YOU OWE ME

1. YOU OWE ME

Fire; red, hot flames of them.

My eyes stung from the smoke. Each inhale I took filled my nostrils with its stench, and my throat burned so much that tears filled my eyes.

I wanted to scream; I wanted to run. But I could not because I was trapped.

"Theo!"

A few minutes more and it will all be over-the pain, suffering, and suffocation. The flames of the fire would swallow me soon, and I will be free.

"Theo, love, wake up, please."

Or will I? There will not be any single, easy gulp. The fire would slowly consume me, taking its time to chew through my flesh and char my bones.

The fire would burn me alive.

I did not want that. I wanted to live. I-

"THEO!"

I sat up, falling straight into my mom's arms. Tears were streaming down my face and I was drenched in sweat. The gentle pats on my back made me realize how my limbs were trembling from the exhaustion of my nightmare.

This has become a routine every single night, for the past one year.

As I stayed in my mom's embrace, listening as she whispered gentle assurances, I wished I could go back in time and change what happened last summer.

.........................................................................

"I don't know Collins. Is this really a good idea?"

The night was dark and we were standing by the entrance to the school. The security was not in his usual spot; probably had gone on his midnight rendezvous. There was no way he could have possibly foreseen two drunken teenagers sneaking in at the dead of the night, and during the summer break at that.

Eric Collins, one of my closest friends since the last four years and currently the perpetrator of this stupid dare, smirked. "Aww...Is Theodore Brook afraid?"

I slapped him on his arms, "I am not scared. It just...seems dangerous."

He rolled his eyes. "Not convincing enough. Methinks you are afraid."

I glared at him. He really was a jerk.

"Fine," I huffed, "But let it be known that I still think this is a dumb idea."

"Alright," he drawled, "Now will you do the honours, and get going? Or would you mind paying me up? I don't mind either way. After all, I get to have the privilege of proclaiming to the entire student population at Burkeville High about my bosom friend being a real ninny."

I shoved him hard, and turned. It is no big deal. All I had to do was to go to the second floor and give him a signal. How difficult could that be?

Only if I had known beforehand as to how that night would turn out.

.........................................................................

One year had passed, but little had changed at Burkeville High. I closed the locker and turned, only to come face to face with two freshmen hurriedly averting their eyes and scampering off. Guess the gossips are still running strong, though it doesn't freak me out as it used to do.

When I had rejoined the school, after the incident, I was met with a sea of gazes-some curious, some sympathetic, and at least a few of them, contemptuous. I kept a distance from all of them, for I did not want to lose my composure and do or say something that I would regret later on. Especially when some of them brought my parents and their status to the mess. These people think they are know-it-all, when in reality, all they achieve is making assumptions, which are almost always wrong.