This is his last chance.

Gabriel shudders in his seat under his hoodie, his heart pounding at his ribcage. The mere thought makes him scared. His gaze flicks around, but it always returns to Jonan, who is chatting with his friends across the room.

The room is filled with excitement and anticipation, for the students know that after this last class will be winter break, where Christmas and New Year parties await them (not that Gabriel would know, he doesn't go to parties). They chatter among themselves, papers shuffling, chairs creaking, and the clock ticks, as steady as ever.

One, two, three.

The teacher occasionally glances up from her laptop, and the classroom would momentarily quiet, but the teacher doesn't care. It's study hall, and she would much rather not be here. She grasps the remote and turns the heater higher until it reaches 23 degrees.

Gabriel opens his mouth and closes it. He can't seem to call Jonan--the words won't form and the possibility that everyone will stare is too high.

His open backpack slips from the hollow back of his chair and onto the ground.

Thump. Gabriel jumps at the sound, and he sees the notebook slide out; its black cover stares at Gabriel expectantly.

The clock becomes louder.

The wooden spine is almost warm against Gabriel's frozen fingers when he picks it up and fails to flip through its pages. But as he sets the book on the table, the pages fall into place, and the black ink is clear.

He lost his legs, and I just stood by and watched him lose his future and career. I did nothing...if I had just stopped him from going on that road trip...

Gabriel stares at the paper and looks at Jonan, who is laughing, happy.

"My parents finally let me visit the south coast by myself," he hears Jonan say.

His friends laugh. "I thought you said you were going to train over the break."

"Well... Cross country is in the spring, and it's only going be a couple of days. Besides, I'll be able to spend some time alone on the road."

The chair crashes to the ground as Gabriel surges from his seat. His heart beats wildly, and Jonan faces him, surprised.

"Jonan you, are y-you going on a, um, road trip..." he laughs nervously. "I heard, uh, you were, you were going on a road trip uh alone?"

This is when Gabriel finds the room staring. A pencil drops from a table, the sound crisp, and rolls beside him. Even the teacher pauses from her article, raising an eyebrow.

A choking gasp escapes from Gabriel as he thinks of something to say.

He looks at their faces that distort into masks, plastic. Sweat trickles down his forehead, splashing onto the floor, and the chalky tiles become psychedelic, swaying, and stretching. He bends over the desk to steady himself, but his hands have lost their touch.

He opens his mouth and closes it. The clock ticks back at him.

One, two, three.

Gabriel sees their mouths moving.

They're talking, and Gabriel is certain that it's about him (he is wrong of course). He scans the class but his eyes won't focus. He puts a hand to his neck; it's hard to swallow the bile rising in his throat.

Then, the bell rings.

Gabriel is the first one out the door.

Jonan watches him sprint out the classroom, and a page flies out of the unzipped backpack, landing beside his shoe. He picks the sheet up and reads Gabriel at the top and beside, an 83.

"Gabriel. He was in our class?" He mutters to himself.

"Woah, I don't think I've ever heard that kid talk," one of his friends laughs, and the class chuckles with him lightheartedly.

Jonan laughs along but he can't help furrow his eyebrows—there's something unsettling about that guy--as if he knows something important.

As Jonan walks down the hall he looks around for Gabriel and almost misses him if it isn't for his backpack.

Gabriel jumps when he feels a tap on the back. He turns around and finds Jonan standing in front of him.

Jonan hands him the paper, "This is yours right...Gabriel?"

What was supposed to be a kind gesture scared Gabriel, and he looks around, expecting everyone to be staring. He knows, logically,  that they don't care, but still, he begins to shudder, his hoodie suddenly suffocating.

He takes the paper, "Yeah uh, it is, um, thanks,"

Jonan looks away and asks, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Gabriel shakes even more. "Well, you know, maybe, um, maybe you don't want to go on the trip?"

"What...?"

His eyes flick around. He needs to leave, right now.

Gabriel stuffs the paper in his bag. "You know what, um, just like forget what I said, it's nonsense. I uh, have to go, um, haha, g-goodbye."

He slings his bag over his shoulder and runs, and soon disappears in the wave of people.

Jonan is left in confusion, but he doesn't run after him. He shakes his head, wondering what that was all about.