Music & Monsters [Camp NaNo July]

10

Casey’s POV

                I yawned, laying my head on the desk as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

                Last night was rough, images of the park continually flashing through my mind. I didn’t get one wink of sleep, and it was definitely taking its toll on me. I even forgot to grab my ipod on the way out the door, something I had never done before.

                The desks are unusually soft today, I thought, my eyes fluttering closed once again. But I need to stay awake, I need to fight it. I couldn’t fall asleep in class, that would just bring my grades down more. Assuming that was even possible, I had no idea what my grades were like in any of my classes and I was kind of afraid to find out.

                The first four periods ticked by seemingly slow, and I’m pretty sure I slept through more than half of each class. I couldn’t help it, I felt like a zombie, and everyone seemed to notice.

                I vaguely recall Nick, Ollie, Red, and Dakota walking up to me, but whatever they said was long forgotten. I’m pretty sure they just asked if I was okay, but I just shrugged to whatever they said.

                The cafeteria noise slowly dwindled down as I got sleepier, my head resting on the long blue table. I was just about to enter a peaceful sleep, when I felt someone shaking my shoulders.

                “Go away,” I moaned, furrowing my brows with my eyes still closed. I was too tired to even care about the park right now, my body was screaming at me to get some rest.

                “Casey, it’s me, Dakota.” His voice sent shivers down my spine, and not the good kind. It reminded me of last night.. I shuddered again.

                “Go away,” I repeated, burying my head farther into my arms.

                “Casey, it’s lunch.”

                “I don’t care,” I told him irritably. “I’m tired.” I heard him sigh, before a tray clattered down onto the table beside me. I jumped, giving him a narrow eyed glare.

                “C—“

                “Okay, what’s up with you lately?” Red appeared out of nowhere, interrupting Dakota and startling me.

                “What do you mean?” I asked through a yawn.

                She sat down, giving me a suspicious look. “Well, first that little scene at the mall yesterday. What happened? When I mentioned the murder you ran to the bathroom and locked yourself in a stall. Then when you came out, your face was covered in tear stains and you could barely walk because you were so shaky.”

                I felt my face heat up, and my eyes flickered over to Dakota. He just looked at me with more concern than before, no reaction to the mention of the murder. “I wasn’t feeling too well,” I mumbled.

                Red didn’t look convinced. “Really? Cause if I remember correctly, while you were in the stall, you were yelling about some guy named Lucifer.”

                I swear I saw a flash of recognition fly through Dakota’s face at the mention of Lucifer. But it was gone so quickly and I was so tired I could’ve imagined it.

                “He… was.. in a dream I had the other night,” I lied.

                Red still looked skeptical, but she let it go. However, she still felt the need to question me about why I was so off today.

                I shrugged. “It’s nothing. I was up late studying.”

                This time, she heaved a sigh and let the entire thing drop. She knew that something else was up, but knew enough to stop pushing the matter.

                We ate in a tense silence, and it was taking all my willpower to just not lay my head down and sleep.

                I noticed that Dakota kept shooting Red weird looks, but I shrugged it off. My mind was in a total haze right now, and I couldn’t tell between what’s real and fake. Hell, a giant talking caterpillar could waltz into the cafeteria and I wouldn’t even notice.

                After a period of awkwardness, the bell rang and I was more than relieved to go to my next class. Although both Dakota and Red were in that class with me, I could escape into dreamland without having to worry about them disturbing me. As bad as sleeping in class is, I gave up on fighting the urge. I was just too tired.

                So I slept through sixth period. Then seventh. When it was time to go home, I shuffled my feet towards the exit, preparing myself for the long way home.

                I was walking past the side of the school when I heard their voices.

                “What’s wrong with her?” That sounded like Dakota.

                “How should I know? She wouldn’t tell me anything.” This one was Red, and by the tone of it, she sounded irritated.

                “Well, can you find out? I’m really worried about her.” I paused, staying against the wall of the school, hidden from their view. Were they talking about me?

                “I wish I could, but I really don’t want to force her into answering me or anything. We only met yesterday,” Red pointed out. “You two seem more comfortable with each other anyways.”

                “That’s true, but lately she seems on edge around me. I don’t even know why,” Dakota sighed.

                There was a lull in the conversation, and I wondered briefly if they had left. Then Red responded, “I wasn’t going to say anything, but… yesterday at the mall, she was screaming about you too.”

                “What? Me? What did she say?” Dakota sounded shocked, and I could only imagine his grey eyes wide and surprised.

                Another pause, and I could practically feel the nervousness coming off of Red. I felt my heart thrumming in my chest, my mind alert now.

                “She.. she was convincedthat you and her had went to the park yesterday, but you left or something. T-then..” Red trailed off, and I could hear a sob being stifled.

                “Then what, Red? Tell me,” Dakota insisted.

                “T-then she thought she m-might have killed that woman in the park. Johanna.”             

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Late upload, I know .-. AND it's more of a filler than anything else >.< Sorry, but it's pretty important to the story so... yeah XD 

But there ya go, a new chapter :D and dedicated to all of you for bearing with me this far haha. I know I can get a bit crazy with all the events and whatnot, and i'm surprised that people still even read this cx You guys don't know how much it makes me smile to log on and see that someone had voted or commented on one of my stories <3 So thank you :D