At The Edge Of Oblivion

- The Plan -

      3:45 pm, September 8th, 2014

    I could feel the sun on my face as I slumped against the school waiting for my ride. The lot was nearly empty. There wasn't a bus or car in sight. Most specifically, my car wasn't in sight. It was the usual drill. Based on my experience, I had another half hour until my ride would show. I sat with my shades on and headphones in. It was bliss to say the least. I wonder if I could survive the apocalypse? What an odd thought, but I suppose I don't have anything better to do. I did think that I could survive. It wouldn't be as difficult as the media made it to be. I mean, after two or three weeks the dead would just decompose right? Of course they would. You'd only have to last about a month then you'd be fine. Simple. This was definitely a good way to spend my time. I was in the middle of detailing my battle plans when a shadow suddenly moved over me.
   "Hey stranger." said the shadow, slumping down next to me. Allison said she had missed the bus and was going to walk home. She figured that I would be sitting here so she came to keep me company. We talked about our days for a few minutes. It was school so there really wasn't much to say. She leaned her head on my shoulder and proposed that we meet at our spot later that evening. She even offered to bring the food. I of course was sold.  Around fifteen minutes later Allison stood up and declared that she was heading home. We hugged me goodbye then turned to walk off. She made it a few steps before turning with a devilish smile on her face.
    "Don't you walk home on Mondays?" She winked then disappeared in the trees. I heard her laughing in the distance. I stood up confused.. It's Monday? I chuckled as I grabbed my bag and sauntered off.
    It was a nice walk. Now that the sun was out, it felt great. I had my walk home mix booming through my headphones. My walks were always one of my favorite parts of the day. I really got a chance to be alone with my thoughts. Today they were unusually quiet. I didn't mind though, peace and quiet is nice sometimes. As people passed I began to imagine where they were going. A tall gentleman in a red cap walked towards me. In my eyes, he was a giant. The longer I watched the more the world fell away. Perhaps he was heading to a game, he was certainly dressed for it. Or was it that he was simply heading home. Maybe he was a spy sent here to watch Mr. Schneider. Schneider was this crusty, old creep that lived at the end of my road. One of those "sit in the attic with binoculars" type of folk. I think he had fought in a war. Never did figure out which one, but he'd mumble about it sometimes. Suddenly I snapped back to reality. I was sitting on my floor. I did that sometimes. My mother loved the house to be in perfect shape. I learned to clean rather quickly, lest I face her wrath. The floor seemed like a more suitable option than messing up my bed and being scolded if she decided to take a stroll through the house. I checked my watch and it was almost 5. Time has a funny way of slipping away from me sometimes. I could blink at 6am and when I opened my eyes it would be noon. Though I never made a fuss, it would've done me no good if everyone thought I was crazy. Am I ?
I could smell spaghetti cooking from across the house. I soon found myself in the kitchen with a heaping plate of food because, as mother so affectionately would say as she loaded my plate,
    "a growing boy needs some meat on his bones," or something like that. I didn't complain. This was a meal I would happily gorge myself on. The rest of the evening went pretty normal. I returned to my room to do whatever homework I had. Being that it was my freshman year, it was probably something like French or Math. Two subjects I detest more than any other. The sound of my clock rang in between my ears like drums. The closer my meet with Allison, the more nervous I became. I had no reason to suspect that Mother, or any of my family for that matter had any inkling of my late night retreats into the woods. I was clever and knew how to hide my tracks. I played a convincing buffoon in public. It was for appearances however. If everyone suspected me to be an incompetent and socially awkward mess, they wouldn't see me as capable of everything I had gotten away with over the years. Typically the price for being clever is being lonely, but not tonight. Tonight I had a date of sorts. A friend. Somewhere in the woods.