the human condition ❁ paul lahote

chapter twenty: you suck, i swallow

| The Human Condition |

Chapter XX: You Suck, I Swallow

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."
― Marilyn Monroe

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          I WASN'T ONE TO OUTRIGHT skip, but after Biology came to a close and I got a glimpse of Kim's posse's backside in the hallway, I knew I needed to leave—get out of that wretched hellhole so I could think and breathe. I was already completely pissed off. I had Jeremiah and, once again, Kim's posse to thank for that. Paul's message was like a storm cloud over my head, patiently stewing as I went about, knowing the moment I got alone it'd be all I could think of. I needed to get away so I could come up with a plan. Somewhere I wouldn't have to worry about the newly-arrived vampire, whoever the hell it was, coming to crash the party.

          As everyone moved from fifth to sixth period, I snuck around a varying range of bodies, using my height to my advantage in ducking and dodging. I was hit in the head by some random asshole I knew from English, but I ignored the itching under my skin, knowing if I hit someone it'd put a damper on my plans—and truly make life an absolute agony once Dad decided he actually had kids to look after. I shook my head, refocusing on the task at hand. Getting away, avoiding attention. Hitting someone would garner attention. I thought about the consequences of pulling a Paul Lahote; suspension wasn't fun and only meant sulking under my roof with nothing, absolutely nothing, to preoccupy myself with. Yeah, not fun. Not worth it.

          I got to the front doors, slipping through. The school wasn't very safety-first and there weren't metal detectors, cameras, or even a worker detail sitting in the office watching vigilantly for dillydallying misfits. It made for easy, fast escape. I first checked my back for any potential followers, making sure I double-checked before booking it. I ran like a woken bat from a cave to my Dad's car, sitting unoccupied at the end of the parking lot. It was beside some girl's hand-me-down Chevrolet. Dad's car was a little Cavalier, gray as could be, in need of a paint job. It got the job done anyway, so maybe it was wrong to care about its many scratches and many bents from my many, many crashes and mishaps.

          My eyes rolled up, annoyed as all Hell. I dug my keys out of my bag's side pocket, using the car key to unlock the driver's side door before climbing in. My bag was thrown into the passenger seat, right where the coffee stain was, to be forgotten until I was home and had to remember all the at-home assignments. I'd be missing my last period, American History, but Mrs. Myers was good at reteaching old lessons during new ones. It came in handy now; usually it made for a good snore-fest. Whatever. I digressed.

          I turned the car on, feeling the ignition sputter to life. I carefully maneuvered out of my parking spot. On normal school days I waited for everyone to leave before I even thought about leaving myself, and that helped my anxiety when it came to pulling out and driving my way to the road and on the path home. I could be panicky behind the wheel when I least wanted to be.

          The vampire Paul mentioned, I thought, realizing he didn't give any information besides that: the vampire part. What did they look like? What was the vampire's gender? I couldn't really use deductive reasoning for appearance, the physical bits being a part of identity I needed to see in order to know. It made me wonder what I needed to look out for while alone or in the woods. If I wasn't careful I could easily wind up dead. Other than that, the vampire was probably not vegetarian—meaning it had red eyes. Red eyes meant human-drinking. Human-drinking was bad. For me, at least.