Unknown

12

"What grade?" Mrs. Tenner asks. "I'm too old to keep up with everything nowadays." She chuckles. "Ninth." I chuckle. "Your name's Kei, correct?" She asks, sitting her coffee on the desk. "Yes, ma'am."

"You're friends with Elijah right?" She asks. I look at her in confusion. "Oh, I almost forgot he likes to be called Eli." She smiles. "Oh, yeah. Something like that." I smile. My throat is killing me. "You looked a bit pale when you walked in this morning." She comments. "Oh, did I?" I say, handing her my mug.

She walks over to the counter and sits it on there, refilling hers. "Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Tenner," I say as I stand. I look at the clock and It's 20 minutes until the first bell rings and people are waiting outside. "It was nothing," She says before turning to me. "If you ever need to talk, I'm right here." She smiles.

"Thank you so much." I smile. I walk out of the office door and back outside to wait with the others. I put my headphones on and turn my music up before I realize I can't hear anything out of my left ear.

What am I gonna do now? I walk to a bench and sit down, not paying attention. I think of the scar on my cheek. What will Eli say?

Wait, why am I so concerned about what he thinks? He doesn't matter. I'm not gay, I don't think so. Because I'm attracted to Serena, but I don't know what I feel about Eli. Is he gay? I don't know.

Suddenly, a hand clasps my shoulder and I freeze. I feel a hand jerk my headphones off, and I stand up and face them defensively. "Dude! I've been trying to talk-" Johnis says. "What happened to your face?" He says. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. Don't touch my headphones again or I'll break your wrist."

He laughs. "Whatever. You know Serena? She wants me to meet her after school!" He says excitedly. I think back to the text from my boss. "Really? But should you trust her? I mean, we just met her yesterday." I say. "I also noticed that cleavage yesterday. You're just paranoid." He says. "You don't find her attractive?" He puts his arm around me and I push it off.

"She's pretty," I say. 'No.' I think. "But I just met her." He rolls his eyes. "This could be my one and only chance to get with a nice girl and you're telling me not to? Are you crazy?" He says. "Yes," I say blankly. He chuckles.

I feel a light tap on my back and turn to see Serena. "Hey, guys." She says sweetly. "Hey, Serena," I say awkwardly. 'Don't trust her.' I think.

I breathe in and catch a whiff of a strong sweet smell. It's not perfume. I look at Serena, who is now talking to Johnis. "Do you guys smell that?" I ask. Both of them look confused. It's got to be Serena. She had the same sweet smell to her before.

It's... intoxicating. I see Johnis clinging to her. She smiles at me. There's something seriously wrong here.

Suddenly I feel a hand hit my back. I jump forward a little bit, turning. I see Eli. "Hey, guys-" He says. "What happened?" He says worriedly. I feel my heart pound for a second. "I uh, I don't know," I say. "An ATV wreck," I say. He looks at me skeptically.

We stare at each other for a second, not breaking eye-contact. "Did something happen between you guys?" Serena says. Eli looks at me and smirks. "N-No," I say, looking away. What actually happened to your face? I hear, but not out loud. I look at Eli sigh mentally.

I smile brightly at him. "Nothing," I say out loud. "What?" Johnis says. My face gets red. "Leave me alone. I had an exhausting night." I say, thinking back to the kid in the forest. I push the thought out of my mind before Eli gets a chance to read it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hang out with you Serena. Some family stuff came up." I smile at her. "It's alright." She says. Suddenly, the bell rings. We all start to walk to the doors again but Eli grabs my arm. "Are you okay?" He says, looking me in the eyes. My heart skips a beat.