The Woods

Chapter 4

"Como te llamas?" The Spanish teacher snapped at one of the kids...

"Como te llamas?" Her finger pointing at me this time, to damn bad I wasn't listening.

"Huh?" I questionably asked. I really should have been listening.

"Como te llamas? Brian, are you even listening to me?? Hello!??" The Spanish teacher started to get very angry with me. I was looking out the window as if I was having a staring contest with the woods. I kind of felt bad about not listening but it's not like I was going to get detention. I felt that if I had looked away from the woods that something would move or that something would pop up against the glass and I would be the only one to see it

"Brian, I would like to see you after class"

"Okay" I answered back, see what did I tell you, I'm not going to get detention.

Now the class period was over.

"Brian, why weren't you paying attention in class today" The Spanish teacher didn't seem to be yelling at me as I thought she was going to. She actually was very polite.

"Brian, because this school is very strict about paying attention. Especially if your grades are bad, and they are. I'm going to have to give you two hour detention," That doesn't sound so bad...

"After school. Today" What? Today?? Why today, why not Monday, or ANY other day other than this one!!??? Seriously, the one day she notices that I'm slacking off?? The thing that sucked most about the woods is that it's behind my house and right next to my school.

My school day ends at 2:40pm and plus two hours makes everything better! Everybody loves getting home at 4:40 in the afternoon! If you couldn't tell that was sarcasm. Plus, it takes a good 30-60 minutes to walk home. since the after school activities haven't started, there are no after school buses. I can't wait, I have to go home. This day is getting bad.

As I walk to me seat, I see something move bear the woods. this was no bear, no animals live in those woods other than birds. As I stare out the window I see something move out of the corner of my eye, I turn around. It was just Shannon, Jordan was sick today. I really shouldn't have scared myself for nothing. I tell them what I saw, and again, Shannon still doesn't believe me.

Shannon plopped down on the seat and stuck her fork into her mash potatoes angrily.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I didn't want to be annoying or get her mad, well more than she is right now.

"It's nothing, OKAY!" Something was wrong, very wrong. Even at the worst of times, she is always calm and collected. She just looks mean and broken down.

"Okay, I know when something's up. What is it?" I was afraid she was going to yell at me, so I said it in the nicest voice I could manage. She slowly pulled herself together and talk.

"I didn't want to tell you because it didn't happen for a while since you showed up and I didn't think that it would happen to you too." Was she talking about what I think she was talking about?

"I've been having those sleep walking things too, it started happening a few days before you moved in. The day that i saw you, for the first time I stopped having them. It was like I passed it on to you." No way, no wonder she didn't like me talking about the woods so much. It all started with her. Either way, I still have 3 periods left and two hour detention.

"I have to go to class, bye." She said with a little relief, probably because she got all that off her shoulder. She also said it with grief, she started something and she thinks it all her fault.

Nothing happened for the next 3 periods, time for stupid, dumb, detention.

"Hola, Señora." I said pretending like I knew what I was saying.

"Hola" She replied while putting away a few things she had out in class today.

While putting stuff away in her desk, she looked up, her desk was located in the back of the classroom and right up against the window. And you've probably guessed it by now, the woods were facing the window.

"Brian, was that you?" Señora had a very concerned sound to her voice.

"No, what happened?" I made a kind of concerned/confused face. Just to make sure she didn't think that I thought she was crazy.

"I thought that I saw something in those darn woods, again. I must be going crazy." Again? When was the first time?? Okay, something is really going on here and it's not just me and Shannon. Even my Spanish teacher knows about the woods. After that conversation, there was just silence until she put on some Spanish music. I later helped put things in the classroom away like crayons and scissors.

When detention was over, I started walking home. I stared at the woods just to make sure nothing was there or going to jump out at me. Obviously, there was nothing there except my imagination.