Ricki stood in Ezra's arms, trembling like a newborn giraffe. "Hey, Ricki... Do you want to go home?" Ezra said quietly. Ricki ignored all of the stares that people were giving them as they walked by. Ricki wasn't sure if he wanted to go home. His mom and dad would be at work, and he wasn't eighteen. If Ricki skipped, they'd get a call and ask what happened. Ricki grimaced when he recalled the three horrible years of therapy he experienced when he was younger. 

"No," Ricki took a deep breath. "I think I'm fine now. I can still go to class." Still, neither of them moved from their position. Ricki felt safe and warm with Ezra. He didn't have to think about Black Mask, panic attacks, or weird visions. 

The ringing bell finally pulled them apart. Ricki felt the loss of contact as he stared at his beat-up Converse. He'd have to go to class now. Fantastic. The teachers could care less about his mental health. The security guards barely spared him a second glance as they passed by him. Here! Have a mental health day 'cause we are here for YOU! Oh? Mental disorders last more than one day? Too bad!

"C'mon, Ricki." Ezra put his hand on Ricki's back and gently pushed him forward. Ricki complied and walked along in silence. He tried to put his mind on lockdown. Ricki didn't want to think about what he saw. If he pushed it out of his mind and forgot it completely, he could deny that it was real. 

"This is where we part," Ezra said quietly. Ricki looked up in surprise. His mind had blanked the entire way to his class. 

"Right. Sorry. Uh, bye." Ricki mumbled. Ezra smiled and waited for Ricki to go through the doors. Ricki had struck the jackpot. There was no better friend than Ezra. Giving one last parting wave to his friend, Ricki slipped into the class. A few kids were talking to each other. Ricki went straight to his desk in the back and sat down heavily. He put his cheek on the cold desk surface and sighed.

His heart hurt. Ricki wasn't sure why. It must have something to do with what he saw. What a coincidence that this should happen the day after meeting Black Mask... 

Ricki sprang up straight. He had completely forgotten about Black Mask. They were just another tick on the list of things Ricki could get anxious about. Too many things were fighting for dominance in Ricki's mind. His ADHD brain didn't help, either. 

Ricki felt panicky again. He was overwhelmed. He bounced his leg up and down under the table and twisted his hands. He couldn't sit here. He couldn't. 

Ricki stood up and sprinted out of the room. He couldn't do this anymore. He was crazy to think that he could have gone to class like nothing was wrong.

Ricki went to the bathroom and locked himself in the big stall. There was no one in there. He took deep breaths as he listened to the chatter of kids as they went to their homerooms. Ricki pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his mom. 

Hello, you have reached the voicemail of Regina Borrolo. Sorry, can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message at the beep. *Beep* 

"Hey, Mom. I need to go home. If you don't answer before school starts I'm going to leave. Please answer." Ricki ended the voicemail and sat back against the tiled wall of the bathroom. He sank down and put his head between his knees. Ricki just needed to be in his room. He needed to be with Ezra. 

Ricki's phone didn't ring for the next five minutes. He checked the time. There were seven minutes until the final bell rang. Ricki stood up and frowned to himself. He had never skipped school before. But Ricki didn't think that he could get through the day. 

Ricki stood to unlock the stall door when he heard voices. Forget that. He heard Ezra's voice and someone else's. Ricki froze. He didn't dare breathe as he backed up against the wall. 

"-no. No, no, no! Nothing like that, Kanoa." 

A gruff voice scoffed. "You don't seem so sure, Astro. He had better not-" Ricki let out a muffled sound. Who was Kanoa, and why was he calling Ezra Astro?

"There's someone in here," He heard Ezra say in Italian. Ricki rolled his eyes so hard that he was sure they heard. Ricki was the one who taught Ezra Italian. Of course, Ezra wouldn't know that he was the one eavesdropping on their conversation.

Ricki's heart dropped when he heard footsteps coming near his stall. There was the small issue of explaining why he was hiding in the bathroom and confronting Ezra about what he heard. Ricki was not ready to figure out what Ezra was hiding from him. 

Ricki was saved by loud singing. The sound of the door opening magnified the volume of the voices by ten. There had to be an entire group of boys all singing together. Ricki begrudgingly admitted to himself that they sounded coordinated.

"Hey! Ez-Ez!" An obnoxious voice called out. Ricki quickly figured out it was the theater club. Well, it wasn't the entire theater club. It was four guys that always hung out. Because they always burst out into songs from different Broadway shows and always talked about their club, Ricki referred to the four as theater kids. 

For a short time during their freshman year, they were devoted to recruiting Ezra after a small in-class performance required for English. Their mission turned out futile, but they all called him 'Ez-Ez.' If Ricki hadn't found that name irking, he would have found it hilarious.

"Hey, Leo! Are we in 2006, or did you just raid the costume wardrobe from High School Musical?" Ricki sensed Ezra's annoyance from across the room.

"OMG! You're literally the funniest, Ez-Ez! No, it's just that the early 2000s is our theme for the week! But we totally look like extras from High School Musical, don't we? I think I pull off this jock outfit really well." 

"Ezra," Kanoa spoke up. Ricki had almost forgotten that he was there. 

"Who is this hottie?" Leo asked, setting his whole group cackling in terrifying unison. 

"He's from my AP Euro class. We were just talking about our test," Ezra said. Ricki scrunched his forehead. Ezra wasn't taking AP Euro this semester. 

"And we are going to be late," Kanoa interjected before any of Leo's friends could keep the conversation going. 

"Yep. Bye, Leo and Nate. See you, Theo, bye Cyren." Ezra and Kanoa left the bathroom; Ricki heard the door open again. That meant Ricki was trapped with Leo and friends. At least his cover wasn't blown.