Beneath The Blackwood Sky | ✓

Chapter Twelve: The Story Of My Life

"I WAS NOT," JADE SHOUTED INDIGNANTLY and for a second, everyone in the school cafeteria turned to stare at them. After a second or two, the familiar cheerful chittering filled the room again. Shay sighed as she looked at Jade, "Yeah, you totally were." she said, her voice cool.

"Dude, I was the one running in the marathon. If I was the last one to reach, then I'd certainly know it wouldn't I?" Jade chomped on her food as she shook her head.

"Yeah, but we finished earlier than you did, and we know better than you," Shay replied curtly as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. Jade pointed her finger at Shay, elucidating every word. "I was the second last person for sure, I can assure you that I wasn't the last to complete the marathon," Jade said with a tone of finality as she leaned back.

Shay's eyes drooped down, and she fought to stay awake. Her sleeping hours had reduced considerably since people started dying in Blackwood, or it might be because of the fact that her father's death anniversary was approaching.

Shay ran a hand through her short hair, her eyes watering again. She had cut it as soon as she got to know about Marina's death. Her father's death had been a shock, but Marina's was another shock to process. Marina was another motherly presence in her life, someone who always fussed about the lack of dresses in Shay's wardrobe.

Marina would drag her to a mall then, and everyday morning she would be the one to braid Shay's hair in different styles because she loved her hair. Tears stung the back of Shay's eyes. Marina and Shay shared their love of nature, just as Will and her father shared their love of sports. Marina and Shay would sometimes go out, just the two of them, to places filled with wildlife whereas her father and Will would go to watch sports matches, Shay always tagging along with them because she loved sports too.

She shook her head wildly, chugging a bottle of water. "...yeah, you count a 5-year-old who was getting bored, then you'd be second last, if you thought that we didn't see the person who completed after you, then you're wrong, we knew you'd deny things like this, so we observed everything," Rose told Jade sternly, whose face looked like a seven-year-old caught lying.

Shay smiled through her tears, her vision blurring. She dipped her head down and wiped her face free of any tears and grabbed a newspaper. They seemed to be carrying those everywhere.

That weekend, Shay and her friends went to a marathon. Sweat and exhaustion dulled the bad things going around in their mind just as they expected. Shay still remembered the haunting and disturbing image of the wall and the person, but at least she didn't see it every time she closed her eyes.

Jade was someone who was very lazy, refused to run along with them. Shrugging, they went ahead and Jade was the last one to complete the marathon if they didn't count a small kid who wasn't even registered.

It did clear their mind though. The fresh air, the familiar scent of Blackwood, the sweat, exhaustion helped them a lot. "...need to ignore your laziness and start doing things, Jade." Rose was telling her and Jade stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah, at least improve your running speed." Shay said and Rose nodded energetically, "If you don't want to be humiliated in public." Shay opened the newspaper and flashed her a picture of a hundred year old man running energetically and coming first in the marathon. Yes, Shay found it weird that with all the death and destruction going around them, newspapers still talked about marathons.

"He is one hundred and eight years old and manages to be the first. What's your excuse?" The reply Shay got back made her smile widely. "He had so much time to practice," Jade had said, her mouth curling into a smile.

"As much as I hate saying this, Shailene please check the other headlines," Kai told her with a grin. Shailene flinched at the name before glaring, "It's just Shay."