I stare blankly at the clear blue sky. My mind is clear of all the problems and worries that had been plaguing me since several weeks ago. Recess had ended moments ago, the bell signaling its end had rung several minutes ago. By now, students are already rushing to their next class, but I, on the other hand, am still on the roof of the school with my back on one of the school's many air filtering units.
If you haven't notice by now, I'm a delinquent. I'm still a normal person though. I don't have piercings or tattoos, my wardrobe choices does not consist of spiked leather jacket, black gloves or any biking gears or article of clothing that makes you look like a member of a local biker gang, and I don't have bleached, shoulder length hair (I'm naturally blonde, though). The reason why people, especially fellow students, look up at me and stay away from me (for some reason) is because of a single thing that is destroying my reputation, and that is being the first student in almost a decade to repeat a year, making me the oldest Junior in Lincoln City High School (I'm turning eighteen this December).
But that isn't the reason why I'm cutting class today. The reason why is because I'm tired, like really, really exhausted. My body can hardly move with ease. Well, the stress of working three part-time jobs every night is finally taking its toll on my body. That's the sacrifice you make so you can feed yourself every day and live comfortably with a roof under your head.
Just as I thought I was alone, I grab from my bag a pack of unopened Marlboro Reds, which had been sitting in my bag along with my notebooks and pens. I know cigarettes can get you suspended here in school, but smoking has had helped me in relieving stress these past several months. I take a stick and put it between my lips. Just as I was about to light it up, a familiar voice said "You do know smoking within the campus can get you suspended, right." Shit! Not her again!
I jump off the air filter and in front of me stood my best friend's sister: Chloe Marshall. She had her arms crossed and an earphone was on her hear, though I doubt that she was listening to anything, since she her phone wasn't in her pocket. She then moved her arms on her waist.
"Wait, what are you even doing he-," I didn't had the chance to finish my sentence when Chloe snatched the cigarette from my lips and placed it between her own. "Hey what the fuck!" I said, raising my voice, "What the fuck do you think you're doing? What the fuck are you doing here anyway?"
She grinned at me. "We both know the answers to your questions." Well, at least you know the answers.
"It's impossible that you're cutting class since you're the-."
"Okay, before you say anything about me being a genius or being my brother's sister, let me just point out that I am not what everyone thinks that I am, some kind of goody-two shoes. I am not my brother, so now," She puts the cigarette between her fingers, "Can I borrow a lighter so I can light this cigarette up?"
It took me probably ten seconds before I had completely processed in my mind what she had just said, and by that time, she was already digging her hands in my pockets, looking for the lighter.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" I pulled out her hands immediately, "Get your damn hands off my pockets. I'm not gonna let you smoke, Chloe. Your brother will kill me."
"Oh, come on. It's not like he'll even find out."
We practically had a mini staring contest. Her grin grew bigger as each second passed. After what seemed like forever, I gave up and tossed her my lighter. She catches it and lights the cigarette before puffing a smoke. She attempts to release the smoke from her lungs, but ended up coughing violently, like a person with tuberculosis.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I was lighting my own cigarette.
She turns to look at me with large, teary, red eyes. She raises a thumbs-up and said: "Yes." Before coughing again before finishing her sentence with an: "I'm fine."
I head to one of the rooftop railings, pulling out a stick of cigarette from the pack as I go. "So what are you even doing here?" I asked.
"Didn't I tell you why I'm here? Isn't it even obvious?" she rolled her eyes at me. "I'm cutting class, remember?"
"So why are you cutting class?"
"What's it to you? Wait...are you worried about me, Reiner?"
"You wish." I light the cigarette on my mouth up and took a puff of smoke.
"Oh...So you're worried about me repeating a year like you? How unlike you." She grinned at me before tossing the half-burnt cigarette off the roof to the ground below.
"Okay, I don't really care anymore." She rolls her eyes again before walking towards me and rests her arms on the space beside me.
Just as I tossed my cigarette off the roof after finishing it, I ask Chloe, "Hey, do you want to ditch school with me?"
"Huh?" she said at first before her eyes widened fifteen seconds later. "Wait, what?! You're asking me out on a date?"
