Don't Judge Me

Chapter 4 ~ When You Least Expect

I huffed, leaning my head back against the chair. My sharp amber eyes glided around the room, lingering on a boy with dark brown hair.

Andrew. He and I had been friends since kinder. Out of the whole school no one could deny we were some of the closest people on campus.

Andrew glanced back in my direction, mouthing the words, 'Save me from this torture.' His silvery blue eyes glittered with barely disguised mischief.

I held back a snort, covering my face with a dark skinned hand. A smile spread across my face at their friend's antics.

Andrew flashed me a sly grin and turned back to the front of the class, where the teacher spoke in a soft, almost muted voice compared to the chaotic screaming of the students.

It was kind of like Hell if you thought about it enough.

I sighed, amber-hazel eyes darting around as I looked for a familiar face.

My eyes landed on Carter, a boy with mousy brown hair and crystal blue eyes, was sitting at his desk drawing a detailed sketch of...  I wasn't able to tell who it was from such a distance. It would likely be easier for me to tell once it was inked and colored.

I looked back down at their work, groaning internally. I shook their head and took half hearted notes on what the teacher was saying.

It was 5 minutes before the bell would ring. As if on cue, nearly the entire class glanced up at the clock and started packing their stuff. The teacher attempted to say something but sighed and went quiet when the students completely ignored her.

I felt a twinge of pity for the teacher. They stood up to leave class, going over to her.

"Thank you for dealing with this crud." I told her, running a hand through my forest green hair.

She smiled, chuckling, "At least the job pays well. Thank you for checking in on me..." Her expression went from pleasant to confused in a snap.

"Just call me Tyson, Ma'am." I gave the teacher a small smile.

She nodded, "Thank you Tyson."

"No problem, Miss." I gave a single nod as a goodbye and exited the room. Andrew suddenly popped up behind me and I nearly jumped out of my shoes, "Drew!"

He laughed and pat me on the back, "Sorry Tyson, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Like hell you did." I replied, tone edged with slight bitterness.

"Okay, maybe a little... but that's besides the point! We have to go to Science class, remember?"

"Oh course I remember dumb*ss." Sarcasm laced my words as I walked alongside him, rolling my eyes.

Andrew gave a child like pout, then broke into a grin.

Most people think Andrew is weird, not because he has anything weird about him, just that he's pretty quiet around other people. When we're the others he opens up a lot more.

Well, he's also considered weird because he hangs out with the 'weird' people, kind of like Lara. The reasoning is bull but he doesn't care and neither do the rest of us.

I turn to him, "Are you free after school? Sorry for not asking earlier but I was busy."

Andrew shrugs, "I mean, I guess. I have to take care of my little sister though. Angela, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." I recall the small brown haired girl with bright eyes and a wide smile, "Well, we can take her with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. I don't mind her coming along."

Andrew smiled, "Great! I'll meet you at the curb at 5:00. That sound good?"

I nodded cheerfully, "Sounds great! Now we should really be getting to class."

"Yeah we should." Andrew started walking quickly, a flash of nervousness seeming to go through him. I simply sighed and followed along.

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I checked my watch. 5:00 now. I chewed by lip, waiting for my friend to come around the corner. They would be here soon, it wasn't their style to be late anyways.

Angela tugged on my arm. I looked down, raising my eyebrow as if to ask her a question. She frowned, eyes communicating that she was getting restless and wanted to do something. I gave a soft sigh.

"Don't worry, Ang. Tyson will be here soon." I told her softly, hoping I was right and they would be here soon.

As if on cue, Ty rounded the corner with their hat tipped so it cast a shadow over their face. They smiled, waving to me and Angie. Angela smiled, waving back enthusiastically. Tyson walked over and ruffled her hair, "Hey there, Angela."

"Hi." My sister greeted Tyson, voice soft and a bit shaky. She didn't speak much, and had a harder time doing so than other kids her age. My parents were concerned she might have a speech disorder, and I was too, but none of us were sure.

Maybe I should ask Carter about that... he probably knows a lot about the symptoms of speech disorders.

I pulled my mind away from my thoughts and looked at my best friend and sister interacting, "So, are you two ready to go?"

Angela nodded with high enthusiasm. Tyson simply smiled, his expression giving me all the answer I needed. Funny how he used to be so unreadable.

I heard the zipping of cars driving past us, going back and forth across the asphalt. Angela was looking curiously at the cars, her eyes following one than another and another as they vanished from her line of sight. I didn't think much of it and let her watch the vehicles go by.

Tyson glanced at Angela, then up at me, "Remind me where we're going again?"

"To a little café I've been to a couple times. It's pretty nice and- Angela!" I saw my sister ambling towards the street, eyes curious. I cursed under my breath and ran out to go get her.

I reached her, holding her close to my chest, "What are you doing?"

"I wanna see..." Angela stared at the cars, her eyes widening as she pointed up. I was confused until I saw a bus coming towards us. I stepped back, my heel catching on a cleft in the middle of the road and causing me to fall. My sister rolled out of my grasp, scrambling away from the traffic. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed with fear as I stared at the on coming bus.

The last thing I remember was Tyson screaming my name before I felt a crushing pain and my vision went black.