The Hooded Figure

SEVEN

I prefer not to think of last night. It was a little too much cake and self-pity, even for me. Instead, I wondered why Layla wasn't on the bus this morning. Both my parents got home late last night, but my mom was already gone when I woke up this morning. When I arrived at school, I noticed Trey's Camaro in the parking lot and didn't think much of it. I entered the school along with a herd of other students.

The first game of the football season was on Friday and everyone was super excited. The snow had finally cleared and the ground was dry enough to play. I literally got body checked into a locker as Damian Pierce's goons cleared a path for him. My head hit the flat part of the locker, but my right hand landed directly on the hinges.

"Motherfucker!" I exclaimed, but I doubt anyone heard me over the hooting and hollering. I grimaced as I held my hand and made my way through the crowd warily. The pain started to dissipate as I got to my locker. I reached up with my wounded hand and went to spin my combination, but froze when I saw the blood on my hand. I retracted my hand and brought it to my face. I'd scraped the outside of my palm and it wasn't bleeding too badly, but it was still noticeable.

I left my locker and went to the bathroom to wash my hand. As I entered the bathroom, I found it empty. It was significantly quieter inside and I turned on the tap, washing my hand. I gasped as the water hit my wound and once the blood had washed away, I grimaced at the view of my scraped skin.

I heard a sniffle from the bathroom stall and I whipped around. "Amy? Is that you?" I recognized Layla's voice and I rushed to the stall.

"Layla? What's wrong?" I paused for a moment, "And how did you know it was me?"

"Your shoes," she laughed, unlocking the stall for me. I came inside and she shut it again. I smiled at her before frowning.

"What's wrong?" I repeated, thankful that I'd worn my wedges again so I didn't have to look up at her.

"Damian, a-a few of his guys saw me walking to the bus stop and they got out of their car. I was so scared Amy, I mean, there was no one around! They only teased me and laughed at me, but I didn't say anything back because who knows what they would've done if they were mad..." she trailed off fearfully. It was the first time I noticed she was shaking and my emotions were all over the place. I wrapped my arms around her while I thought it over.

"What do you want me to do?" I questioned, pulling back after a moment. My green eyes widening slightly as I raised my eyebrows.

"Nothing," Layla replied, grabbing another piece of toilet paper and blowing her nose with it.

"So you're going to do something about it?" I inquired concernedly as her brown eyes met mine.

"No, I'm not going to make it worse," she replied sadly, the tears finally stopping.

I held her by the shoulders as I announced, "Just because some petty boys got their ego hurt and weren't able to defend their king, doesn't mean you have to back down. Yes, you have to know when, but just do it smartly. Don't do anything crazy or rash."

"Crazy or rash? Doesn't sound like me," she joked, wiping her tears away. I smiled at her cheerfully.

"Just go up to Damian and tell him what they did, I'm sure he didn't know. Well, unless they purposely shoved me into a locker this morning," I said as I showed her the scrape on my hand, "but I doubt it, just go talk to him." She frowned at the scrape on my hand, but I assured her it was nothing.

She nodded. "Thanks, Amy," she smiled while giving me a hug. I returned the gesture and we left the bathroom soon after Layla fixed herself up.

"So how'd you get to school?" I asked curiously as we arrived at our lockers.

"My uh- dad drove me," she told me hesitantly. My eyes widened as I put my lock down and turned to her excitedly.

"When did he get back? How long is he back for?" I questioned excitedly while she looked down dejectedly. "What?"

"He's only staying for a week, he asked to be extended in Afghanistan," she replied, rubbing her hands together anxiously. I sighed and gave her another hug just as we got shoved into the lockers. This shove was way harder than last time and my head ricocheted off the locker. Thankfully, neither of us hit the hinges, but Layla was already glaring at the boys who'd done it.

"Those were the guys who got out of the car this morning," she growled, clenching her fists. She went to go after them, but I held her back.

"Nothing crazy or rash, remember?" I reminded her with a small smile. She took a few deep breaths before calming down. I tried to take a deep breath with her, but suddenly I felt dizzy. I began to tilt and I rested my hand on a locker to balance myself. Layla put a hand on my shoulder and eyed me concernedly.

"Amy, are you okay?" She asked, looking into my eyes intently.

"Yeah, just a little dizzy, that's all," I replied with a small smile. I took my hand off the locker and smiled, "See? All better."

Layla looked at me unsurely as I unlocked my locker. I grabbed my books and binders while she did the same.

"You have Biology with him first, remember? So let him know what they did and see if he knows." Layla nodded and smiled at me as she headed to class. The bell rang and I started to walk to Social Studies. Jade wasn't at her locker, she'd probably already left for class.

I grimaced and clutched my head with one hand as I stopped walking. The entire right side of my head felt like it was on fire. Maybe I'm dehydrated? I haven't had water in a while.

I made my way to a water fountain and took a few sips, but it made no difference. I groaned and held my head as I made my way to Social Studies. I entered the class just as the second bell rang and it seemed that everyone was already with their partners. I sighed and started walking towards Trey, ready to get him to help.