Chapter 1
Ever seen a teenage boy get his face slammed on the concrete ground?
A massive clang dragged me back to earth. Was it Monday already?
I always hated it when the weekdays started; the suffering was going to start again. I got up and freshened by washing my face in ice-cold water four times, feeling baptised all over again. My closet waited patiently for me to approach and become indecisive. I chose some black jeans, a white t-shirt and a black denim jacket with some white trainers hoping that I could camouflage with the shadows, not that it always worked anyway. I brushed one hand through my hair and then ran downstairs.
Nobody.
Mom must have gone to the hospital early today. I walked into the kitchen and made myself a quick breakfast of toasted waffles and apple juice and munched on my food, savouring every single crumb. I gazed on the counter to see a newspaper hanging by which I grabbed to inspect. On the front page was a massive article about five more people going missing over the weekend. What was happening? Was it a coincidence or did everyone go to my high school??
As I finished my breakfast I grabbed my school bag and walked out the front door. The mesmerizing, radiating, hot sun beamed across my face as I stumbled down the street. I took out my phone and saw a new message from mom.
It said: " Hey sorry! I had to go work early because of new patients being admitted to the A&E section" I replied to the message when another ping went off.
I stared at the message "Hey thanks mate, by the way, I'll be home late tonight so please get some food out and remember to sleep early!"
I knew that mom had a hard job so I wasn't able to see her as much as I would've liked but that's life for you, I guess. Then I went into my bag and took out my black headphones and placed them on my head. Next, I played a playlist allowing myself to be subdued with tranquillity. I walked the rest of the way, enjoying the moment until I reached the large steel gates of the school: the moment got crushed by the agony of tormenting. I took off my headphones and put them and my phone away. I was the kind of kid that tried to block human contact as much as he could. Of course, it never worked. I did my own thing and never bothered anyone. Yes, I had the frequent obsession to kill some students but that's normal, right?
I walked closer to school, dreading every step. I breathed in and told myself that today was going to be different. And the continuous cycle begins again, or so I thought...
As I walked past the gates I quickly paced to the library and took a seat in one of the first seats that caught my eye. I knew that I was unlikely to get harassed by the cool kids in the library as they usually don't step foot inside the vast shelves of information and entertainment. I opened my journal and poured my heart and soul into every chapter I created, hoping that someday a person would see the suffering life has given me.
I heard the bell ring and walked as fast as I could to class. When out of nowhere I tripped over and my face slammed on the concrete ground. Everything was a blur. When I regained consciousness, I stood up to see the culprit. It was Alex Hart, one of the popular kids in school. He looked at me with his dark soulless blue eyes with a grin I only know too well plastered onto his face. God, I hated him.
"Did that leave a mark dork?"
Following in his footsteps, his other friend Micheal replied, "Isn't his mom a doctor, can she fix him up?" He explained at which the others burst out laughing with droplets of tears escaping from the corners of their eyes.
I continued to show no emotion.
Alex was about to comment until a dark silhouette of authority charged intimidatingly towards them whilst commanding them to go to class. I sprinted into class and I sat down in my seat. Thank the lord I thought to myself! I always hated being targeted by Alex and his sheep-like gang. It was one of the worst experiences for me in high school.
I looked around to see four empty seats. That was odd because one of the seats was owned by a girl named Christina who never missed a day of school. I looked around to see Alex and his mates laughing quietly while the teacher called out our names for the register. His face gazed at Christina's empty seat as if he was thinking what I was thinking. Then he glanced at me and I quickly looked forward hoping he didn't see me. Then out of nowhere time stopped as my eyes fell to her, Hazel who stood out from the crowd.
Her golden eyes blinked owlishly; there was wildfire floating in her eyes.
Her head tilted in the opposite direction as if to say "Who are you?" Her face was filled with curiosity? Perhaps apprehension.
Her thick tousled hair levitated in the chill breeze as wisps of scarlet perfectly rested on her face. Time all around me had stopped and it was just her and me, me and her. My heart began to beat rapidly and drips of sweat formed at my temples. Was it getting hot in here? I was so focused on Hazel and her beauty that I had forgotten that Mr Huddins was asking me a question.
"Jamie, are you still with us?" he asked. He looked as if I was a patient that had just woken up from a 30-year coma.
"Sorry, sir I was lost for a moment" I replied. A little too fast.
"Well, Jamie please enlighten me about what lost you for a moment?" He declared.
I could feel the tension growing in the room. The walls around me closed in and the ceiling collapsed further as if they were aware of my fear of claustrophobia: every muscle within me tightened. Stay calm. I stared at Hazel for a second and just for a second she looked back. I looked at sir.
"Sir I was just thinking about the usual climate change, population and growth" I explained.
I realised that everyone was staring at me blankly as if I had just spoken in a foreign language.
"Oh well then if that is what you were thinking then maybe others should do the same!" He stated.
I calmed knowing that I just got away by lying to a teacher. During the hour of English, I had drooled on my book, creating a puddle of saliva whilst staring at Hazel as she took notes of Romeo and Juliet. I wrote a lot of notes as I had no intention to fall behind and then stared at Hazel a little more. What a creep! I said to myself.
A couple of minutes before the bell rang, informed us that we had homework. I looked behind to see Alex staring at me with fear and tension layered on his face which was unusual as he always tried to look fearless and plucky. I was just about to walk out the door straight to the library when Alex stormed in front of me and announced "I don't have a good feeling about today Jamie, watch yourself." He said.
Just like that, he walked away. I was about to walk to ask him what he meant when Hazel came to me. Am I dreaming?
"Is it ok if we go to the library and do the homework together?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied a little too fast. I could feel my heart racing again.
"Great. I wrote a lot of notes from Mr Huddins class so we'll compare notes and create the paragraphs. Sounds good to you?" She spoke. I could see the world all around me disappear again. I didn't know what type of emotion I was feeling right now, maybe all.
"Sure. Lunchtime." I asked.
"I'd love to meet you at noon," she answered.
A smile filled her face as she walked down the hallway clutching a pile of books tightly in her hands. I felt great at that moment, Hazel recognized me which was something!
I walked my way to the cafeteria and joined the line to grab something to eat. What was it going to be today? I thought.
I settled on a corn dog with mustard and ketchup. I was about to have a bite when I saw Alex by the doors leading to the football field. I looked at him like he needed my help. At that moment I had forgotten every bad thing that had happened between me and him. I walked after him as he ran out to the field. It was kind of hard to keep up with him when I was holding a corn dog in my hand but I managed to keep up. I spotted that Alex stopped behind the gates where they kept all sports equipment. I halted when I got close. I quickly ate the corn dog in two big bites. It was a literal mouthful. The sauce was dripping down my mouth. I must have looked disgusting because some kids took a little look at me and ran away with a revolting look on their faces. I wiped the grease away from my mouth with a tissue I found in my pocket. I threw in the trash can and went closer to the blue doors of the storage shed.
It was filled with sporty equipment for sporty kids which of course was not me. I was a terrible player at sports. I couldn't kick a ball even if my life depended on it. I could feel my mind telling me that this was a bad idea and that I should walk back while I still could. I shook my head as if to deny my thoughts and walked behind the shed.
What could happen?