What Lies Beneath Her Mask (REWRITE)

Chapter 4: After Hours

     It was late afternoon, the first day of school ended, and I had understood almost every single thing they were teaching except for the fact that someone other than me had a gray aura. I watched as Kai waved to me and walked in the opposite direction and into the suburban part of the city. Most of the other kids were still on school grounds, shooting me cold glares and whispering silently. Every once in a while I could hear a sentence or two of what they were saying, but didn't pay any mind to it. I almost didn't mind people talking behind my back anymore.

     Of course, I didn't know if they were talking about me, but judging by the glares they shot and the distrusted looks on their faces, I knew better than to assume otherwise. I turned left to take a shortcut through a nearby alleyway where the sun was just barely able to wiggle through the narrow ceilings and onto my shiny, fairly toned skin. I looked around and saw broken bottles of beer, boarded up windows and doors, chipped bricks, crippling buildings, and so much more. It was almost heartbreaking to see but one other living thing in the broken down alleyway. A single dandelion.

     A single dandelion was growing through the cracks of the sidewalk near a dumpster. A single drop of dew laid upon one of the vibrant yellow petals that were beginning to wilt slowly. I stood up and stretched, suddenly remembering something.

     "Oh crap, my bags."

     I started walking back to where I came from. Once I was out, I looked upward and contemplated either running or getting my bags tomorrow.

     "No. It's too risky. Plus, I got time."

     I continued my stroll down the cracked sidewalk until I was able to see the large school a ways away. I was nervous, I knew I would look suspicious if I went back to school for some bags so late in the afternoon, but I didn't care. I needed my bags and everything in it. My money, my clothes, school supplies, even my weapons. The weapons!

     I couldn't let anybody see them, much less find them in my bag and report it! They would think I'm a serial killer! I immediately picked up the pace and dashed through the glass double doors, passing a small group of girls and a boy on my way through the halls. I heard them whispering, their voices echoed through the long, dim hallways. Most corners and classrooms were dark to the point where I couldn't see a thing, which gave me the feeling that something was watching me.

     I finally climbed the stairs that led to the third floor, where I found my locker at last. I plunged my hand into my hoodie pocket, where I struggled to put the key into the lock. I opened my medium-sized locker, where I found my bags secured inside.

  Wait, something's missing. I can feel it.

  I fumbled with every little thing in my bags and failed to find one major thing. My mask. I heard giggling down the halls and knew exactly what happened. I slammed my locker, grabbed my bags, and started marching towards the group that I passed in the hallway. They were giggling and whispering, they were huddled together and were examine something.

     My silent footsteps were unheard as I got closer and closer until I towered over the group that was huddled together and hunched over.

  "Hey, Ms. Sticky-fingers. How about you give back what belongs to me?"

  The girl who had my Kitsune mask in her hand whimpered and hesitated to look me in the eyes. When she turned around, I knew exactly who she was. The girl that stole my mask was the spunky, energetic, very talkative, and annoying girl that I made cry.

  "T-This is yours?! Y-You were that girl that made me cry! I thought you said you didn't go here!"

  "Well, I transferred. Get over it."

  I snatched my mask from her hands, carefully placing it in my bags again. She looked at me in shock and disappointment. I sighed, facepalming and staring straight into the girl's small, round eyes.