"In your dreams, Chloe. I'm just asking if you wanna hang out, not develop a relationship."
"I had no idea you were a romanticist."
"Oh, shut up. We're just going to hit the arcade then probably watch a movie or two." God dammit, why doesn't she wipe that damn grin off her damn face?
Before she could respond to what I had said, I immediately grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the stairs. I tightened my grip so she couldn't shake her hand free. "Reiner, you're cr...crushing my hand." She said, trying to tone down her voice as we went down the stairs to avoid detection from patrolling teachers.
We reach the first floor of the in less than a minute, by that time, I was already crushing Chloe's hand, and I could hear her whimper softly.
"If I let you go, can you promise me to walk fast while keeping quiet?"
"Do you see me as Solid Snake?" she rolls her eyes again. Seriously, if I had a spoon in hand, I would had gouged out her eyes ages ago. She really need to cut that habit off.
"Fine, we're almost there anyway, so just keep your damn voice down."
The journey to the school exit was both brief and tense. Chloe and I both found ourselves looking behind our backs to see if a teacher had caught us or not. It seems, though, that all the teachers patrolling the first floor are in the teacher's lounge, probably just chilling. How irresponsible.
We reach the school exit, which also doubles as its entrance, in no less than five minutes. Unfortunately, though, the principal's office and the teacher's lounge are all found just beside the exit. Worse, the door of the principal's office is wide open, hopefully, they are busy doing something on their laptops, so going pass through them will be a breeze.
I was right. As we pass through the principal's office, I saw, or simply just caught a glimpse, that both the principal and his assistant were busy on their laptops. He's probably downloading porn. Who knows. It's not like I even care.
Fortunately for us and unfortunately for the school, the exit is locked with only a simple hatch. Seriously? The last time I was caught trying to ditch school, I overheard them talking about changing the lock, but it seems that some people never learn from their past mistakes. I lift the bolt and slowly unlocked the hatch before opening the door.
Then a man burst through the door and lands on me. The force of him landing on me sent me falling to the ground.
I managed to lift my head up when the guy grabbed one of my leg. I looked at him and saw how blood he was. His face, arms and clothes were all a mess, caked in his blood. He looks at me and managed to croak out: "He...elp m...me." Fear had already overcome me that I unconsciously kicked the guy right in the face. I don't know how many kicks I gave him, but soon, he was lying on the ground, unmoving.
"Ch...Chloe!" I had already forgotten about Chloe. I turned my head and saw Chloe backed up against the wall, looking terrified as hell. I swear I could see tears running down her cheeks. "Chloe.....Chloe, I...I...I didn't kill.....the guy's still alive." I stared at the man in front of me and still saw him breathing, though it seems faster than normal. At least he's a....
"What the hell just happened?" Shit!
I turned around and the school principal looking at me, then at Chloe, then at me, again.
"I...I...I can explain." I said, even though I have no idea what the fuck just happened.
The door of the teacher's lounge opened and soon, five teachers poured out. Mrs. Brown, the English teacher, screamed immediately after seeing the guy I had knocked out and nearly fainted.
"Get Mrs. Brown to the damn infirmary. Ms. Lee," He looks at his secretary, who was standing by the doorframe, her expression a mix of shock and disgust, "call 911. Mr. Scotts and Ms. Marshall," he looks at the both of us, throwing daggers at the same time, "my office, now. I want you to accompany them, Mr. Bennet."
I look at the teacher the principal was looking at. It was Mr. James Bennett, or Mr. Bennett or Sir Bennett, depending on who you are or what is your position in school, our gym teacher. I let out a horrified expression as I was dragged by the hood of my jacket to the principal's office.
"Sir, I think the phone's down." The principal's secretary said, holding up a phone.
"Go find a phone, dammit. Use the teacher's lounge's, or whatever phone you can find." The principal was clearly furious, "Just find a way to call 911 and take the guy to the infirmary." The secretary nodded before leaving the office.
The principal slams his fists on the table. "Goddammit, I've already got enough problems in my hands, and now, you two are making m hands full." He turns to me, "You, Mr. Scotts, have been nothing but trouble since the first time you set foot on this school. How could you think of even dragging Ms. Marshall into this mess.
