𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑─𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐚𝐫

83.

"Sydney McCall", the guidance counsellor, Miss. Monroe, mumbled as she read over my records, her eyes trailing down the page.

I nervously played with the strings of my hoodie, waiting for her to finish. I was dreading what she was going to say to me, terrified that she would tell me there was no way college was on the table.

She finally looked up at me with a small smile, "What are you plans after high school?"

I hated that questioned. It was something that I had thought about, obviously, but I still felt like there was so much time before then.

I shrugged, pulling my hands back into my lap, "College...I hope"

Miss Monroe nodded as she glanced back down to the paper for a moment, "What are you hoping to take?"

"I think I want to go into the medical field." I could almost feel myself cringe as the words left my mouth. I was embarrassed, thinking that it was some pointless goal that I would never be able to achieve.

A warm smile spread across her face as she folded her hands on top of her desk, "I think that's a very attainable goal for you, Sydney. This year won't be easy, and I've noticed that your grades began to fall at the end of last year, so you will need to work hard. And, remember that I'm here to talk. I know times can be tough, but that's what I'm here for."

I gave her a tight smile, a sense of discomfort washing over me. There was something about Miss Monroe that wasn't sitting right with me, "Thank you," I muttered, reaching for my bag.

"Anything you need to talk about, I mean anything." Her voice was lower now, and I had a feeling she was eluding to more than just my classes.

I threw the strap of my bag over my shoulder, giving a small nod, "I'll keep that in mind."

As I exited her office, making my way to my first period class, I couldn't shake a feeling. I wasn't entirely sure what the feeling was, but I knew it wasn't good.

---

Twenty minutes into first period math and my mind was already elsewhere. I couldn't help but think about the fact that Scott would be gone when I got home that night. For the first time in my life my big brother wouldn't be there after my first day of school.

I was so distracted that I barely noticed the occurrence that was seconds away from happening. It was the screaming that tore me from my thoughts, and within seconds I was in panic mode. Crawling at my feet were at least 50 rats, and more were coming from the air vents.

My screams meshed with the others as I pulled my feet up, rushing to stand atop the desk. Everyone was screaming, the teacher scrambling to get to high grounds.

Now, if it wasn't obvious, I was terrified of rats. I could do Ghost Riders, Werewolves, Berserkers and every supernatural being in between, but I could not do rats and spiders.

I clamped my eyes shut, trying to convince myself to be brave and do something. We couldn't all just stand here screaming without doing something about it.

Lucky for me, my knight in shining armour arrived, saving me from having to step foot on the ground when those things were crawling all over.

"Liam!" I yelled, never so relieved to see his face. My boyfriend looked at me in confusion, he and Mason both in shock.

"Where did they come from?" Liam questioned, stepping over the rats so he was standing in front of my desk.