they were just having fun

the one with Race II

    Andi laid down face forward on her bed with her phone facing up.

Goldilocks💛
Andi
| Race
| Racer
| Goldilocks
| Higgins
| Racetrack
| come on talk to me
| please Race
| me and Albert just want to help
| please
| Race
seen

    "I called him seven times and he still won't pick up." Albert stated, pacing back and forth.

Andi sat up. "what do you think's going on? We've never seen him act like this, he's always a ball of energy. That's what I love about him, everyone loves that about him." She claimed. Albert sat beside her and put an arm around her, holding her tight.

"why did the energy suddenly die?" She asked, leaning her head on his shoulder and hugging his waist from the side.

"what if somebody killed it?" Albert replied, resting his head on hers.

"what are you talkin' about, Red?"

"what if... somebody- I don't know- doesn't like the fact that he's full of energy, so they might be bringing him down for it." Albert explained and pulled away.

Andi looked down as she realized something. "that could be why he was staring at his phone like that." She mumbled, staring at the floor.

"it can be." He whispered. Albert couldn't believe it. Some asshole could be bullying his best friend and he's not telling him about it.

"no." Andi sobbed.

"why would someone do that? Everyone loves Race, why would someone bring him down?" She asked, letting tears fall down.

"hey, hey we don't know that, alright? It was just a theory." He reassured and used his thumbs to wipe her tears.

He then took a deep breath. "all we have to do is get him to talk to us, then we'll know for sure."

"how are we going to do that?" Andi put her head in her hands. "He won't even answer our texts and calls." She replied.

"you're Andi Ferrari, you always have your ways."

    The next morning, Race didn't show up to school. This was unusual because he always comes to school, so everyone was worried about him. Fortunately though, he showed up at lunch.

"hey Race! Where were you this morning?" Katherine wondered as he sat down beside Andi.

"uhhh doctor's appointment." He lied. As lunch went by, Jack noticed that Race seemed down. Not once did he make a joke or stick his tongue out at anybody. Most of all, he lacked energy, something that he always had no matter what time he slept at the night before. He then texted Andi, who was sitting across from him.

    Didi Ferrari
Jack
| didi
Didi
| what
Jack
| I think something's wrong with Racer
| he seems down
Didi
| ya think?🙄
| me and Albie will talk to him

Andi then turned to her left, where Elmer was sitting. "Elmo, switch spots with me for a second." She ordered.

"why?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"just- I gotta tell Albie something." She explained. Elmer stood up and Andi shifted to his seat. She whispered something in his ear and they both stood up. Albert then grabbed Race's wrist and stood him up.

"you're coming with us." He demanded, keeping a hard grip on his wrist so he can't escape.

"uh no thanks." Race denied quietly.

"listen Goldilocks, it wasn't a question. Let's go." Andi demanded. Without further argument, Race let Albert drag him out of the cafeteria with Andi tagging along. As soon as they were out, Andi and Albert faced Race, arms crossed.

"what are y'all doin'?" Race asked with a confused look on his face.

"we know something's going on with you, and you're not leaving until you tell us." Andi interrogated.

"nothing's going on, okay!?" Race answered defensively. He tried walking back into the cafeteria, but Albert stopped him.

"you can't hide it Race, we know something's wrong." Andi stated.

"you can tell us anything, we're your friends. You know that!" Albert reassured. Little did they know, his statement broke Race.

"why? Why are you my friends? You keep telling me that you're my friends, but- but you never tell me why!" He yelled. Tears then started forming in his eyes, so he turned around so they couldn't see him like this. Suddenly, the cafeteria doors opened and Elmer and Finch appeared.

"guys what's going on?" Elmer asked, but no one answered. While Andi and Albert's attention were on Elmer, Race walked away. Andi was about to follow him when the bell rang.

She turned to Albert. "it's worse than we thought." She spoke so quiet, it was almost a whisper.

"what is?" Finch asked. Again, no answer.