Welcome. What I'm about to say is a bit heavy... I'm here to tell a story. This is the story of how my life fell apart... Though... I'm not a huge fan of the past. All it's ever done for me is taint the good memories I've had with my former friends...
Shit... My school comes into view, and my mom pulls into the side parking lot to drop me off at the curb.
I grab my backpack and step out of the car. My mom optimistically tells me to have a good day at school.
Mom: "Have a great day at school, son!"
Me:[blankly] "Yeah, I'll try..."
I close the door, and she drives off. I let out a long sigh and turn to face the gates of Hell... My high school campus. As I begin walking, I put my ear buds in and throw on my hoodie to block out the noise.
I take a moment to look around campus at the trouble I'm gonna have to deal with all year. The freshmen this year look snarky as hell... They're all so loud and obnoxious... Last year's batch didn't seem as bad, but this year I almost feel bad for anyone who needs to teach them.
I continue walking towards the office to look for my classes. Since I haven't been home, I haven't been able to check the mail and find out beforehand which classes I have. I haven't thought about logging into the school website to find out either... It completely slipped my mind since I've been so focused on trying to get home... Thankfully, the office posts everyone's schedules on the walls for the first few days of school.
I approach the wall ridiculously consumed by copy paper and search for the one with my name on it. As I scan down, I stop at the familiar names to see if they have a similar schedule to mine. At last, I find my name and check my schedule. Nice! I have all the classes I want. Although, I'm still iffy about my 6th period... Improv.
I shouldn't be so concerned about an encounter with anyone in that class, yet I still am. They probably don't notice anything wrong with my relationships with them, but for some reason, I feel a distant tension between just about everyone in that class. Towards the end of last year, that tension grew. I think it might be because I dropped out of 2 school plays so suddenly... That didn't seem to make them very happy at all, but I really needed time to myself for a little while. They can't possibly hold a grudge on that... right?
I hope it's all just in my head... I just need reassurance; I don't wanna coast through the entire year thinking everyone hates me. That's the last thing I want for me this year... The first bell abruptly began to ring. It caught me off guard, so I jumped. I'm standing directly under the speaker; that's where the bell sounds the loudest. With my ears ringing, I quickly snap a pic of my schedule and start walking to my 1st-period classroom.
When I walked inside, I noticed the classroom was bare. The teacher had probably just moved classrooms. I also noticed that we had a substitute teacher. He held no facial expression and didn't say a word to me when I walked in. His attention was glued to his computer screen, and my attention shifted to everyone in the classroom. There were a few familiar faces, but I wasn't close enough to any of them to join their conversations. I spotted my friend, Stephen, sitting in a desk near the corner of the room.
I've known Stephen since 8th grade. He's always been one of my best friends. He and I became a lot closer during our sophomore year. We had P.E. together, and our lockers were right next to each other. Almost every day that year, we naturally created random scenarios and played funny skits that ran very well. In fact, he's the one who convinced me to join improv. He said I'd be good at it; apparently, our skits were that good. I'm all for trying new things, and he said it'd be fun, so that's when I decided to join improv for my junior year. Sure enough, I never regretted that decision. He's pretty goofy, a pro at Super Smash Bros, and a really great friend. I've never really felt uncomfortable around him. If there's anyone in improv I feel most comfortable talking to right now, it's probably Stephen.
I make my way towards his desk, remove my ear buds, and sit next to him.
Me: "Hey Stephen, how've yo—"
Stephen:"Tyvan, have you heard from Tamrah at all recently?"
Stephen cut off my question... He seemed really concerned. He spoke with haste and was visibly restless. Stephen and Tamrah were very close too; they were a lot closer than he and I have ever been. What's going on?
Me: "Tamrah? No, I haven't. Why? Are you okay? Is she okay?"
Stephen's face grew pale. He looked like he was about to cry. He sat silently for a moment until he finally spoke again.
Stephen:"She's been missing for 2 weeks..."
His voice was starting to break, and my heartbeat seemed to reach a halt.
Me:"Missing...? What...?"
Stephen: "I— We just spoke to each other not that long ago... I'm so worried..."
Me:"Wait... Where did you hear this from? And how was I not told anything?"
Stephen's panicking began to translate to me. I felt my steady breath become an unpredictable mess and my legs start to tremble.
Stephen:"I found out through her parents when I asked about her... I would've told everyone else, but I was too sad to tell anyone just yet... We thought she was just busy with summer camp... She was so stoked to go and she's been telling me all about how she can't wait until it starts... When her parents hadn't heard from her in so long, they decided to call the camp and ask how Tamrah was doing... But they said they never enrolled a Tamrah into their roll call roster... She never made it to the camp..."
Me:"...Stephen..... I— I am so sorr—"
Stephen rushed outside to get some air. I've never seen him this upset before... I wanna say this is a joke, but Stephen would NEVER joke about something like this; no one can fake an attitude like that...
Missing? What the hell happened? Why is this happening? I don't understand... I really don't... What the FUCK, man... I just got here and I already come across shitty news... You never truly think about how scary a situation like this is when you hear about it on the news, but once it catches you by surprise right up your alley...
