Him & I

12

"Oh, you were really going to go with him, huh?"

"Nathan, can we please just go?" It's not a question I expect him to answer. At least not in words. All I sincerely hope is he gets into the car and takes me the hell home.

But of course, he chooses to stand outside.

"Melissa."

"You act like we were about to elope or something." I fold my arms across my chest, unable to stop the angry pout my lips fold into.

"Well, I don't know - Maybe?"

Shuffling himself into the driver's side, he jams the door shut once he gets in. Much harder than needed, and looking me dead in the eye. "Were you really going to go with him?"

Goodness.

I look away from the window to give him the deadpan look he deserves. And the boy dares to gives me one too. Staring at me like I'm a disappointment when he's the one who's misconstrued.

Then he goes ahead to turn the key in the ignition, shaking his head at me. "Can't believe you."

When Pamela turned out sick today, I hadn't exactly... thought it through.

I only hung on my open window opposite hers, a mini white board, that read the words 'Might feel ugly on the inside, but remember you're pretty on the outside.' In green. Which was a waste of time, anyway, since though our rooms are right across each other, on the same floor number, her house is still a good distance away. The plan was to visit after school, show her the note by pointing across. When she asks what the hell is written on it, I'd be there to tell her.

Not a very smart move, I must admit, yet it's something I do every time she gets sick.

I also hadn't thought things through when Toby got out the car, chirping an 'okay.' to me - which is his cordial way of saying 'See you at home.'

Home.

Because if I had, thought things through I mean, then i'd know there was no way of getting back home.

It's not until the final bell went off that I realised Pamela's absence in school meant I had next to zero chances of returning.

And I was all alone with the realization. It was just an 'awakened' me in the middle of an empty hallway because apparently, kids at Eastwood high don't joke with the final bell.

But after silent rounds of panicking, I decided focusing on something else to avoid facing reality which would only lead to me screaming in fear. And that might just attract and annoy the principal, school receptionist or any other school authority around. Because there had to be some sort of school authority somewhere.

At least I tried to convince myself of that. I couldn't have been all alone.

The minor distraction was to rummage through my books. I put the notes and textbooks I'd need in my bag while stuffing the rest back in my locker. As I begun rounding up the activity, I got scared of again having to face reality. But just then my phone buzzed in my breast pocket.

Although, it caused more anxiety than security. I nearly jumped out of my own skin. Took me a while to realize it was just my phone and not some major earthquake. Because ninety-nine percent of me truly thought it was an earthquake.

''oh.'' I read the text aloud.

I'd sent a text to my dad earlier, a whole paragraph whining on and on about my predicament, in hopes to get a solid solution. So, 'oh' could not be the response, there had to be something else coming. At least not after waiting for an hour and thirty minutes. Which would've been even longer if I'd sucked it up earlier and not got caught up in the fact that our last texts had actually been eight months ago.