POV: DUSTIN
There he was, holding out his hand. Who even does that? Couldn't he be normal and just sit down? I have to, don't I?
Hesitant, he shook his hand, uncomfortable as Calum just smiled. "I am, but what does that have to do with you?" he asked, pulling his book to his side.
"Nothing much. You're well-known around the school so it's hard not to know who you are," he answered. Dustin just rolled his eyes, checking his phone for any response, to no avail.
"Listen, I'm not trying to be rude. Is it okay if we don't do this buddy thing? I'm not going to act like we're friends, so please avoid speaking to me. I'm not even fun?" he asked.
"Hmm, I could do that but isn't the whole point to be friends. Plus, we are going to see each other pretty often," he replied.
"Wait, you're on the football team right, then how are you here? You can't be at two things at the same time," he asked.
"There are times that the football team doesn't practice so I decided to take up my passion for art. You seem to be doing the same so I don't see the problem."
Oh lord. Please don't be a pain in the ass?!
"Fine, just don't bother me."
"If you say so," he agreed, moving a bit away.
The teacher continued learning the class about animation, even allowing them to try it out on the drawing pads. Dustin is already good at sketching and drawing, this was a bit easier for him. After creating a few different frames, Dustin made his first 2-D animation. Having an inner celebration, Dustin looked over to see Calum, struggling with his animation. "Do you still think this was a good decision?" Dustin asked.
"Care to help?" he asked, holding out the pen.
"Sure. It's quite easy. Tedious but easy," he explained, showing Calum the basics of 2-D animation.
"Okay. I think I get it. Let's just hope that 3-D animation is easier."
"Based on what I heard, it should be. That doesn't mean you should slack off though," Dustin replied, handing him the pen. Calum swiped it, before picking it up smiling to himself.
"Is something funny?" Dustin asked, wiping his face.
"Nothing. I just thought that you didn't like to be bothered. I guess I must be very charming," he smirked as Dustin rolled his eyes.
"As if. If that were the case, then I must Oprah."
Soon, the day was over. As Dustin was caught up packing his bag, he noticed someone with a football jacket in the corner of his eye. His breathing increased, and his heart began beating even faster.
Is that… No, it can't be?!
Dustin turned around quickly, only seeing Calum who leaned against the door. "Fuck! I thought you were someone else," he said, startled.
"Sorry. I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, what is it?" he asked, irritated.
"I was wondering if you could help me with my art skills," he asked.
"Sorry but I can't, but I'm sure there are others you could ask," he rejected, pulling his bag over his shoulder and trying to walk out before Calum put his hand in the way. "Excuse me?"
"You're the only person I know who could help. I don't anyone here," he pleads.
"You don't know me either. Plus, isn't this about making friends," he smirked.
Like hell, I'd help you. Don't you get the picture?
"Fine. I thought you would maybe be a bit helpful since you are so good at art and I'm an amateur. It's fine," he sighed.
"Okay, good luck with that," Dustin replied, walking out. Before getting to the hallway, Dustin had a weird feeling in his gut.
What's happening? Am… Am I feeling… guilty?
"Oh Dustin, you're back," he said, gleefully as Dustin walked back to him, looking down.
"F—fine. I'll help you," he answered, fully defeated.
"Great, we do we meet?" he asked, shaking his hand, hyperactively.
"I don't know, just take my contact," he replied, pulling out his school tablet.
"Oh, okay?" he said before scanning his student ID.
"You can contact me if I'm free. But don't text me if it's not for school," he said before walking away.
I need to work on that. I don't want to get into another 'Luther' situation.
In the other class, the drama club wrapped up as Elijah spoke with Matthew. "Inga asked me to look if the gardens were available to shoot in since it's open. Do you want to tag along?" he asked, holding his helmet.
"I might as well. I need the break," he replied, putting the helmet on.
The two rode to the Cape Gardens to ask if they could shoot certain scenes. Elijah looked around while sitting by the grass. There were the tall trees were densely populated, they covered most of that section and the fish pond. On the other side, was the open field with a small hill, covered with all different types of flowers. Elijah sat there, smelling the fresh air, and sneezing at the pollen in the area. While looking at the sun, Matthew sat down next to him, startling him. "So how did it go?" he asked before Matthew laid his head on Elijah's lap, once again, catching him off-guard.
