Disappearance

The Plan

The day dragged on. In second period, career technology, we were given a lesson on entrepreneurship... again. Third and fourth period was Algebra 1, which I didn't mind having for double periods. Fifth period was American history, my most despised subject. Then there was lunch, general science, and finally, art.

Every day, at the start of eighth period, there were announcements over the intercom telling the school about club meetings, practices for plays and sports, etc. Sometimes they would call students down to the main office if they were needed. That day, I was one of the people on that list. The crazy art teacher--and when I say crazy I mean crazy. She had wild brown hair that looked like it could house a family of birds, several necklaces that reached past her torso, and wacky clothes that you would only see on a gypsy--allowed me to leave the classroom before the class began.

I went down the long school hallways with my feet weighed down by anxiety. I was never called over the intercom for punishment; I was a very well-behaved student. I hadn't done anything wrong, at least that I knew of. I didn't know what lay ahead of me, and I didn't like it.

I finally made it down to the main office. I headed to the main desk, which was more like a long counter, and smiled nervously at a young woman, a receptionist, who was on the phone.

"Are you Eva?" she whispered to me, still on the phone.

I nodded.

She nudged her head to a slip of paper on the counter. I grabbed the note and read it.

Eva Shaw--Call mother on her cell as soon as possible.

There was a phone reserved for students at the end of the counter, so I headed over to it. I knew my mother's phone number by heart, so I pressed in the numbers and waited for her to pick up. There were a few seconds of silence. During this time, I glanced over at the woman behind the counter. She had stared at me, though I didn't know for how long. When she realized she was caught, she gave me an insincere smile and began to work on some paperwork.

Finally, my mother's voice was transmitted through the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Mom?" I replied questioningly.

"Hey, honey. How are you doing?" She seemed out of breath.

"I'm fine. What did you call for?" I stole another quick glance at the receptionist. She was looking at me again. My mother was silent.

I lowered my head and turned away uneasily. "Mom, are you okay?" I said in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, why, yes, yes, yes, don't you worry about me," she said a little too quickly. "I just called to tell you that... Well... It's about Thunder. The vet just told me the infection in his eye was much worse than we expected. He'll have to stay a little while longer, I'm afraid. They want me to stay, just for a little while." She didn't sound like herself.

"Why? For how long?" I still whispered. I didn't dare look behind me.

Again, my mother was silent. But I could hear whispers. "Mom, who's there?" My heart felt as if it were going to explode out of my rib cage.

"I love you so much, so much. Find someone you can trust! Please take care of your sister and get as far away from here as you can!" she screamed into the phone.

"MOM!" I yelled into the phone.

No answer. But there was a sound, one that I could only describe as a loud thunk! Then there was a muffled scream, a crack, and finally, the phone called had ended.

I screamed words into the dead phone, words that I can't recall now.

I threw down the phone, hard. The plastic broke, sending its parts across the floor. I turned around. The woman was gone. The entire office was empty, though I hadn't noticed anyone in it before. I leaned up against the counter in distress. I slid down to the floor, desperately trying to grasp onto the situation. I hid my face in my hands. I didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like I simply sat there in silence forever.

I lifted my tear-streaked face and took another look around the room. There was a clock that hung on the wall. It was 2:23. Seven more minutes before school ended.

I stood up, deciding I should get my things from art class and get as far away from the school as I possibly could.

I felt light-headed as I went out of the room and walked back down the long hallways.

I arrived at the art door. I hesitated for a moment before knocking. I couldn't hear anything through the door. I thought this was odd, since art was one of the more talkative classes of the day.

When I did knock, a stone-faced student opened the door immediately, giving me a bit of a scare.

I rushed past him and immediately went to Clarissa, who I sat next to in this class. I grabbed my bag and started to shove my books into it.

"Something happened," I muttered as I packed.

"We know," Clarissa whispered back to me. She looked me in the eyes and glanced around the room warily.

I stopped my frantically moving hands. I too glanced around the room. For the first time since I had walked in, I realized the entire classroom was still. All eyes were on me. Even the teacher's.

The teacher gave me the same look the receptionist had. I wanted to curl up and hide under the desk, but I wanted answers more.

I quickly looked down at Clarissa, frowning. "What the hell is going on?" I said through my teeth.

"Just act natural," she turned her head away.

A few more minutes of the painful silence dragged on. When the bell rang, the other students packed up and began to leave the classroom.

"We need to get out of here," she hissed.

I nodded. She grabbed her things and led me out of the classroom. We headed to the main hall to our lockers. Which was right in front of the office.

Clarissa put in her combination with flying fingers. She grabbed some homework and shoved it into her bag.

I turned around. The principal and the same receptionist as before looked at me with grim expressions.

A sweaty hand grabbed mine. I looked at Clarissa and saw her nod her head toward an exit. I didn't even hear her locker close. It felt like the world had lost its sound. She pulled me toward the doors. The other students all stared at us as we left the building. I looked away as the doors closed behind us.

We walked a few feet before I looked behind me again. The halls that were once full were now empty. I shuddered and began the trek home with my friend.