Ryan Muller, tired of waiting for 'an entire' two minutes, under a tree in the magnificently peaceful and serene Hugher High gardens, finally ventures out into the early morning sun to find his friend, Leroy, who had promised to meet him up at their usual spot; under the large Oak tree in the gardens, and whom he had been waiting for this whole time.
For some reason, Leroy was not picking up his phone and so, after a few failed calls, Ryan sets out to search for Leroy, himself.
Just then, he spots, a really pretty dark-skinned girl with stunning, deep brown, puffy, blown-out super curly hair, standing in the distance on the wide cobblestone walkway that served as the main entrance to the school, leading up from the main gates and all the way to the main building ahead.
He seems to recognise her.
'Is that Jaz?', he questions within himself.
She was the pretty, cool and fashionable girl Leroy frequently liked to talk to, 'Jaz'; 'Queen Bee' and proud leader of the cheerleaders at Hugher High.
Jaz is short for Jasmine, but Leroy called Jasmine 'Jaz' for short, as a nickname, and so, Ryan had come to know Jasmine by the name, 'Jaz'.
They were fairly acquainted, as Leroy had introduced them to each other, and they frequently met, since she was part of Leroy's circle of friends.
Jasmine's distinct head of long dark curls instantly gives her away, even from the distance.
He couldn't be mistaken.
'Yup. That's her. I wonder if she's seen Leroy…'
The school was way too large. Leroy could be anywhere. It would be too much trouble going to search for him.
"She's pretty cool… I should ask her. She might know where that fool went without his phone!", he reasons, making his way towards Jaz to ask if she knew where Leroy was.
It is at this point that Goldie notices Ryan coming towards them.
___
"Oh, he's coming this way!"
Goldie exclaims with a gasp, holding onto Jasmine's arm nervously as she spots Ryan approaching.
Jasmine turns to look. Indeed Ryan was coming their way. Great!
And for a moment, it looks like Ryan is not only coming their way but is actually making his way towards them!
"Why does it look like he's coming to meet us?!", questions Goldie with growing alarm, frozen in shock.
As Jasmine and Goldie stand there, staring in shock, Ryan's long strides quickly close in on them. He really was coming to meet them!!
'gasp!', Goldie gasps, beginning to panic.
Jasmine can feel Goldie's vice-like grip tighten over her arm, telling that she was beginning to panic.
'Better calm her down.', reasons Jasmine.
It was a great thing that for some reason, Ryan, who never bothered to meet up and talk with any girls or any other person for that matter, apart from his best friend, Leroy, was starting to approach them all of a sudden.
She would seize this opportunity to get Goldie acquainted with him, so they could fall in love already!
Jasmine's eyes sparkle with excitement.
"Okay, Goldie, he's coming over…", begins Jasmine with the intent of motivating her friend to exchange some words with her crush, Ryan, but at the moment, Jasmine's words are completely inaudible to Goldie who is freaking out.
'Oh no! Ryan Muller!... Coming here?!!', she reasons, her brain setting the stage for speechless panic.
She could not bear to have Ryan meet up with them unexpectedly and embarrass herself.
'What do I do?… What do I do?…'
Her heart pounds away, with her growing terror.
Immediately, Goldie is thrown into a panic, grossly overwhelmed with shock and dread with just one thought overtaking her mind.
'Run!... Run!!'
"...This is your chance to-"
Jasmine is still addressing Goldie when suddenly, Goldie's body moves swiftly and instinctively in response to her fear and wild panic.
She suddenly grabs Jasmine, cutting her off mid-sentence, as she instantly pulls her away with great force as she dashes off, running as fast as she can to get away from Ryan.
Before Jasmine even knows what is happening, she is sailing through the air as she is unwillingly and unexpectedly whisked away in a flash and pulled along with speeding Goldie.
Ryan stops in his tracks, surprised to see the two girls leaving in such a hurry, his questioning gaze, trailing Jasmine and Goldie's path as both girls bolt away, leaving a trail of dust behind.
'Did they not see me coming?...', he questions within himself, puzzled.
'Surely, Jaz saw me coming…
They wouldn't be running away from me, now, would they?...', wonders Ryan, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
Would they?...
"..."
'No.'
'No they couldn't.', he reasons, growing more and more worried as he tries to reassure himself.
'They couldn't be running away from me, I mean, why would they?'
It would be worrisome to think that anyone would run away from him. There was no reason to.
'Unless…!!!'
Ryan gasps within himself as a striking thought hits him…
'Could it be?...'
Were girls starting to fear him now because he had declined so many confessions?!
This creeping thought goes to bother him with a tad bit of guilt resurfacing from rejecting so many girls.
Could that really be the reason why girls were now running away from him?
