189 Partout Lane

3

3

My mom let me stay home for the next couple of days. I didn't want to leave, not after frantically driving Mike to the hospital, finding Haley in that car, or realizing that that killer was still out there. I just sat in my room frightened and my mom sat out in the living room watching the T.V. It was never turned off in my house. It might have been burning a hole in our electric bill but, my mom refused to turn it off. She took off a couple days of work just stay home with me. The first two nights my mom won't sleep; she was too scared. She just stayed up all night and wanted to watch the news just in case anything happened. I just spent my days sitting by the T.V. next to my mom waiting just waiting for the police to figure it out. But every day they just kept saying the same damn thing. "They are investigating. They are investigating. They are investigating." They are investigating what? The car, the witnesses, the friends, the suspects? Who! Who are they investigating! All we learned was that Haley didn't die from the fire nor the explosion. It was from a gunshot wound to the heart hours previous. It was scary because they still hadn't caught the guy. My mom and I just sat there all day waiting in front of the T.V. Waiting just for a miracle. She was such a great mom taking off work and everything for me. Just to make me feel better and to protect me. She always worked her butt of at that job of hers and I was glad she picked up her life after my dad left. It was a wakeup call to her I guess that after he left she was afraid he would try and take me with him. I'm glad she quit the drugs, found a job and got her life back together. And now that my dad was gone it caused her to work twice as hard. I mean, we might not live on the fancy side of the street but, we live in a great neighborhood all because of all the work she does. And I knew she had to go back to work or else we were not going to afford having the T.V. on. I knew I had to work as well and get back to school. So that Friday I went into class to help out with everything.

It was freaky leaving my house that morning. Too freaky. I could barely take the first step outside to get to my mom's car. She wanted to drop me off and I wanted her too. Actually I didn't want to leave the car. To leave her. She begged me to go because I needed to be around people my own age and to hang out with my friends. I was afraid I would get into class and then something bad would just happen. Something bad would happen. Whether it be Mike having another panicking attack or someone else dying. But I convinced myself that I had to go. That the investigation would continue with or without me sitting in front of the T.V. waiting. And that everything would be safe within school walls. So I went on in and went down the hall. "Drew." Ashley tapped me on the shoulder. "We need to talk. Now." She led me into the nearby bathroom. "What is it Ashley?" She then crouched on the ground and looked under all the stalls checking if anybody was in there. There wasn't. "Ashley what is it? C'mon, I'm gonna be late for first period." Ashley has never been a very warm and friendly person in general, she never likes to talk about any personal issues or problems, so that day when she looked at me dead in the eyes I knew something was very off. "What do you think is going on?" She asked deeply staring into my soul. "Do you know anything? Like anything at all?" For the first time in a long time, I could see the fear in her eyes. "Ash." I hugged her, feeling her broad arms go around my skeleton like body and my head going under her huge chin. "I'm scared too Ashley. I could barely walk out of my mom's car to get into the school today." I heard her gulp and then she almost immediately shrugged me off. "Do you know anything?" She gulped again. I guess that was already too much emotion for her. She already closed up. "I don't. I'm sorry." "Ok, yeah, um, get to biology class then?" She shot back already putting up that wall again.

And so we did and as soon as I got into class, Mr. Pratcher got my attention. "Drew, you've been out a couple of days. We're doing a group project. You're going to be in Emma and Joey's group." Olivia's friends. I could see them in the center of the room. I had never actually spoken to them. I had known of them but, never met them. Olivia I guess was always their third person. "Oh ok." I walked over, my eyes never leaving them, and I took an empty desk. "I'm in your group I guess." "Oh ok. I'm Emma and that's Joey." "Hi." "Oh yeah, I know. You used to be friends with Olivia right?" "Uh, yeah." She gave me a genuine smile almost as if she was happy I was talking to her. "She's mentioned you before." "Yeah same here." "Cool so what are we supposed to be doing?" I guess they didn't know a third person to be in a group with them. Ashley I guess went back a day before me. Or else I'd probably be in a group with her. Emma filled me in on what we were supposed to do and apparently we had to make flashcards on cell division. They had already done twenty five cards and only needed five more so finishing it wouldn't be too bad. Joey and Emma were quite nice actually. I had no idea what was going on or what telophase, anaphase meant and they weren't getting pissed at me at all. They just helped explain everything to me. I also noticed how young they are. Like they're juniors taking the hardest science a junior could take and I'm a senior taking the easiest science a senior could take. Emma was also in my English class. And I think Joey was in my math class. They're geniuses. Hell, they're going places. College kind of places. Vanessa and them. They were also just plain nice too.