Complicated People, Complicated Love

Seperate

Maya

     As we're waiting around for the bell to ring for first period, Riley hands me some tape and papers and starts hanging up some of her own papers. I look at them and they're just posters for Farkle's math competition next week.

     "Riles, how many of these did you make?" I ask as she places a poster for the school bake sale up on the wall next to the lockers. I must be holding at least 30.

     "Let's just say, we can probably cover all the schools from here to Ohio," I laugh and hand her a piece of tape.

      "So how's it going with Lucas?" Riley asks as we walk down the hall, I shrug. "Come on, stop trying to act like a robot I know you loooove hiiiiiim," she says tauntingly.

      "Shut up!" I say covering her mouth and looking around to make sure no one heard. I don't know why exactly, it's not like anyone of these strangers would care about my personal life. I feel Riley smiling and then my hand gets wet and warm. "Ew!" I yell, rubbing my hand in her shirt. I hate it when she licks my hand, and she should too, how does she know where my hands been?

      "Hahaha! Maya and Lucas sitting in a tree-"

       "I'll stab you, shut up!" I nudge her shoulder.

       "K-I-S-S-I-" but Riley's interrupted by a bang from somewhere far off. We instinctively duck down.

      "Was that a gun!?" I yell. People around us are running and screaming in no particular direction. I hear a voice attempting to be calm over the speaker but over the noise I can only make out the words "code-not-go-rooms," I stand up and look around for Riley. I can't find her. The posters we were holding along with notebooks and backpacks are scattered on the floor, being kicked around by rushing feet. There's broken glass everywhere. What the gun so close that it shattered a window?

      "Riley!" I push people out of my way and stand on one of the benches in the hallway. "Riley!" I get pushed down by the swarm of people and I'm too small to fight the flow of students no matter how hard I try.

      "Riley!" I yell one last time before I get pushed into a classroom and before I can get out the door is closed and locked. "Wait! My friend's still out there!" I try to get over to the door but I feel people pulling me away.

     "It's too late, we can't unlock it, the school's under lock down."

      I look behind me and see the boy and the girl who must've pulled me back. They have to be seniors. I look around and there are only a total of like 10 kids in here and there is no teacher or adult to be seen.

      "What do we do?" I ask. They just look away, obviously as unknowing as I am. A boy in the corner is crying, and at least two others look to be in shock. The rest are either sitting down looking terrified or pacing. I fall to the floor with my knees to my chest. Lucas is at a basketball meet, he's ok, but Riley, what if she isn't.