly.

Eventually, his voice cut off as he pursed his mouth into a thin line, a large inhale of air made his chest puff out as he wiggled his hands, shaking off the jitters.

"Come on! We nailed this at practice. Why are you all of a sudden shy? Acting like a newbie who's making their first appearance on stage?" Hannah complained, running her hand through her curly hair, similar to Noah's actions.

My eyes roamed around Mrs. Fluent's room, seeing all the nervous faces rehearsing the songs they'll be performing. It's a relief that I didn't have to face those nerves today.

It was a secret miracle that I missed the Saturday where everyone made the choice to perform in the mini concert. It was the day I decided to process what happened at the club, and the day I got saved from performing in front of the Mortes and the Imperishables.

It was always normal to have a mini concert before the real thing, but it was commonly held after school, not during the last half an hour of the school day. However, Mrs. Fluent took good notice at the changing moods of kids, realizing everyone became more on edge and defensive, so she wanted to lift their spirits with positive songs.