The evil that was to come did not begin in the events that these words describe. It crept and lurked through time. It was searching for the perfect moment. That perfect moment would be his time to strike. He won’t let them stop him.
Not again.
It should be, and it is well known that nobody’s life is entirely normal. True, some live more extraordinary lives than others, but everybody has a story to tell and the choice of whether or not it is worthy of being shared.
Four friends spending the last day of summer in a park despite the scorching heat would never seem like something that could start what was to come. There was no big red ribbon that you would have to cut in order to get to the main, grand event. It wasn’t really spectacular. They were entering their fourth year of high school. It was mundane. It was ordinary. But most definitely, what was waiting for them was not ordinary and would show them that they weren’t ordinary either.
“School starts tomorrow,” Lee said as he looked at his friends. Lee sat on the second swing, next to Andy. He was the silent one in the group. People said, behind his back of course, he had common, forgettable face with fair skin and bangs that resembled those of a figure the whole country knew. He was only known as Andy’s friend and almost everyone questioned how that could be. It was like he was invisible. But he liked it that way. Once, in the wee hours of the night, he admitted that he liked the low profile.
Aria, who sat on the left, said, “Good thing we were all put in the same class.”
Aria was the only girl in their group of friends. She was loyal and caring. Whenever someone touched one of her friends, she’d push whoever did into a situation they would never wish to be in. She was protective but to a fault, you see. She had dark hair that reached up to her shoulders and a smile that was always wide.
“I’m a bit sad that we’re not classmates with our classmates before though,” Aria continued.
“Didn’t that guy get expelled? What was his name?” Lee asked.
Greg, the one sitting next to Lee, scoffed then followed it with a laugh. There he went again with his bad jokes. His mouth ran faster than his brain. Greg was the one who cracked jokes at every given moment. It wasn’t always the best idea. Though most thought he was a slacker, he was actually doing well academically. Other than that, he was awfully handsome. He had a good face and perfectly styled dark hair.
“That brute from the basketball team? Probably deserved it, am I right?” Greg laughed as he raised his hand, asking Lee for a hi-five.
Lee shook his head, “No.”
On the other side sat Andy who gave Greg a disapproving look. Greg’s cheeky grin immediately faded as he turned to look at him.
“Right, sorry Andy.”
It truly wasn’t funny in the slightest. As they all knew, that ‘brute from the basketball team’ had a rough time at home and while that would never be an excuse for inflicting pain on others, it was his way of dealing with pain.
Andy then smiled and annoyingly ruffled Greg’s perfect hair.
Andy was a lot of things and all those things that made him amounted to the fact that he was a genuinely good person. The three I had previously mentioned had looked up to him solely because he was trustworthy, brave, and kind. These were parts of him that everyone could see, most would like, and some could envy and hate. He wasn’t as traditionally good looking as Greg was, but there were people who worshipped the ground he walked on. But on that ground he stayed put, ego never reaching the clouds.
“Are we having new students this year?” Andy asked.
“I heard we’re having two scholars,” Aria informed them.
Greg joked, “God help them, then.”
They all laughed a little. Their school did not give the warmest of welcomes. In all honesty, the people in their school were cold and slightly cruel. The students were a little more than a little mean. The teachers were a tad elitist. Those scholars wouldn’t have the best time, but knowing them, these four friends would want and try to make it a little better for the two new students.
Now, there was a silence. It didn’t really matter, though. The quiet wasn’t really awkward for them, ever. Lee breaks it.
“I have this weird feeling that,” he paused, “something’s going to happen.”
The other three turned their attention to Lee. It must sound like something weird and out of the blue to you, but, in some kind of way, they all had felt it as well.
“Like some weird warning sign?” Aria asked.
Lee nodded. That is exactly what it was or what it felt like.
After a few seconds of silence, Lee shook his head nervously.
“Whatever, I’m just being cheesy. Sorry.”
Andy looked at him. “No, you’re not. I felt it too for some reason. Kind of feel like everything’s going to change. Like some weird pull.”
“It’s senior year after all, we’re all leaving after this.” Aria stated.
“Don’t say that.” Lee frowned.
Greg was going to say something too. What they were saying had reminded him of his looming fear. He would be completely lost without them. He would have no one. He didn’t want to lose them just yet. Although, he knew he would soon after senior year. At that moment, he wanted to tell them how much they meant to him. But he ended up not opening his mouth for the conversation at all. Instead, in a state of being completely freaked out by a fear that now seemed real, he decided to go home.
“Anyway,” he said as he stood, “I’m going home.”
Andy and Aria nodded, Lee stood up as well, saying he was going to do the same. Lee and Greg lived next to each other.
“Walking me home? How nice!” Greg smiled.
Lee rolled his eyes, “Shut up.”
They began to walk away. The sun was setting when Aria said she was going home.
“Goodnight, Andy,” Aria greeted.
“See you when I see you,” Andy replied.
This was something Andy always said to his friends. It was his thing. He stood up himself, walking home too.
He walked through their neighborhood. It was a good neighborhood where all one had to worry about was that their house didn’t have enough Christmas decorations when the holiday season came. The houses were big and ostentatious. The people were pretentious. The rich inhabited this neighborhood. Andy didn’t care much for money, but he constantly thanked fate for how lucky he truly was.
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