"They said that if we want to shoot here, we would need to pay first. I'm sure that the school has enough funding to help with that," he answered, looking directly at him.
"Umm, well, should we head home?" Elijah asked, flustered.
"Nah, didn't you say you needed the break? I saw an ice cream stand; do you want to go some?" he asked.
"How could I say no to ice cream?" he answered.
Elijah and Matthew got up to get some ice cream, settling down by a bench under a flower overhang. The sun began setting, and the two continued to eat their ice cream. "Your eyes look nice in the sunlight," Matthew mentioned, just as Elijah was about to lick his cone.
"Thanks, your eyes are also very nice," he awkwardly replied, making Matthew smile.
Once they were finished, Matthew took Elijah home where the day ended. The next day, everyone was in the class, chatting as usual. When the educator walked in, everything went silent and all the students walked back to their seats. "Good Morning students, I'm going to do the registration so please do not make a noise," said Mr. Johnson looking a bit down.
While Mr. Johnson took the absentees, Dustin was caught up chatting with his anonymous friend.
Dustin: Last night I couldn't sleep at all.
Why? Nightmares.
I guess you could call it that. It's been happening a lot but I've gotten used to it.
You shouldn't be used to it, have you tried therapy?
Nope. If I do, my parents are going to be worried and I'd rather not have that.
You should worry about your mental health. I don't want to hear you decided to do something bad to yourself.
Well, I'm close (smiley face)
That's concerning. Don't die before I get the chance to actually meet you.
As he said that, Dustin's face lit up, immediately typing back.
Do you want to meet me?
Of course, I do. I can't right now because of school and stuff but maybe the end of the semester?
Dustin was very confused as to why he could just meet him right now but he didn't care.
Deal.
Deal.
"Great. I have great news to share for your grade as the votes were tallied and your new student body president for the ninth grade is Thandi Quentin. She did give a great speech and she seems so determined, so it was expected," Mr. Johnson announced to the surprise of Class 9-A.
"Do you think she was a great choice?" whispered one of the students.
"I don't know, we'll just have to see but will just have to see."
Just as expected from most of the grade, Thandi won the election. Now she will have many new roles and responsibilities around Cape Coast. With many new ideas to make Cape Coast a better school, she couldn't wait to pitch them to the Student Body Council at the meeting, the following afternoon. "Will you be there at the meeting this afternoon?" Thandi asked.
"I can't because the Leadership club will be having a meeting and can't miss it, sorry," she apologized.
"It's okay. I'm sure I can handle it by myself," she assured herself, taking in a deep breath.
As they walked on, Thandi was hugged by Rohan. "Hello, Miss President," he greeted, hugging her waist.
"Oh hi," she replied, kissing him on the cheek.
"Eww! Can't you guys get a room, there are so many around the school, surely they wouldn't mind," she rolled her eyes.
"Ay, are you just angry because you can't get this?" he asked before pecking Thandi, giggling.
"I am actually. So please just stop."
"Fine. How did it go with Tristan?" he asked, detaching from Thandi.
"It was okay. Nothing out of the ordinary. We just hung out like he asked," she answered.
"Really, nothing else?" Thandi asked.
"What else did you expect, it's not like people suddenly fall in love. He doesn't even seem interested in me," she added.
"You two just need a bit more time together," Rohan suggested.
"Okay, you tell me when that happens," she said, rushing off.
In another class, filled with stress, Elijah had an internal panic attack thinking about all the tasks he had to do. The script, my schoolwork, and my book. I don't have enough time.
While deep in thought about how to fix his problems, he was surprised by Tristan who popped out of nowhere. "Damn. Please don't do that again?" he asked, startled.
"Sorry, I was just going to ask when we could study?"
That too. Just take me now.
"Shoot, I forget. We could study today, do you have a place or should we do it at school?"
"School should be okay," he replied, smiling.
With even more work, Elijah was close to just breaking apart and not getting back together. What to do, what to do?
