Whispers In The Dark

Victoria

Victoria

The conversation ceased as Riley stopped at our table, legs wobbling and eyes unfocused.

"Can I sit here?" she asked.

I nodded; it was all that I could do.

She sat down across from me, next to Jessiah. Her bag hit the ground with a thud and she sat, slouched, with her hands in her lap and her eyes averted to the table.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I slapped myself internally. That was a stupid question.

She lied even though it was obvious. "Yes," she answered, smiling a bit. "There were just some problems over at my usual table. Sorry."

I looked at her worriedly. I lowered my voice to a near murmur. "Don't lie, please?"

She looked up at me and the smile dropped from her face. I scrutinized her eyes, squinting when I thought that I was seeing things.

"Are you high?" I asked, bewildered.

Her eyes widened, if only a bit, and surely enough her pupils were extremely dilated. She shook her head.

"You are!" I exclaimed.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Shh!" She looked around. "The whole world doesn't need to know."

Everyone at the table was staring at us. I stared at Riley, wide eyed. Riley stared at the rest of us, uncaring.

"Hey," she said, trying to smile but hardly succeeding. "I'm Riley."

They mumbled greetings. Anna, Jessiah, and Reximus introduced themselves. Riley merely nodded at them as they did.

"Cool," she commented. Then, she buried her face in her arms, and fell asleep.