The Grim Reaper Effect

-F I F T E E N-

Chapter Fifteen: I'm Alone

I spent the entire week in misery. Micah had control over my life and I didn't know what to do. He spent the whole week threatening me. I couldn't tell Griffin because lately, he's hell-bent on protecting me. Telling my best friends seemed like the right idea at first, but what then? If we confronted him, he'd send out the pictures and we'd lose. There was no way Indie would just sit around and wait for the right moment. She'd want him dead and that would ruin everything. Kira hated secrets, so I couldn't tell her either.

I'm alone.

On the bright side, it was Friday. I wouldn't have to deal with Micah until next Monday. Plus, next week was short because of Thanksgiving. In six days, I'd be stuffing my face with more food than I know how to deal with. Food aside, I needed to take the weekend to catch up on my work. I got a grade dump and my grades were dropping. With everything that's been happening, I haven't taken much time to pay attention to school. There was no way I'd hear the end of this if these grades reached my parents. I sat in eighth period, tired of hearing math equations.

Griffin was next to me, doodling in my notebook. I told him to draw me a pretty picture. In reality, I was tired of hearing him complaining about how simple the work was and I wanted him to shut up. Not only was it annoying, it made me feel like an idiot compared to him. He could answer every question given to him without a problem. He said he learned all of this in ninth grade. Back in ninth grade, I hardly understood slopes and I had been learning them since seventh grade.

I glanced over at him, wanting to see how much progress he had made. It was an amazing sight to see. Griffin finally hunched over, back not perfectly straight. I liked how casual he looked. He seemed relaxed. Probably focused solely on his picture.

My eye twitched once I saw his drawing. It was a masterpiece. He made something as simple as a daisy into art. Instead of a flower bud being in the middle, he was working on a face. All I could see were the eyes and they were beautiful.

"Ms. Oliver!" I jumped. Mrs. Tillerman was glaring at me. "What's the answer to seven?"

I sat up straight, clearing my throat. I hadn't even attempted any of the work. I was mentally exhausted. I smiled, knowing I'd have to come up with something off the top of my head. Good thing I took three years of theatre.

"With all due respect, ma'am, why does it matter? The question isn't 'what's the answer', it's 'what isn't the answer?' Honestly, this work has so many limits-"

"Negative twenty-five point seven," Griffin's voice sounded off next to me.

Mrs. Tillerman smiled at him before writing the answer on the board. I shot a glare at Griffin, who was already back to focusing on his drawing. He had just deprived me of a good performance, possibly one of the best ever in Calculus. I tapped his shoulder lightly, making sure not to mess up his sketch. He sat up, full attention turned to me.

"Thanks for ruining my moment," I smiled sarcastically. "That could've been the best performance-"

"We all knew you didn't have the answer. Telling by the look on her face, which was red, she was seconds from kicking you out," He replied. "Now if that's all, I don't have much time to finish your drawing."

I looked at the clock, seeing we had less than twenty minutes left. I suddenly felt giddy. In a few minutes, I'd be free to be alone. No more Micah and no more stressing over the situation. After a few seconds of watching the clock, I noticed Griffin was watching me intently. I turned back to him. He still didn't look away. His eyes were fixed on my face. I felt my face starting to warm up.

"Uh, can I help you?"

"I'm trying to make sure I'm drawing this right," He whispered, focused on my face.