Here I stay on the balcony for Miss Smith, and she's finally here. She sees me and her eyebrows raise as if she's expecting trouble. She gestures at me to follow her inside the room.
"Dawson?" She stops at her desk. She drops her shoulder bag and leans both hands on the wooden furniture. She makes an intimidating eye contact, keeping myself normal as she does it.
She continues, "You know why you're here, right?
I groan. "I got a D in your subject."
She clicks her tongue. "That's right! So, I decided that in order to get a B in my class, I'll have you do things for me for the day, got it?"
I wonder what she means. Perhaps making me her slave for the day helps get me good grades now.
"Now do me a favor." She places piles of paperwork into a tower. "Bring these to the next classroom and distribute it to every student inside. Got it?"
I roll my eyes and compromise. I try to lift the pile and the weight surprises me. I take a deep breath before I can fully carry them all. Smith walks out of the room and I follow her. We're headed to the next class and as I enter, I find Bucky Jameson in one of the seats. He reads a book with a pair of headphones on his head. He looks decent unlike what I'd seen in my dream.
I place the pile of papers on the teacher's desk, causing a loud thud as I drop them. The sound makes Bucky turn his back. I pretend I don't see him. Screams and squeals are heard outside the classroom and as I look behind me, the gossip girls are acting crazy behind the windows. They cheer and whistle as they take pictures of Bucky. He seems embarrassed as he hides his face with his leather jacket. I proceed to handing out the papers to each seat of this unfamiliar classroom.
I reach Bucky's seat, handing him some paperwork without looking at him. I can see him in my peripheral vision twisting his back as I walk farther away.
As I get back to Smith, I tell her about the girls taking pictures of an uncomfortable person and that makes her squint her eyes. She draws her sight toward the girls outside, and as they see her, they start running away.
As we're heading out the room, glancing over the balcony reminds me of Ysa and everyone else. I decide to plan my escape from Smith after we get downstairs so I can go out looking for them instead. But my plan fades into thin air when I see Lenore coming back. She looks sad. She's rubbing both her hands, shallow gasping frequently, and her cheeks are puffed with her eyes reddish and teary. I try to stop her by stretching one hand out but she keeps walking by. I decide to keep following Smith and get on with my escape plan. Lenore's surprising emotion makes me wonder what happened to their hangout.
There's a little stampede in Smith's way, which halts both of us for a second. And then, someone grabs me by my elbow.
"Hey." It's Nathalie. She says and then slurps a juice box.
The sight of her shocks me for a second. The memory of my dream floods my mind. "Hey." I reply.
"Wanna hang out later?"
Her unexpected invite baffles me. We're not even friends yet, so having me in their hangouts might possibly just make me want to go home, since I don't know any of them.
"Why?"
"Nothing. Just wanna get to know you."
I don't answer for a long second. I'm still puzzled how someone wants to know me.
"Come on." Her deep, hoarse voice doesn't fit her face. "We're gonna be really good friends. I promise you won't feel left out."
I'm still thinking about it. She may have a good face but I don't think I can trust her. She looks like one of the girls who like to chug alcohol straight to their throats.
She continues, "Let's go to McDonald's, it'll be my treat. Deal?"
Now that convinces me. I shrug, but I still have to get to my friends. "We'll do it next time, then. I'm busy."
She pulls me to my side. "Come on, Riley. Please, do me a favor. It's just for one time, and I'm only asking you out because Bucky told me so."
"Who?"
"Bucky Jameson. He's into you. I owe him many things, so don't make me fail in this one. So, will you make it up for me?" She winks.
I've seen him in my dreams, and since then I don't think I can trust that guy. I look around to find where Bucky is, and he's only hiding half of his body from a thin column.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." I firmly answer.
She holds out her palm. "Gimme your phone number instead."
"Phone numbers are personal. Not everyone has to know my phone number." I say with a relaxed face.
"Then, I must be one of the few who knows yours." She gives a wry smile.
I groan, not having a choice. I open my phone, showing my number to Nathalie on the screen. I then notice Lenore coming out of the room with her backpack.
I call her this time. "Lenore, where you going?"
She halts as she sees me, her eyes are still tearu red. "Riley, I have to leave. There's something wrong in the house." She says, shakily breathing.
"What? Like a family problem?"
Her voice is shaking, "More than that."
"Like what?"
It took her a long second to reply. I focus on her eyes and another batch of tears are filling her ducts.
I hear a phone ring, and it's Nathalie's. She looks at her screen and says, "It's my mom. That's weird."
She walks away as she answers a phone call.
Everyone else's phones ring almost at once, leaving me puzzled by the current situation. As they answer each call, the first word they say is either "mom" or "dad".
I turn back to Lenore.
"If this is more than what I think, maybe staying is the better option."
"I can't. I need to be there. My cousins... my... aunt..." She can't finish her sentence as she sobs again.
I overhear Nathalie's call as she says, "What? Mom? Mom? Can you hear me? Hello?" And then a loud scratching noise, making her pull the phone away. The sound is so loud that I can also hear it a few feet away from her.
"What is it?" I ask her.
She stares at nothing. "I don't know."
Bucky approaches us, rubbing Nathalie's shoulder. "Dad called me."
Nathalie looks up at him, showing the screen of her phone. "Mom." Her voice is trembling and so is her breathing.
I glance at my phone which is currently off, waiting for a call even though I already know that's never going to happen.
"Lenore, what did you hear?" I ask, my sight still on my device.
"I heard growling, snarling, and then... And then the screams of my family." She answers in between breaths.
"That's what I heard on my call, too." Bucky adds.
Nathalie creases her brows, looking more worried. "Mine, too."
A tear runs down her face, and as Bucky sees it, he pulls her toward himself, giving her a tight hug. He looks at me. "How about you?"
I answer, "I didn't get a call."