KISS: Casablanca High School

Ch 136: What's Going On? (Paul)

I looked around the parking lot, frowning. Gene's car wasn't there, which didn't necessarily mean he wasn't there, but it wasn't a good sign. He wasn't in gov, and a quick conversation with Eric told me he hadn't been in calculus. Definitely not a good sign.

I pulled out my phone, looking to see if he had texted me, but nothing, not even our snapchat streak. And a quick check on Instragram showed me he hadn't been active since yesterday. I sent him another text asking where he was and tried to tell myself nothing was wrong. 

Still nothing by lunchtime, and I was on the edge of freaking out. Ace slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me against his side. "Paulie baby I'm sure he's fine, if something was wrong he'd tell you! He's probably just got the flu or something and has been asleep all day," he said soothingly.

I nodded, trying to get myself to believe him as I gave him a quick kiss. "You're probably right. I'm gonna stop by after school though, just to see where he is." Ace nodded, snuggling against me and melting my heart. "That's a good idea."

Gene still hadn't gotten back to me by the time the final bell rang so I headed to his apartment, making sure I had the spare key this time. "Gene? You home?" I asked, knocking on the door a few times. Nothing. No surprise.

Shaking my head, I let myself in. "Gene?" Still nothing. I moved through his apartment, searching all four rooms before having to accept that he wasn't here. But I knew he had to be, because his car was in the lot still. Heart starting to race, I pulled out my phone and called him, hoping to hear it ring if he didn't pick up. Nothing. Which meant he had his phone which meant I could track it because we knew each other's passwords to everything.

The map showed he was in the building, and I stood in his room, racking my brain and trying to figure out where the hell he was before the door opened and Gene and I stood staring at each other in silence, his already flushed face only growing redder.

"Where were you? Are you okay?" I asked after a pause. He let out a sigh, before shaking his head. "Sorry. I should've called you. I meant to," he mumbled, dropping his phone on the table and walking to his room.

"Dude, what's wrong? You weren't at school, are you okay? Like...like are you sick or something?" I asked, following him. He shook his head again, throwing himself onto his bed and scowling at the ceiling. "Sick of living, more like."

I sat on the edge of his bed, looking at him in concern. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He let out another huge sigh, running a hand through his hair. "It costs $17,000 to pay room and board at Stanford. Per year. I don't have $17,000. I don't think I've ever had $17,000."

"Damn. But you got a scholarship, right?" I asked, trying to be encouraging.

He shook his head, still staring at the ground. "Not for that. Just tuition and books. Which is helpful, don't get me wrong! But it doesn't give me the money I need. And what really sucks is the average funeral cost is way cheaper, meaning it makes more financial sense for me to fucking kill myself than go to college."

I looked at him in horror, heart in my throat, before I grabbed his arm. "No, no, no, no, Gene, Gene no, don't say that, don't say that, you can't say that," I cried, gripping him tight enough to hurt him.

He shook his head, gently prying my hand off of him. "I'm not going to kill myself, don't worry. I'll just cry to Stanford that I need more money and hope they give it to me. If not, I'll take out loans and hope I get a good job after college."

"I'm sorry man. That sucks," I said quietly, and a bitter smile spread across his face. "Nah, it's fine. I should've told you where I was though, I didn't mean to make you worry." "Yeah, I was worried. You didn't answer my question, where have you been all day?"