kenopsia | the society

2. flash mob

Riley walked next to Will, having gone back early that morning to pack up what she needed for the camping trip that her and a bunch of the other students were going on. "Hey, I'm sorry about not going back with you last night. I just needed some time away from him." She said softly, bumping her shoulder against Will.

"Yeah, I know. He can be a real ass sometimes." Will told her with  a smile, bumping her back. "And, I'm sure you and Grizz had a good time last night." He said with a smirk, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

The teen almost tripped as she heard what Will was implying, "Dude! How many times do I need to tell you, Grizz and I are not together." As she was saying that, her eye caught on Grizz and Harry in the distance, Grizz waving at her to go join them.

"Mmhmm, sure looks like that, Ri." Will responded, having noticed how the boy in question was smiling and waving at Riley. No matter how Riley defended herself, the her and Grizz question would always be up for grabs. The two spent a lot of time with each other and were always joking around or smiling, so it made sense if they were dating.

Riley rolled her eyes at Will, "So a girl can't have a guy best friend is what you're trying to tell me?"

It was Will who rolled his  eyes that time, "not if the best friend in question is a jock by the name of Grizz."

. . . .

"Wait, so what was this weird writing that you saw on the wall?" Riley questioned Grizz, having decided to take the window seat on the bus ride to the national park.

Grizz groaned a little and poked her in the side, "it's literally called the writing on the wall, Riley. It's from the Bible and it means you've been weighed in the balance and found wanting." He explained for what must've been the third or fourth time.

A raised brow on Riley's face showed her skepticism, "I mean, who would write that? It's a bit odd if you think about it."

The teen next to her nodded, "I don't know but something about it is bugging me."

. . . .

The bus ride was bumpy and the dark on the bus was interrupted by lightning that was soon followed with thunder as they traveled through a storm. All the teens were asleep, many resting their heads on each other as they waited to arrive at their destination.

Suddenly, the bus lights flashed on, the driver announcing that there was something blocking the way to get to the park so they were back home. Riley groaned a little as she stretched her arms, accidentally smacking Grizz in the face in the process.

"Ugh, what the fuck Ri?" Grizz groaned, before realized where exactly they were. "We're back home?" He questioned, confused about what was going on.

Riley nodded, "yeah, we're back in West Ham. The bus driver said something about the roads being blocked to the park." The teen groaned, getting up out of her seat in the back and walking off the bus. There weren't any parents around, which was weird, maybe the bus company forgot to tell them that the trip was cancelled?

"Well, doesn't look like anyone was expecting us." Cassandra muttered, voicing Riley's own thoughts. The teens all looked at each other in disbelief as the buses drove off, leaving them to figure out their own ways home.

Riley elbowed Grizz lightly, "hey, I'm gonna see what Will's doing tonight, it's a far walk back to our place." She told him before walking over to where Will, Allie, and Cassandra were standing.

No one was able to get their parents to answer the phones, causing murmurs of confusion and slight panic to set into people's faces, but nothing too serious. After a few missed calls, people just decided to head home and see their parents at home.

Will and Riley gave one another a slightly confused look, not really sure what they should do. Finally, Will spoke up for the two of them, "Can we crash with you guys tonight? It's too far back to our place."

After a few moments Allie nodded, clutching her phone in her hands, still obviously flustered by the fact that no one could get in contact with their families. "Yeah," she told the two of them.

. . . .

Riley sat on the couch in Allie and Cassandra's house, checking her messages feverishly.

"Anything?"

Will shook his head first, "No one. Nowhere."

"Grizz said his parents are gone too, so are Harry's and Kelly's but their parents' cars are still at their houses." Riley added in, clearly getting more concerned at that point. A few seconds later she got texts in a groupchat, all saying that no one was home at their houses either.

Will pursed his lips for a second, looking at the green messages appearing on his phone, "the storm must have knocked out our data too."

Cassandra looked at her phone too, having gotten some texts from friends and other student council members. No one's parents or siblings were anywhere to be found.

. . . .

"Hey, so uh, who decided that we needed a flash mob?" The sound of her best friend's voice snapped Riley out of her thoughts and she broke off from the group she was standing with to head over towards him.

Without even looking over, Cassandra responded, "I did."

"What the fuck, Cassandra?" He questioned, clearly annoyed by what was going on.

Cassandra raised a brow at his response, clearly not enjoying his attitude. "Better than 200 people sending texts." She reasoned, "has anyone been able to reach anyone?"

Her question was met with people shaking their heads and incoherent mumbles of 'no'.

"No one?" Cassandra questioned yet again, voicing Riley's thoughts for the second time that night.

"You couldn't reach your parents at all?" Riley asked Grizz softly as Cassandra tried to come up with a valid explanation as to why no one could get in contact with anyone.

Grizz shook his head no in response, clearly upset about it. "Have you been able to reach your McAsshole?" The nickname for her foster father made Riley chuckle lightly, but even that couldn't get her nerves to calm down.

"Nope, but even if I could he's probably passed out drunk on the couch." Riley responded with shrug, barely paying attention to Cassandra suggesting that they all just go to sleep.

Grizz didn't say anything in response, but the troubled look on his face gave it all away. Something wasn't right, and they were all just trying to ignore it.