The Sound of Glass Hearts {Kellin Quinn} (Watty Awards 2013)

2 - Tangled in the Great Escape

    It was the end of my senior year, one of those years where all the bullshit has ended and school is about to come to a close.  The teachers aren’t assigning work anymore, the chalkboards are blank and our backpacks are void of papers.  It’s the time of year that I lose my mind.  I’m already smarter than half of my teachers and at this point, my attendance is just an excuse to keep me locked in a gilded cage for a  few more days.  I hate high school, if you can’t already tell.  I’m too intelligent, my teacher’s drawling speech is irritating and the fact that they dumb down a lot of details on the classroom for the kids that can’t do shit is pissing me off.  I’m in a few AP courses but it still isn’t the same.

    So that’s probably why I skipped my Physics class in favor of something more fun.  I mean hell, I’m graduating anyway as valedictorian and I think I have a right to get my last few ditching days in order. 

    I walked down hallways, peeking around corners to make sure that the fuzz isn’t going to find me before I could reach my locker.  I wanted to get my stuff and go home.  Granted I live pretty far away but I walk home every day anyway or catch a ride with a friend.  Well if my friends were here at school, I’d ask them for a ride but they’re stingy and won’t come get me now that they’re being lazy asses on the couch.  As I reached my locker, I spun for the combination, unlocked and opened it to find my backpack untouched along with a light jacket. 

    It’s cold for May.  You know when you have those uncharacteristic summer cold fronts that like to show up at the most inhospitable moments?  Yeah that’s what this is.  It has brought rain incessantly for the past few days and I can only hope for a little sun and less water as I walk home.  Don’t get me wrong, I love rain, but rain plus a light, easily soaked jacket and a long stroll back to my casa isn’t exactly the definition of joy for me.

    Just as I closed my locker, bag slung over my shoulder, I heard footsteps approaching this hallway.  My stomach dropped and frustrated painted my veins.  Why this day of all days was I going to get caught?  It was one of the last days I was ever going to be in high school and I had had yet to be caught.

    “Shit,” I whispered and begin to make a mad dash - as quietly as possible, mind you - for the corner.  Our security guard was a cranky, cantankerous old man who had a younger lackey with a Bloodhound nose for students who ditched.  I had prided myself on never being caught, but today was another matter and I knew it.  I could feel it as though there were a neon sign attached to my person that screamed ‘come get me’.

    As I rounded the corner, I nearly screamed when I ran into a solid body.  Arms wrapped around me so that I wouldn’t skid and fall to the ground for my shoes seemed to find no grip.  I felt my stomach plummet to the soles of my feet.  I had been caught and I knew it…but the body I was pressed against wasn’t the fat man I was expecting.  Rather the skinny creature I was being held by felt gentle, not abrasive as though I was in trouble.  A soft, musical chuckle erupted from the creature.

    “Kellin?” I questioned, eyes opening and shooting up to meet my friend’s eyes.  He was gorgeous, to say the least, a choir boy and a drama kid that made me laugh and encouraged me to serenade him every now and again.  We were acquaintances that occasionally hung out when there was no one else around but we made a good team. 

    “What are you doing out Miss?” he teased, wrinkling his nose and smiling broadly at me.  I stuck my tongue out.

    “Was just leaving,” I replied, earning a roll of his eyes.

    “Why don’t you just hide out in the Common Room and take a nap with me?” he asked casually.  I glared at him and laughed faintly.

    “Oh yeah so you can break my heart too you manwhore?  Na I pass,” I said and watched as he made a face full of mock horror.  I giggled as quietly as I could, peeking around the corner to see if anyone had actually begun to walk towards us.  “Besides, the teachers all know who I am remember?  I’m the smart kid that all of them love.”