I tapped my pencil on my desk and gazed out the window. This was my fourth day in school and I was already sick of it. Everyone kept staring at me, it was getting quite annoying by now. Even the teachers kept giving me nervous glances when I wasn't looking at them. No one would even make eye contact with me.
"Ricky?" I heard the teacher say.
It took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. She didn't understand, I am not Ricky now, I am Zigzag. Ricky was me before Camp Green Lake. I looked away from the window, wondering what I did wrong now.
"Please pass in your homework assignement." The teacher said without looking me in the eye.
"I didn't do it." I said shrugging.
"And why not?" She asked.
"Because I was going to go to the library to do some research but I was being followed so I went home instead. Then I figured I could just work on it on the computer but my computer is bugged." I explained in a bored tone.
The teacher couldn't seem to decide if I was joking or not. After class she pulled me aside.
"I would like you to go visit the guidance concellor next period." She said while going through papers on her desk.
I just shrugged and left, I got sent there a lot, I don't know why though. When I got down to the councillors office she told me to come in and have a seat.
"Ricky, what are you doing?" She asked me.
"Checking for bugs." I said looking under the table in front of me.
"There are no bugs in here." She said trying to smile.
"What about cameras?" I asked her, wanting to be safe.
"No, there are no cameras either." She replied as I tapped the glass lap beside me "This is a safe place."
"There is no such thing as a safe place." I replied looking out the window "You are only safe when you are with people who care about you."
"I care about you Ricky, and I want to help you." She said kindly.
"No, you don't care about me, you care about the school, you care about what I am doing because you don't want it to effect the school." I said sitting back, satisfied that the room was bug free.
"I am concerned about your behavior Ricky. You can't just keep coming up with these crazy excuses to get out of doing you homework." She told me patiently.
"They are no more crazy then I am." I said scowling at her.
She looked at me for a minute, she was bugging me, she thought I was crazy, all adults did.
"I'm not taking any more of this." I said standing up.
"Our session is not over yet." She pointed out.
"Thats nice, because I have had enough." I said opening the door and leaving.
I didn't feel like going back to class so I went home. I watched tv for the rest of the afternoon. When I heard the door open, I called out to see who it was.
"What are you doing home early?" My sister Randi asked coming into the living room.
"Guidance councellor." I said without looking away from the tv.
"You really need to stop doing that." She told me ruffling my hair as she walked by.
Randi was one of the very few people who actually understood me. She knew I wasn't crazy. She just starting university, 2 years older then me.
"Do you know anyone named Zigzag?." Randi called from the kitchen.
"What?" I asked, I hadn't told her about my nickname.
"There is a message on the phone, but its for someone named Zigzag." Randi told me
"I'm Zigzag and I am coming, don't delete the message." I told her and quickly climbed off of the couch.
"What?" Randi asked clearly confused.
I pushed the button to play the message.
"Hey Zigzag, I know its only been a week since we saw each other but I was hoping we could get together. You can phone me at 555-3848 but you are gonna have to ask for Jada, not Flame. Talk to ya later, love ya."
The message ended and I just starred at the machine.
"Who is Jada?" Randi asked.
"My girlfriend." I said quietly.
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, where did you meet her?" Randi asked excited.
"At Camp Green Lake." I replied and played the msg again just to hear her voice.
"Ricky?" I heard the teacher say.
It took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. She didn't understand, I am not Ricky now, I am Zigzag. Ricky was me before Camp Green Lake. I looked away from the window, wondering what I did wrong now.
"Please pass in your homework assignement." The teacher said without looking me in the eye.
"I didn't do it." I said shrugging.
"And why not?" She asked.
"Because I was going to go to the library to do some research but I was being followed so I went home instead. Then I figured I could just work on it on the computer but my computer is bugged." I explained in a bored tone.
The teacher couldn't seem to decide if I was joking or not. After class she pulled me aside.
"I would like you to go visit the guidance concellor next period." She said while going through papers on her desk.
I just shrugged and left, I got sent there a lot, I don't know why though. When I got down to the councillors office she told me to come in and have a seat.
"Ricky, what are you doing?" She asked me.
"Checking for bugs." I said looking under the table in front of me.
"There are no bugs in here." She said trying to smile.
"What about cameras?" I asked her, wanting to be safe.
"No, there are no cameras either." She replied as I tapped the glass lap beside me "This is a safe place."
"There is no such thing as a safe place." I replied looking out the window "You are only safe when you are with people who care about you."
"I care about you Ricky, and I want to help you." She said kindly.
"No, you don't care about me, you care about the school, you care about what I am doing because you don't want it to effect the school." I said sitting back, satisfied that the room was bug free.
"I am concerned about your behavior Ricky. You can't just keep coming up with these crazy excuses to get out of doing you homework." She told me patiently.
"They are no more crazy then I am." I said scowling at her.
She looked at me for a minute, she was bugging me, she thought I was crazy, all adults did.
"I'm not taking any more of this." I said standing up.
"Our session is not over yet." She pointed out.
"Thats nice, because I have had enough." I said opening the door and leaving.
I didn't feel like going back to class so I went home. I watched tv for the rest of the afternoon. When I heard the door open, I called out to see who it was.
"What are you doing home early?" My sister Randi asked coming into the living room.
"Guidance councellor." I said without looking away from the tv.
"You really need to stop doing that." She told me ruffling my hair as she walked by.
Randi was one of the very few people who actually understood me. She knew I wasn't crazy. She just starting university, 2 years older then me.
"Do you know anyone named Zigzag?." Randi called from the kitchen.
"What?" I asked, I hadn't told her about my nickname.
"There is a message on the phone, but its for someone named Zigzag." Randi told me
"I'm Zigzag and I am coming, don't delete the message." I told her and quickly climbed off of the couch.
"What?" Randi asked clearly confused.
I pushed the button to play the message.
"Hey Zigzag, I know its only been a week since we saw each other but I was hoping we could get together. You can phone me at 555-3848 but you are gonna have to ask for Jada, not Flame. Talk to ya later, love ya."
The message ended and I just starred at the machine.
"Who is Jada?" Randi asked.
"My girlfriend." I said quietly.
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, where did you meet her?" Randi asked excited.
"At Camp Green Lake." I replied and played the msg again just to hear her voice.