After school, while Elijah and Tristan began the tutoring in the cafeteria, Thandi and the other members of the student body council had their meeting in the main hall. Introducing each other and discussing the future of Cape Coast. "Good Afternoon, I am Valorie and this is my partner Jacob, we are representing the twelfth grade," she said as they both waved.
"Hello. I am Musfeeka and I am representing the eleventh grade," they said, awkwardly waving.
"Afternoon. I am Conner and I am representing the tenth grade," he said.
"Hi, I am Thandi Quentin and I'm representing the ninth grade," she introduced herself.
"I am Yoshi and I am representing the eighth grade."
After the introductions, the twelfth grade began speaking first, being the oldest of them all and going in that order. "As student body council members, we need to try—no, MUST change the school for the better. Part of our campaign was to get rid of bullying," Valorie mentioned, showing them different statistics and pictures of their campaign.
"For example, last semester, a student in a younger grade was sexually assaulted by one of the students in a higher grade. There are ways to prevent these things which is why we want to set up a type of watchdog type of thing where select students patrol certain areas and report back to us if anything goes wrong, does that sound good?" Jacob said, walking around the table.
"I don't see any harm in it. A safer school is a better and happier school," Yoshi answered.
"All in favor of the Anti-Bullying campaign, raise your hands," Valorie asked, as all the members raised their hands.
"Great, we will give out more information once the project is further in development," Jacob said, sitting back down, "who's next?"
After setting such a high impression, the stage was set for the other council member. The pressure was applied so they definitely needed to be careful with what they said. With some good and bad ideas, Thandi was up who seemed a lot more nervous even though she was able to speak in a huge hall that housed over one hundred students that day. She took in a deep breath and swallowed her spit before speaking about her campaign. "I mentioned this in my election speech but I believe, and this is not just me, that school is boring and is more of a chore. If we can change that, students could show more interest in the subjects and produce better marks. This is good for both the students and the school's reputation as a whole," she said.
"How do you plan on doing this?" Jacob asked, intimidating.
"Well, using some connection, we could have more outdoor classes and trips for a certain subject. For example, the drama students went to New York to experience theater. If there is a worthy reward, students would strive to do better just to get it. Something to help with this is a change of scenery because just learning in a class is quite tedious and makes us lose motivation," she added.
"That is true. It's always the same old, same old," Musfeeka agreed.
"All those in favor of Thandi's campaign, lift your hands," Valorie asked.
"It's not a bad idea so I'm going to lift my hand," Yoshi said, lifting his hand.
With no one against it, Thandi's campaign was approved and now needed to come up with something to present to the principal. "Also, you are the one doing the Halloween party, right?" Valorie asked.
"Yes, yes I am."
"Good luck with that. We're expecting a great time," she replied, instilling fear in Thandi.
In the cafeteria, Elijah taught Tristan about Pythagoras, explaining the origins and the rules, even though Elijah himself thought it was unnecessary. "That is how we find this unknown value. Easy right," he explained.
"It really is. I guess I was just distracted," he smiled.
"Whatever you're distracted by, you should probably work on that. Sometimes I also get distracted by the dumbest things but I'm trying to work on it, y'know?"
"I think so. Elijah, are you okay?" he asked.
"I am, why would ask me that?"
"You look tired and you're oversharing which means you're stressed. If you have too much going on, you should've rejected my request," Tristan advised.
"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine," he chuckled, nervously.
"Are you sure about that? Your eyes could carry thousands of groceries and you're talking way too much. You need rest," he said, tilting his head. Hearing this, Elijah realized he was right, and began spewing.
"I know. I can't say no to people and it ends in me pulling my hair out. The schoolwork comes in bulk and then the drama—" he said before just stopping. Tristan looked confused as the entire cafeteria went silent.
"Elijah, what's wrong?"
"The drama. I forgot about drama. How could I forget about drama?" he panicked, pulling out his phone and seeing the messages and missed calls from Matthew, "Shit."
"It's too late now, so it's better to just go home and have some rest."
"Umm, I'm sorry but I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow," he answered, before running out of the cafeteria.
"Ok bye," he waved as the doors shut.
