East Chapel Academy

Chapter 42: Marcus

"Marcus."

    I turned to find Sam, Nick, Crystal, and Stacy standing next to my locker. Even though they tried to hide it I could see that they felt bad for me. Usually I would be completely against having a pity party but I was too sad to care.

    "How are you?" Crystal said.

    "I'm..." I looked for the right word to accurately describe how I was feeling. I'm miserable, angry, and sad all at the same time. "I'm fine."

    "No you're not," Nick said calling my bluff. "You have the same depressed look on your face that you've had all week, but I guess I understand since Nia broke up with you."  I wish he would just drink his Red Bull and shut up.

    "What?" Crystal gasped. "You guys broke up!"

    Technically, we are just on a "break", but it sure as hell feels like she broke up with me. "She thinks it would be best if we take a break right now."

    "Oh my God, she told me she wasn't going to do that," she fussed.

    I closed my locker. "She talked to you about it. When?" And why didn't you warn me?

    "We were in the bathroom, and she told me that she was thinking about it, but I thought that she was just saying things because of the Whitney thing," she explained. "I tried to talk her out of it, Marcus, I swear."

    "Thanks," I said. "But she must have heard something after that made her change her mind."

    "So we're not all going to prom together?" Sam asked.

    "Nope," I replied shortly. On Saturday, I'm going to sit in my room and be depressed, maybe let E.J. explain one of those slime videos to me. But what I won't be doing is going to prom and watch Whitney win a fake crown that she doesn't deserve.

    "Marcus, you have to come," Stacy insisted. Her blue hair was pulled back with a small clip in the shape of a paint tube, and purple eyeshadow framed her eyes. "What if Nia comes?"

    "I doubt she will." She doesn't have a dress and I have the tickets, besides she barely wants to be seen in public with me.

    "You never know," Nick said.

    "She's on the newspaper staff. I know a few of them are going to cover it for the paper," Crystal said trying to convince me.

    "She covers the sports section."

    She said, "Just think about it, maybe it'll make you feel better."

    I have thought about it. My stupid tuxedo reminds me of it everytime I walk into my closet. "Whatever," I replied. "I'll see you guys later."

    I got through first period only because I knew Nia would be in Chemistry. Even if we're not together we can still talk, we are friends...I don't even like saying that, but I'll take what I can get. But when I got to Chemistry she wasn't there, which is weird because when we didn't walk to class together she was there before me.

    I thought maybe she was just running late, but lecture started and she still didn't show up. I hope she's okay, it's not like her to skip class, I wonder if she was in first period.

I found Sam after class and I asked him if she was in first period.

    "No, she wasn't there," he said. "I thought maybe she was just running late or something. Was she not in Chemistry?"

    I shook my head. "No, she wasn't there either." The bell rang signaling us to go to class. "Just let me know if you see her okay."

    "Will do," he agreed.