I hit the door running. For the briefest moment I was alone in the vastly empty hall, staring down eternity. My query was nowhere to be seen.
Rays of artificial light beamed from the fluorescent bulbs overhead, glowing yellow from the old plastic covers that had collected bugs and dust over the years. I felt like I was in the wild west. Only my opponent hadn’t showed. And there were no tumbleweeds. But the bell was going to chime any second, announcing the start of the next class. From what my syllabus said, that would be Chemistry.
The memory of my schedule, and the fact that I was in school, snapped me back to the now. Almost as if on command, a roar of chatter assaulted my ears. Doors opened from every classroom within sight. Students piled into the hall, threatening to overrun me. This wasn’t good by any means. Thus far I’d been able to avoid the mob by being the last to leave one class, and the last to arrive at the next. I’d received a few undeserved glares from my teachers to that fact, but I was typically in my seat before the bell rang.
I didn’t deal well with large crowds of people. I wasn’t afraid of them. There wasn’t much I was afraid of. And even if there was, I wouldn’t openly admit it. Fears could be used as a weapon. And I preferred to keep my weaknesses hidden. My issue was more of the constricted variety. When too many people were around me, I felt trapped. And therefore, had to escape. But my current predicament didn’t appear to offer such solution. There was nowhere to go. The only gaps I could see between the lockers were opening to classroom, which people were both spilling from as well as filing into.
I closed my eyes, forcing a calm. If I would wait them out, the bulk would pass and I could be on my way. Almost as quickly as my vision went dark, a red flash shot through my senses. I knew what it was. But I hadn’t been prepared for it.
Pain struck my right shoulder, twisting me around. Balance lost, I tripped over my boots and crashed to the floor. Laughter erupted around me and my sight returned, displaying a side to this school I hadn’t yet seen, but never once suspected didn’t exist. I was the butt of the joke, surrounded by kids that cared about little more than themselves. Though I couldn’t blame them. They didn’t know me. Nor I them. And at this rate, that was irrelevant. There was less than a month left of the school year. How well could you truly get to know anyone in that short amount of time?
Glancing up, I heard the source of my attack. It came in the form of a boisterous cackle that echoed far above the chaos. I recognized the voice immediately.
“Get use to the floor, Freak. You’re gonna be spending a lot of time down there!”
I hated jocks. Especially those who had to put others down to feel better about themselves. And the fact this one, Jake was his name if my memory was correct, and it nearly always was, had tried to assault me my first day, I had a pretty good idea I was going to have to give him reason to find a new target.
Most of the stampede had passed, giving me room to pick myself up. I was on my hand and knees when I noticed another person kneeling beside me. I looked over to find Alan. My bag was in his hand, extended put to me. The broken and taped glassed upon his face were cracked and the frame was bend, narrowly containing one of the lenses. Judging from the black eye behind it, I had a pretty good idea who was responsible.
“You okay?” His calm, yet shallow voice asked.
“Yeah. How about you?”
“I’ll be fine. My mom isn’t gonna be too happy about my glasses. But I suppose if that’s the worse I get, I’ve got it made.”
“I wish I had your optimism.” Taking my bag, I got to my feet just as the bell rang. I was late. A deep sigh escaped me. I really didn’t feel like dealing with the ridicule of being late. Not to mention the torment I’d have to suffer through the class itself. Jake sat in the back row and I had a pretty good feeling he’d feel need to add insult to injury. “What class do you have next?”
“English. You?”
“Chemistry. But I don’t think I’m gonna go. You wanna go hang out in the ROTC supply room? I’ve heard the teachers are willing to write you a pass so long as you do something productive.”
“Yeah. Sergeant Major and Colonel are pretty cool. They’re by far my favorite people here.”
Alan looked both sincere and excited at the possibilities. I found that kind of sad. Though I hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know them. But they seemed well liked by pretty much everyone. “So, do you wanna go?” I would see the struggle in his face. He was torn between his perfect record and delinquent behavior. Something told me he had a thirst for the latter.
“I kind of have a paper that’s due today.” Alan slowly confessed, looking disappointed in himself.
“No worries. There’s always next time. I’m gonna go check it out. You take care of yourself and try to avoid those fists.” I gestured to his face, though the reminder unnecessary.
“See ya.”
I walked off, altering course from my predetermined destination. If I could find a loophole to get out of class without getting in trouble, it was worth checking out.