Andrew was the first to arrive at the bus stop. He noticed the scholars scattered in all directions, happy that yet another school day was something of the past. Some were travelling by bicycle while others were fortunate enough to walk to their homes in close proximity. Andrew noticed Patrick and Emily approaching in the distance. They were joined by Delmar and Bernard.
'Yö, Andy,' Bernard shouted from a distance waving one hand in the air.
Andrew gave him a thumbs-up. He liked his new friends, Delmar and Bernard. One could tell that they came from decent homes. Emily would agree as her eyes always shone differently in the presence of Delmar.
'How are you doing bro?' Bernard patted Andrew on the shoulder when he was close enough. 'You've been scarce today, we hardly saw you, man.'
'Yes, where were you the whole day?' Patrick added. 'You haven't even joined us during the breaks.'
'What?' Andrew asked surprised. 'You guys must be blind or something.'
'I've seen you once during classes, but that's it,' Emily said.
Andrew frowned and tried to remember the events of the day. He could remember the bus ride to school and the first class of the day which was English, but he could not recall the rest of the day. Impossible, he thought. His entire day was a blackout which he did not realise until now. How could this have been? Did he hide somewhere for the entire day or did his body know where to go while his mind was wandering somewhere else? Andrew shook his head, 'I don't know. I truly have no idea.'
'Are you feeling okay?' Delmar asked. 'You seem a little out there somewhere.' He pointed towards the sky. 'Emily told me what happened to you yesterday.'
'I'm fine. It's just, I can't remember anything,' Andrew said. 'It's like I've had a blackout for most of the day.' He realised they were all staring at him. He could sense their concern.
'Anyway, Patrick told us about the plans you guys have for the weekend. Do you mind if we join?' Bernard asked. 'It sounds like great fun, man.'
'Of course, you can,' Patrick said. 'I'm not the boss around here. I think my sister is. I would like for you guys to join us.'
Emily's cheeks turned red. She smiled, 'I'm not the boss. It's a team effort. You know that.'
'Maybe we can take some meat and stuff and have a braai up there,' Delmar added.
'Now that sounds fucking awesome,' Patrick said. 'We need to leave early though. We don't - '
Andrew. The voice was back.
'What did you say?' Andrew asked.
'No, I said that we don't want to come back in the dark. Mom and dad will be worried sick,' Patrick frowned.
'Sorry,' Andrew said shaking his head. 'I thought you called my name.'
Patrick and the rest continued making plans for the upcoming weekend. They were excited as they exchanged ideas. Their cheerfulness faded almost like the conversation was pushed aside somewhere in the distance, drifting away slowly.
Andrew. The voice said again. Only this time it was in a mocking manner which sounded like Aaaandreeew. A voice like an echo in a large cave where the origin was not known. Andrew looked around and realised that nothing was out of the ordinary. Everyone was minding their own business, completely unaware of voices coming from anywhere. Andrew hoped it would not end up like the day before where his head almost exploded with blood streaming out his nose.
Andrew. This time a whisper that sounded more desperate, short and sharp. Your time has come. We are waiting for you, Andrew.
Time seized to exist around Andrew as the world was moving in slow motion. He saw how Emily's head tilted backwards before a smile appeared on her face. The smile was followed by an open mouth of joy as she laughed. Her hands came up slowly like a wave in the ocean before they went down again. Andrew could hear her laughter amongst other voices all at once in a great distortion almost like his brain lost its ability to filter out certain sounds. He noticed the familiar brown Dodge Challenger from the day before crawling up the road, the same car that had been parked in front of their house. There were four people in the car just like before. Victor was driving. Andrew noticed the stranger with the many tattoos sitting next to him. He realised that they were looking at Patrick and Emily. Andrew saw something for the first time in his life which made him wonder if anyone else could see it as well. Their faces turned black and their eyes yellow which gave them an eerie demonic appearance. Andrew instantly felt the presence of evil radiating from the car as they drove past. He looked around and realised that the rest of the scholars were oblivious of what he had just witnessed, including Emily and Patrick.
Come to me. The voice shouted unexpectedly in Andrew's head. It was a sharp angry voice coming from far away. It echoed several times before fading away. Andrew felt a sharp pain in his head. He bent forward instantly pressing his palms against his temples with his elbows resting on his bent knees. Time was back to normal again, almost too fast for Andrew to deal with. He felt dizzy. The voices from the outside world that came rushing through his ears were almost worse than the single voice he had heard inside his head.
'Andy!' Emily shouted. She threw her hands around Andrew's waist. 'Did it happen again?'
The pain subsided but left a residue behind. Andrew instinctively brought his hand to his nose when he got up again. He expected blood, but he was relieved to find none. 'I'm okay' Andrew closed his eyes. He stood up slowly. He tilted his head back towards the sky and opened his eyes again, taking in his surroundings. He breathed deeply filling his lungs with fresh air. The sky was a beautiful blue with some white patches of clouds slowly cruising. He dropped his gaze again. As he expected, Patrick and Emily had grave expressions on their faces. Delmar and Bernard seemed to have been drained from their facial blood.
'Andy I think we need to get you to a doctor. This might be serious,' Emily said. 'We hear stuff like tumours almost every day you know.'
'I'm fine,' Andrew said, discarding the subject.
'It didn't look that way to me just now,' Emily snapped. 'You almost fainted and yesterday your nose was bleeding, remember?'
'Well, it's not bleeding now is it,' Andrew said. 'I'm fine Em, really.'
The bus arrived, jerking around the bend up the road. It stopped with a screechy sound that came from the dirty brakes. Dust swirled as the doors opened with a hissing sound, releasing the pressure. Most of the scholars got on the bus as Andrew stood by the side allowing them on first. When they were all on the bus Andrew got on and walked down the passage. As he approached his open seat towards the back, he could tell that Patrick and Emily tried to conceal their concern. He knew that Emily would not let it go this time. If it only happened once, then there might have been a slight chance, but it had to happen again, this time in front of the entire school. Fortunately, there were not too many who noticed.