Devil's Game

Chapter 5

Honesty

           I was shook and felt broken, as I sunk into my hoodie again. Never in my life had Clarice walked away from me like that. My throat started to swell up as I swallowed hard. I didn't like being ignored, although I pretty much was everyday. Never by Clarice, though.

           My body quavered. I longed to go back to the dark room again. The darkness seemed scary, but for me, it was my only way to escape the cruelty of real life.

           I rushed up to Clarice, dropping my backpack in the middle of the hallway. I could feel the cold air brush past me.

"Clarice!" I exclaimed.

           I tried to act as though nothing happened last night. I didn't anyone to know about the darkness. I didn't want anyone to steal the darkness. My darkness.

           Clarice turned to me, breathing out. She glanced up, though I wasn't much taller than her.

"Hey," she replied glumly.

           I tilted my head. "Are you mad at me because I didn't reply?" I raised a brow. " If you are, honestly, that's not really a good reason to be mad."

           I knew what I had said was rude, but I really didn't care. I didn't know why, but I simply didn't. The darkness was wrapping me around its finger, unabling me to do what it didn't want. I felt like a child towards it, though I wasn't. I felt like I was born within it, like it was my home.

           "No, I know," Clarice replied with a sigh. "You remember my cat, Kibble?"

"Yea"

           She looked down, staring at the white ground. "She died"

           I bit my lip. I didn't get why she was making such a big deal about it, though I probably would have been sad if Scruffy, my dog, died. To me, it wasn't such a big deal. I simple would have put it to the back of my mind, like I did with everything else going on in my life.

"I'm, um, sorry," I stammered. "That's - terrible"

           She looked at me, her long, blond hair covering her pale face. She tried to smile.

"Thanks"

           I awkwardly tucked my hair back behind my ears. I could never seem to get those hairs into my ponytail. I looked back up at Clarice. She glanced past me. I looked where she was looking.

"Isn't that your backpack?" she pointed to my bag lying in the middle of the floor."

"Um, yea"

           I rushed over to grab it, then quickly ran over to my locker and opened it. It squeaked...a lot. Immediately, a bunch of blue textbooks and binders tumbled out. Shrugging, I stuffed my backpack into it and grabbed my English duotang and phone, not really bothering to pick up the books or close my locker.

           Once again, I didn't care. It wasn't like anyone would do anything to it. Sure, the teachers might have spotted it, but I didn't mind if I got in trouble. Before, I would have cared, but now, I saw no point in doing so as I calmly walked over to Clarice. She scoffed.

"Your not going to pick that up?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of clutter on the floor.

I shrugged. "Nah"

           One hand in my pocket, the other holding my duotang and phone, Clarice and I walked in silence until we reached out next class; English. Clarice and I had had mostly the same classes. English was my favourite, while Clarice liked Math. I found Math boring, though everything besides the darkness seemed boring to me now.

           The walls in the hallway were extremely narrow, with hooks and jackets hanging on them, making it even narrower. The air vents blasted cold air into the school, making a sort of creepy noise. Clarice and I kept walking, not one of us saying a word. Never had I never been so silent with Clarice. She was always chatting about the latest gossip, which I never bothered listening to. I would simply nod my head as she spoke. Today, she was scarily quiet. Eventually, she started talking.

           "So what happened at class yesterday?" she asked.

           I fiddled with my hoodie strings coming down from the hood. I glanced at her. "What do you think happened?"

           "We were getting ready for the end of the day, when suddenly you rushed out of the hall. I ran outside looking for you, but you weren't outside or inside! What happened?"

           I took a deep breath. I didn't know why, but I felt as though she should know, even if my own mom didn't. It just felt right. I exhaled.

           "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but I died."

           Clarice rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, Emma. Really, tell me what happened!"

           "I already did," I said as I continued walking. Clarice ran up to catch me.

           "So you're really being serious?"

           "Yea"

Clarice took a deep breath, then exhaled, almost dropping her textbooks. I felt relieved that she knew. For some reason, I could tell the darkness almost wanted her to know. I didn't know why, but I felt comforted. Clarice turned back to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

           "Tell me everything"