Perhaps they had seen him just reject this last girl, and thought he was mean and cruel, and a social pariah…
As Ryan's thoughts soar out of control, he begins to feel unsettled, turning around to look about him to see if people were hating on him with angry gazes.
But instead, he is met with happy, shy smiles and waves from the girls passing by, and a chant from a fellow jock, Bradley, hurrying past him towards the main entrance.
"Yo! 'Ssup Ryan?", yells Bradley, a large young man, tall and stocky, as he jogs down the path past Ryan.
He wore a friendly smile and a look of admiration in his eyes as he held his hand up in the air with a peace sign, greeting Ryan in a boyish way.
He would stop and try to hang with Ryan for a while, but he had not yet done his class homework and had to go find someone to copy from quickly before the bell.
Ryan raises his hand politely in a silent, noble greeting in response to the loud chanting Bradley, sensing his environment.
'No.', he was not yet a social pariah. Bradley was fine, the girls around were equally giving him adoring looks as usual, and the guys too were being cool. Everyone was acting normal towards him.
'Thank goodness.', he sighs in relief.
'It wasn't about me…'
He had started overthinking again.
'I really should stop pulling all-nighters.', he reasons to himself, giving himself a facepalm.
He was tired from a lack of sufficient sleep. So tired he was starting to get weird thoughts.
Those girls probably didn't even see him coming. It was possible since he was still a bit far away. Yet, here he was, thinking it was because they were scared of him.
'Hah!... Ridiculous!', he scoffs at his thoughts.
But then, he realises; because Jasmine left, he couldn't find Leroy.
"Ah… there goes my chance at finding Leroy in time.", he sighs out loud, exhausted.
___
Meanwhile…
Goldie races away, gathering a cloud of dust behind her as she carries Jasmine along, floating through the air like a piece of paper.
'What the-?!...', reasons Jasmine, confused at her friend's reaction.
Why was she running away? So quickly too…
"Wait… Wait!", Jasmine protests as she tries to stop Goldie who seems completely deaf.
A big, red, anger sign crops up on the side of floating Jasmine's head as she had just about had it with her silly friend.
Forcefully throwing her feet back down to the ground, she pulls Goldie backwards by the jacket!
"Stop running!", she commands, pulling with force.
Instantly, the leather jacket slips off of Goldie's shoulders, coming off!
"...!!!"
'My jacket!'
Goldie is immediately struck with alarm as she feels her jacket coming off of her!
Her jacket, which was virtually the only thing shielding her secret identity and uneven backside from the eyes of the world, was coming off!
The entire jacket had slid completely off of her right shoulder, already, exposing the right side of her back, including the elevated part containing one of her growths, hidden underneath her top!
Goldie breaks out in a cold sweat.
'My back! It's exposed!', she panics.
If the jacket were to come off, Jasmine, and everyone around, would notice that her back had two large parts sticking out!
And Jasmine might be curious enough to touch and find… her… growths!!!
'No!'
Immediately, Goldie freezes in place, forced to come to a stop with one shoulder undressed already as Jasmine holds firmly to one side of the jacket.
Thankfully, earlier Goldie had strung her backpack on her side by placing one of the straps on her left shoulder, leaving her back free.
Now, all that was keeping her jacket in place was the strap of her backpack, strung upon her left shoulder, otherwise, her jacket would have come off of her completely at the speed she was running at.
But still, this was way too dangerous because if one would look closely, one would be able to see that there was something off with the exposed right side of her back, as it seemed uneven; like something was protruding out of it… namely, a horrid, horrid growth.
And Jasmine, who was still holding onto her jacket, was close enough to notice!
…
Reacting swiftly, Goldie instantly pulls back at her jacket, attempting to put it back on properly, but Jasmine refuses to let go.
Instead, she pulls back even more forcefully on the jacket, exposing even more of Goldie's growth!
"Hah...!!!"
Goldie gasps in shock, her eyes, widening further in panic.
And Immediately, as if to make matters worse, she feels a cool gust of wind hit her, taking away what was left of the initial warmth provided by the covering of the jacket as it runs freely into the depths of her jacket to harass her extremely sensitive growths.
She feels the swift flow of air tickle her growths, especially… the one on her right side which, no longer shielded by the jacket, was partially exposed to the public eye at the moment.
And right then, responding to the cold tickling of the cool morning breeze, …
…the growth twitches! Twice!
'Oh no!'
Goldie dies of dread as she feels the movement. Surely, with her back exposed like this… without a jacket shielding it, that twitching would certainly be visible.
Just imagine it…
The twitching movement would look like something massive was crawling discretely under Goldie's top!
Instantly, Goldie turns around to gaze at Jasmine's face with great apprehension.
'Did she notice?...'