Elijah rushed to the auditorium, arriving but too late. Tristan was right, the after-school activities were done and everyone went home. Elijah walked in and sat down on one of the seats. He sighed as the heavy feeling of stress overcame him, causing his eyes to water. This. All of this was too much. Right there, Elijah felt a different feeling.
No, I won't allow this to happen, not now. I worked hard for where I am.
He wiped his tears before leaving. After arriving home, Elijah cleaned himself and ate before doing his bunch of homework, leading him into the late evening. He couldn't stop now though and continued on the scope, finishing the first and second scenes. Tired, Elijah waddled to bed, just as his phone vibrated. It was a new notification from the school.
NOTICE: Night Grade Students, tomorrow is the Career Expo. Your schedule will be different as the last three periods will be terminated. Good Day.
At least that's something to look forward to.
The next day, after their first three periods, all the ninth graders made went to the main where a lot of stands were set up with different colleges. Elijah and his friends were amazed at how many there were. Finally, the students were able to explore the different stands. First, Dustin pulled Elijah to a stand for an animation school. "Hi. I'm sure you're here to see all the things we offer here at Lanford College. We are an animation school and we teach just that. We have many different courses for you to look through and here is early footage of a short film our students have created for the upcoming Film Festival," he informed them, handing out pamphlets and playing the animation. It was a short animation about a sock who is looking for his perfect partner. Amazed, Dustin looked through his pamphlet before the rest went to look at other stands. Seeing all the courses, Dustin took their contact before noticing a familiar person next to him. "Caleb, you're here too?"
"Can't I?" he asked.
"You do you. Sorry for bothering you," he said, moving on before getting pulled by Caleb.
"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling his hand away.
"Where are you going?"
"To other stands, where else could I go?" he answered.
"Oh. Can I join you?" he asked.
"No."
"Please," he plead, smothering Dustin with what he called cute puppy eyes but Dustin just walked away with Caleb following behind.
Meanwhile, Ally was busy looking at a university that specialized in forensics and the police forces. This was when Ally realized she might be interested in forensics as the person in charge was explaining what they do. Somewhere else, Thandi was busy checking out colleges that had courses in Law as becoming a Lawyer is a goal she wanted to achieve. Rohan, on the other hand, was always a fan of video games and was busy looking for colleges and universities that offered programming and IT as courses.
At the end of the day, Elijah had visited all of the stands, from professional chefs to medicine, Elijah was exposed to everything. With a bunch of pamphlets, Elijah sat down by one of the benches, overwhelmed by all of the opportunities. Who did he want to be? What did he want to be?
Sure, writing is my passion but is that really what I want to go into as a job?
As Elijah was overwhelmed with all his pamphlets, he was met by Tristan. "So did you have fun, pretty to see all the cool jobs, isn't it?" he said, sitting next to him.
"Hi, Tristan. I guess you're right but don't you feel overwhelmed as if it's too much?"
"Sometimes I do but it's never really a serious thing. What is making you feel like this?" he asked, concerned.
"Nothing, it was just a random question. I'm going to head out because I have things to take care of a few things," he said, running off, again.
"There he goes again."
Elijah ran away before knocking into Matthew, the last person he wanted to see. "Just the person I was looking for."
"Hey. I—I'm sorry for not showing up yesterday. Tristan asked me to tutor him, are you mad?"
"Of course not. I was just worried because you'd usually tell me everything. Just making you're okay," he answered.
"That's good to know. Is there anything else you wanted to say?" he asked, looking at the time.
"Oh, no. That's all, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, hugging him. Elijah didn't know he needed this but he did, hugging him tight in return.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he greeted, walking away.
A few hours later, at home, Dustin was up, chatting with his anonymous friend before getting a mysterious call. It was an unknown number and by nature, he declined the call. Before he could get back to his chat, he was called again, and again, and again. Fed up, he answered the call before feeling true dread.
"Hello, Dustin."
"What do you want?"
"You are the reason I am where I am."
"No, don't blame that on me. You did this to yourself."
"Just wait. You thought what I did to you was bad, I'll make your life a living hell," he said, ending the call.
Dustin, afraid, didn't know what to do. He walked up and down, scared of what might happen in the future. Luther was dangerous, and he didn't know what Luther was capable of. What do I do now?
TO BE CONTINUED…