Pirate Assassin

Page 7

Suffice to say, at the very least, Zack was very nervous the next day; at the very most, absolutely terrified. The man had left an impression on him, and it was not a good one. He was so busy snapping his head around corners and alleys that he almost bumped into a shoulder-high, hazel brown haired girl waiting for him at the school entrance. "Whoa, watch where you're goin Zack!" Mikaella exclaimed while laughing, "Are you subtly making fun of my height?" Zack forced a laugh, "Sure I am," as he patted her head. Mikaella made a face at him and they walked into the school grounds. "You seem to be busy thinking about something. What's the matter?" she asked, concerned about the serious look on Zack's face. He cursed and masked his emotions as he always did, under a facade of smiles and roaring laughter. He hacked out one right then, prompting Mikaella to cover her right ear for a moment, "Nah," he said casually, "just worrying about how badly I failed that surprise maths quiz the other day," Mikaella joined in his laughter, "Yeah, it was a killer wasn't it?" Then she stopped right in front of him, on the first step leading to the main entrance of the school and looked at him straight in the eye. "But that's not the real reason is it?" Her eyes were hard. "I know there's something else you're not telling me. Either you're just outrightly lying to me or you're leaving out the important stuff," but her eyes softened as she saw a myriad of emotions in Zack's eyes, "C'mon Zack, we've known each other since we were 7 and how long is that now? That's 10 years. You can tell me anything," Zack initially felt a flash of anger. This was the so-called friend who didn't want to hear about what she labelled as his 'emo tendencies' when she didn't have the first clue of how hard it was to let it go. However, he did realise that she was genuinely worried about him so he racked his brain for his numerous strategies used to placate people. He finally made a decision. "Fine then, you remember that beggar guy we met?" Mikaella nodded, "well I met him again, or rather he met me. So I was just making sure he doesn't surprise me again. That's all," he said. It was the truth, just not the specifics he thought. Thankfully, Mikaella took the story, though she still looked uneasy, "Well, ok then," she said as they resumed their walk into the school. Lessons went on as usual, and Zack actually felt safer in school than he had at home. After all, if he were to appear here, he would have to meet the eyes of about 5000 people, from the kids at the year ones to the socially accepted adults of the year thirteens, not to mention all the staff. It was easy for Zack to finally lapse back into the normal routine of school life. Before he knew it, the lunch bell sounded and he sat there stunned for a while before he realised what it was and it was in this stunned state that Wayne found him in when his head popped into the classroom by means of the window from the corridor. "Am I extra pale today or something?" he asked while looking around at himself. Zack laughed and Wayne grinned back. "C'mon man, let's go. Its time to serve our prison sentence," and Zack followed him to the roof. His eyebrows leaped up in surprise when he arrived at the roof: Mikaella was there, looking up into the sky as Zack had done whenever he was up there. Her eyes were glazed, looking further than just the sky. Zack had never seen this side of her before, ever, and it shamed him slightly because it proved that he didn't know her as well as he had thought. Then she turned around and faced him, her eyes sparkling, a gentle smile on her face and the sun shining behind her. Zack needed every last ounce of control not to blush. Zack had never dreamed of seeing an angel, but this, he thought, was the closest he was ever going to get.