Hollow Twilight - A LitRPG Novel

Chapter 16

The sound of screeching metal caught Reid's attention. His head snapped over to the parking lot in front of the school. Someone had pulled their car in too close to another. Some people were gathering, someone shouting. The wind whipped up onto Reid's cheek and he turned his head back the other way before ducking into the school with the crowd.

The weekend was still humming in his head but he was trying to push it out. Reily still hadn't sent him any messages and he hadn't dared send her one. He didn't know how to go back to that space. Kari had sent him a couple about joining their guild, grabbing his real number before he was allowed to go home.

Someone pushed up against him. They grunted and kept going, barely breaking stride. A couple were arguing in front of his locker, blocking his path. He stood behind them, watching as things escalated and fell. Another person bumped into his back and he stumbled into the lockers, his impact clanging across the hollow metal boxes. The couple paused their fight to look at him, derisively, before resuming their discussions.

And then they moved on and he could finally get into his stuff. It was all for just one textbook anyways. And he barely used it. His teacher would just get mad if they didn't see it on his desk. He kept missing his lock combination though, distracted by memories of his encounter. That kid, Marcus, had been surprisingly expressive given his age, and forgiving. Considering Reid was used to dealing with Kari's persistence and lack of charm, Marcus was wildly different.

But perhaps that was another reason he was the leader. Kari had certainly stressed it had more to do with the value of his Twilight than anything else but there was a worldliness to his speaking that even seemed to impress Mr. Crawford. Of course he would then follow it with something juvenile and the illusion was broken.

Reid slammed his locker and pushed off in pursuit of his friends. He still had some time to kill, and their lockers were basically side by side in another hall. So he watched his feet plod along the ground, one sneaker then the next. They were looking kind of worn out at this point, and he had only bought them in the summer. That's what the fall did though. Dirt everywhere. This is why he didn't buy nice shoes. If you could only afford one pair, it was a waste of time in this city to get anything nice. Your laces would be grey within a week.

The teen rounded the corner and glanced up, finding Issac pinned against his locker by Maple, whose hand was clamped around his throat. She had practically lifted him onto his toes with her strength.

Reid looked into Issac's face, then down to Maple, unimpressed with the situation he had walked in on.

"This joker," Maple said, noticing Reid's arrival, "said I could stand to not eat so much candy."

"Hello friend, "Issac croaked. "Just hanging out." He tried to smile but winced instead as Maple tightened her grip.

Reid's eyes shifted from Maple to Issac and back again. "Just make sure you show to class, I don't want to be stuck there alone."

"I guarantee at least one of us will be there." Maple beamed her response before letting Issac drop to the ground. He slumped down, rubbing at his throat.

"Don't be late," Reid replied before walking off to class.

Reid's eyes met with Kari's as they happened to pass each other in the hall.

The less you login the better.

He sighed. Kari's final words to him Saturday had stung. Her constant spite, her insistence that he didn't know what he was doing. Maybe she was just mad that he wouldn't join their flock or maybe it was her personality. He couldn't tell and it frustrated him, endlessly, regardless of what the reason was.