A Ballad for the Lost

thirty

I can't stop thinking about the caller. Who was he? What did he want from me?

These were all questions I'd have the answer to in a few hours. I had a strange feeling this man was the source of all the ordeals I was facing, however that could just be me desperately trying to blame my issues on someone instead of standing up and owning them.

"M.J.?"

I lifted my head off of the nest I had created on my desk with my arms, and looked up. "Yeah?"

Mrs. Bennett stood at the front of the class, a ruler in her hand pointing to a question on the whiteboard. "Would you mind returning your conscience to this class and answer this question for us?" I sighed and nodded, reading the sentence written on the board.

What does family mean to you?

I thought for a moment.

"Family is what you call a group of people who will stand by each other through everything. Go through hell and back, and still be together. Family is what you call a group of people who don't have to be related to feel and express their love for each other. Family? Family is something everyone in the world needs, yet not everyone has."

//

It was 12:45 PM, and Ellis was nowhere to be found. I was going to tell Ellis about last night, and the strange conversation I had with the caller, but I couldn't find her anywhere.

So I sat at my table alone.

Suddenly, Kade sauntered up to the table and placed his tray of food down and sitting across from me.

I looked up. "Kade. What are you doing here?"

"My friends are being jerks, and I just can't deal with them right now."

I nodded. "I know what that feels like."