Go Away (#TheWattys2015)

Chapter 6: Distractions and Suprises

"Daija!," Mrs. Malone snapped. "Snap out of it." I blinked remembering I was in school. "Sorry ma'am won't happen again." "I hope not," Mrs. Malone sighed. All I could think about was Bella. The doctors said they tried everything. But the poison just got deeper the more they tried to get it out of her. That was the fifth time I'd spaced out in class today. People were starting to stare at me. Zack poked my back and I turned around to face him. "You ok?" His eyes were full of concern. "Yeah, I'm fine." After class I walked in the hallway and explained how Bella was doing to Tasha. Zack winked at me from his locker. I smiled and shook my head. Next up math. I was so caught up in my thoughts about Bella that I hadn't seen the big puddle of water in front of me. I slipped and went flying. For a few peaceful seconds I was suspended in the air, floating weightlessly. Just when I thought I would fall into the puddle and land on the hard floor, strong hands grasped my body and hoisted me up bridal style just as i was about 2 inches from the ground. I looked up just to see Zack looking down at me. "Careful." he said setting me down. I felt a small tingle around my back and behind my knees where his arms had been. "Um, thanks." I said. "No problem." He smiled and I couldn't help but notice how perfect his smile looked. It sent a chill up my spine. I shook away the feeling, smiled back, and walked over to Tasha, who had been laughing the whole time I was falling. She looked up at me. "Are you-are you- AHAHAHAHA- are you okay?" She stuttered then burst out laughing again. "Fine, thank you." I said rolling my eyes trying to fight down the growing smile tugging at my lips. Casey walked by with her little gang laughing and pointing. "Tripettes back in town everyone!" Lots of people laughed along with her and I pushed past them to my next class. Zack watched me walk away and I turned to wave at him just to see Casey walking toward him with a mischievous grin on her face. He looked at her and she began talking to him. Great, I thought. Once again Casey Lauren takes a boy away from me. In a matter of a day Zack Halen probably won't be my buddy anymore. I furiously shook my head and stormed to my next class.
When we entered math class we found out there was a substitute. I sat down on my desk and pulled out my math journal. The substitute wrote problems on the math board with his back to the class. He kept writing until the whole classroom was full and the board was covered in problems. He cleared his throat and spoke in a raspy voice, still facing the board. "Please excuse my soar throat. My name is Mr.Delagates. Your teacher would like you to try all of these problems and then write anything you don't understand on a separate sheet of paper. Once you finish this activity you may work with a partner to study for the test on Friday." Finally he turned around to face the class. My breath caught in my throat. He had strange plastic-looking tanned skin, pale glassy blue eyes that looked almost fake, dirty blonde hair sprouting from his head separated down the middle and slicked back, a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, and a cruel smile with straight teeth that looked super polished. As if they weren't his. He stared directly into my eyes and I froze. My arms exploded with goosebumps as a wave of cold washed over my body. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on top of me while I was completely naked. Something was off about this sub. When the light shone on his face I could see a strange grayish outline reaching up his face, stopping a centimeter away from his earlobe. The mark was barely noticeable. Maybe old stitches or something. He started passing out papers to everyone and once he finished he sat down and started to read. Suddenly Zack pulled up a chair next to me. "Hey wanna work together?" The cold vanished. I jumped. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you," he said. "Oh it's fine. Um, sure, why not?" I was relieved to see Casey hadn't brain washed him with lies and rumors about me yet. "Okay then so, which one do you want to do first?" he asked. "Hmm. I don't know how about the first one?" He looked down and blushed, sending a wave of tingles crashing into my stomach. "Sorry that was a stupid question." "You don't need to apologize." I said quickly. Maybe a little to quick. He looked up and held my gaze for what felt like 20 seconds. His deep hazel eyes seemed to swallow me into a spell not allowing me to look away. Sparks exploded in my stomach bouncing around like crazy. I smiled at him, breaking our mini staring contest, and tried to shake off the feeling. "Okaaay... So number one," I said writing the problem down. And from the corner of my eye I think I saw his cheeks turn a pinkish color. Maybe I just imagined it.
After a few problems my brain started to hurt. I looked at Zack and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up. "I'll be right back." He nodded. "You feeling alright?," There was a hint of concern in his voice. I tried to force down my smile. "Yeah, fine." I walked up to Mr.Delagates. "Excuse me, may I use the restroom?" He looked up and pure, painful cold surrounded me. His plastic-looking face seemed to almost shine in the classrooms lights. I stood there frozen. For some reason it was hard to breath and I felt as if my heart was being closed in on by my ribs. Looking back down at his book he waved his hand at the door. I let out a gasp and the feeling went away as soon as it had come. This guy was seriously weird. As I walked down the hall I walked past the janitors closet. Strangely it was cracked open. The janitor had always been careful never to leave it open. Curiosity tugged at my brain. I started to walk over to it. Slowly I pushed open the door and turned on the light. Slapping my hand over my mouth I held in a scream. Blood pooled around a mans body, spilling from deep gashes slashed across his chest. His face was extremely pale and his body remained motionless. One last wisp of white smoke curled off of the opening. Peering closely I found a name card just above the slash marks pinned to his shirt. I gasped as I read the name. Mr. Delagates.