"And you, too, Ms. Marshall," He turns to Chloe, "What are you even doing here. Don't you have class? Don't the both of you have class?"
"Well, it's her decision to cut class, not mine." Everyone in the room, including Mr. Bennett, stared at me. All I could do was smile, or rather pretend to smile.
"Mr. Scotts, since you have violated school rules too many times already, you will be suspended for two weeks." I rolled my eyes. It's just suspension. Nothing serious.
"And you, Ms. Marshall, you will have detention later this afternoon, and I will be notifying your parents about your actions."
Just as we were wrapping up, a loud scream rings from outside. It sounded like it was from Mrs. Brown, the English teacher. We burst out of the office, the principal the first one to get out.
"What the hell is all this ruckus about?" he said.
My mouth gaped open as I stared at the scene outside the office:
The guy I had knocked out earlier looked alright, except that now, he was ripping off a piece of the principal's assistant's neck, forming a pool of blood underneath them.
"What the...." The principal screamed. The guy looked at him in an instant and before anybody could react, had already pinned the principal down on the ground. The principal struggled to push the guy of him, but ended up getting bitten in the arm. He screams as the guy tore through his arm, exposing the bones.
I don't know if it was instincts or just plain stupidity, but I just ran to the guy and kicked him squarely in the face, again. My kick sent the guy flying, but he quickly recovered, scrambling to his feet before charging right at me.
I managed to grabbed hold of his neck. He begins gnashing his teeth at me while thrashing his arms wildly, trying to make me let go of my grip on his neck. I closed my eyes, trying to avoid the blood and saliva dripping from his mouth and face from touching my eyes. Dammit! Didn't he look weak earlier? Why ids it that he's suddenly strong?
He grabs both my arms, his fingernails trying to dig into my flesh, but thankfully, I am wearing my jacket. He probably realized that he wasn't making anything happen, because right after that, he began pulling apart my arms, trying to pry away my hands from his neck. Shit! He's too strong! I'm going to end up like the assistant if I or if anyone doesn't do anything.
Just as I was losing the strength of my grip, I heard glass break, then a crack. The guy grew limp in a split second, before collapsing on top of me. I looked at the back of his head and saw blood pouring out slowly from the wound. I look up and saw Chloe holding a slightly bent trophy; one of the corner of the base was bloody.
"I owe you one." I said as she helped me up on my feet.
"Oh, it was nothing." She said, trying to sound sarcastic.
Just as we thought everything was fine, the principal's assistant got up on her feet as if no one had torn a chunk of her flesh of her neck and, to our horrors, attacked Mrs. Brown, who was the near her. Mrs. Brown screamed as the assistant's teeth tore off the skin of her cheek.
"Dammit!" Mr. Bennett said, "Did anyone call 911 yet? We're in really deep shit right now."
A male teacher took out his phone before saying: "There's no fuckin' signal!"
Just after that, the principal got up in the same manner as his assistant, and , as if he was high or something, began to bite Mrs. Brown's shoulder. Mrs. Brown lets out a cry of pain and anguish as she realizes that no one was attempting to help her. I felt sorry for her as we began running towards the classrooms.
"Fuck! I'll go to the Audio-Visual room and put the school in a lockdown." Mr. Bennett said, "The remaining teachers, please escort any students loitering in the hallway to their classrooms. Mr. Scotts and Ms. Marshall," he turned at us, "Get somewhere safe."
I nodded before dragging Chloe with me towards the only place I can think of that can hold of whatever those....things were: the cafeteria.
Just as we reach the stairs near the cafeteria, Chloe stops me from going further and said: "Reiner' what about Alex?" Shit! Because of everything that is happening right now, I completely forgot about her brother.
"I'll go get Alex. You, on the other hand, head to the cafeteria and barricade it."
"No! I'm going with you!"
"Chloe, I'm not saying that you're dead weight, but if something were to ever happen to you, I have no idea how I am going to forgive myself."
Chloe looks at me for a moment, before running off to the cafeteria. I watch her before she disappears into the hallway before checking over my shoulder to see if those god damn things were behind me. Thank god they're not.
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