"Family Means No One's Left Behind"~ A Greenflame and Children Story

Chapter Twenty: Suspicion

Sker's Point of View~
The next morning, mom didn't go into work. It was unusual that she didn't and I thought that maybe she was sick, until I saw bandages on her face and dad told us that she was attacked last night and was too afraid to go back to work. She said that her co-manager would be okay with her missing a day of work, but mom felt kinda bad that she wasn't going into work because of her fears, so I told her that I'd take her place for today and however long she needed to recover. We were at school and Kabaz and I were on our ways to connections, when we were shoved by Jonathan. But today, he seemed to be in a much more aggressive mood than any time before. I scoffed and he turned around and stared at me dead in the eye. But, there was something weird about his face, his eyes were a deep shade of red and his lips had a slight stain of red on them. It was kinda creepy. "What are you staring at, noodle-boy?" He asked in an irritated tone. I stayed silent and Jonathan just continued walking and mumbling. "Dang, he seems more moody today. And is it just me, or does he have some pretty pale skin than before?" Kabaz said. "Yeah, I noticed that too. And his face, his eyes were a deep red and his lips were stained red." I said. "Probably irritated eyes, and just eating some hot chips," Kabaz said. "Maybe," I said. We went to our next class, which was chorus and we stood on the risers. Our teacher, Mr. Leadger, conducted us in the song we were singing, "You raise me up". Mr. Leadger had chosen me to be the lead vocals and the rest of the chorus would follow behind. "Okay, Sker, you know what to do?" Mr. Leadger asked. I nodded and stepped forth. He nodded and went over to his computer, and the song began to play. 

{Sker and the Chorus~}
"When I am down and oh, my soul, so weary. When troubles come, and my heart burdened be. Then I am still and wait here in the silence. Until you come and sit awhile with me. You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up ("Up") so I can stand on mountains ("Stand on mountains"). You raise me up to walk on stormy seas ("Stormy seas"). I am strong when I am on your shoulders ("Ooh"). You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up ("Up") so I can stand on mountains ("Stand on mountains"). You raise me up to walk on stormy seas ("Stormy seas"). I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be. You raise me up to more than I can be." When we finished, Mr. Leadger clapped his hand and said that it was amazing. He also gives all of us some pointers on holding some notes and making sure we didn't look so monotonous while performing. The rest of the school day passed by and I didn't take the bus home with the rest of my brothers and sisters and friends. Instead, I walked from school to the noodle house. I was greeted by Mary and she helped me get prepared by handing me my apron and placing my bag in my mom's office. "Thank you, Miss Mary," I said. "You're welcome Sker. And when you get home, do you mind telling your mother I said hi?" Mary said. I nodded and we began to work. Mary prepared the food and placed it on the conveyor belt, while I brought other plates to the tables further away. "Thank you, young man." Said one of the customers. "No problem," I responded. I continued to serve plates, and even cook some dishes for a couple of hours, until out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jonathan and April walk into an alleyway, appearing to be arguing. Huh? What are they doing now? I questioned in my mind. I brought the finished plates I had on a tray and took the $10.00 tip the customers had left into the kitchen and put the tray in the sink, the money in the cash register. "It's almost closing time, and if you'd like, you can go on ahead home now Sker," Mary said to me. "Um, sure, I guess I can go, but if you need me to stay and help clean up, I will," I said. "Oh, don't worry about it, I can handle the cleaning. And plus, I bet your mother and father must be wondering what's taking you." Mary said. I thought for a moment before deciding to go home. "Okay, goodbye Sker, I hope to see you soon, and tell the family I said hi," Mary said as she waved goodbye from the entrance of the noodle house. "Goodbye Miss Mary, and I will." I waved back to her. I was cold out, so I put my hood on as I continued to walk. But, as I was walking along the sidewalk, I heard distant arguing from an alleyway. I stopped in front of the alley where the arguing was coming from. I heard April and Jonathan's voices emanated from the dark alleyway. I slowly crept into the alley, being cautious with every step and breath. "I told you to act normal, and not to cause attention!" April's voice shouted. "I'm sorry! It's hard to keep the urge under control." Jonathan said. Urge? Under control? Could this be about the murders? I questioned. I decided to take out my phone and take a video of this, just to see if my theory of this being about the murders was correct. As I recorded their conservation, I used the power of light to become invisible so I wouldn't get caught. "Did anyone suspect you at all?" April asked. "That red-headed bastard looked at me with a suspicious look, but other than him, no one else," Jonathan answered. April scoffed and asked, "What are we going to do if he does find out?" I gulped. "Anything to keep him quiet, maybe you do your thing to make him forget, or even, I'll do the same thing to him as I did to those hikers," Jonathan said. "Sh, keep your voice down," April whispered. My eyes widened and I felt extremely uneasy. Jonathan had just said that he might kill me, the same way he killed those hikers, and I had it on film. I slowly got up and stopped the video. I carefully began to make my way out of the alley when I accidentally stepped on an old can. Because of the sudden startle, I returned to my visible form. April and Jonathan turned their attention to me and April ordered, "Get him!" I used the power of speed to try and make a dash back home, but it seemed as if Jonathan was able to keep up with me. He tackled me and pinned my arms down. I struggled to break free before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappearing behind him. As I stood back up, there was a hard hit to the back of my head, causing me to drop back to the cold ground, and blacking out. The last thing I saw was April with her fists clenched and Jonathan holding my phone.