Kids in the Dark [S.S. Book One]

Fifteen

Gym class. Rock walls. Oh yeah, today is gonna be great. No sarcasm intended. Knowing Coach, he'll probably put me with Stiles.

Sure enough, I heard Coach say to Scott, "McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy. Right? All right, next two. Stilinski, Devereaux, let's go. The wall."

Stiles grinned. "I'm gonna beat you to the top, Als."

"You wish. There's no chance I'm letting you beat me."

We were harnessed up and I began climbing the wall. I saw Stiles slow down. "Do you need me to slow down for you?"

"No, I'm admiring the view," Stiles said as he looked up.

"Maybe you should admire it from further away," I teased and climbed to the top.

I hopped off the wall and slid down. Erica was called up with her partner. She looked absolutely terrified as she mumbles, "Oh, please--"

"Erica," Coach called. "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out," Lydia stated in a slightly smug tone.

"Erica," Coach called again.

"I'm fine," Erica replied.

Wait. She gets seizures. What is that called? "Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison said. "You know she's epileptic."

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff? I have to get--Erica y-you're fine. Just--Just kick off from the wall. Th-There's a mat to catch you. Come on. See, you're fine. You're on the ground. You're all right. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."

Erica managed to get off the wall and landed on the mat. She looked extremely disappointed. She began climbing the walls again once everyone left. Suddenly, she fell to the ground and began seizing. Scott and Stiles came running out as Allison ordered, "Put her on her side. Put her on her side. How'd you know?"

"I just felt it," Scott replied.

Erica was taken to the hospital, and the rest of us carried on with our day. Eventually, lunch rolled around. Stiles motioned for me to sit down. What he had planned, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Boyd. You got the keys?" Stiles questioned.

Boyd frowned. "This isn't a favor. It's a transaction."

Stiles nodded. "Right, yeah. Absolutely." He offers Boyd a twenty dollar bill.

"I said fifty."

"Really, I--I remember twenty. I don't know. I have a really good verbal memory. And I remember twenty. I remember that distinct "twa" sound, "twa-enty."

"I said fifty. With the "fa" sound. Hear the difference?"

"Uh--"

"If you can't, I can demonstrate some other words with the "fa" sound."

"Uh, no, n--no. I think I'm recalling it. Now. Maybe I just got confused with for--ty. Come on, man, have you seen the piece of crap Jeep that I drive?"

"You seen the piece of crap bus that I take?" Boyd retorted.

"Fifty. Mmm. Okay. Thank you. Got 'em. Pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink. Cool?"

Suddenly, a blonde girl walked in and picked up the apple of a lowly freshman. She took a seductive bite as she walked out. "Is that--"

"Erica?" Stiles finished. "Yeah, it is."