Kenny and I stood outside the school, as close to the wall as possible. It was pouring rain, which was unusual for this time of year. Most years, it would be snowing at this point, but we hadn't gotten snow so far. Just a week of rain.

"Fuck!" Kenny muttered, his voice muffled by the cigarette between his teeth as he desperately tried to light it. "I fucking hate rain. And fucking wind."

"Dude, chill," I replied with a chuckle.

Kenny looked up and glared at me before going right back to trying to light his cigarette.

"Ken, how you feeling there, dude?" I said, a little surprised. "Cigarette addiction that bad?"

"No," he replied, and then hesitated. "Well, yes, but that's beside the point."

"Alright then."

He looked at me uncertainly, cigarette still in his teeth. "I saw Cartman yesterday."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really." Cartman had been missing school pretty consistently for the past several months. He would disappear for days, no excuse, act weird when he was here. He started being absent more and more frequently. No one had seen him for a few weeks now.

"Yeah," Kenny replied, finally lighting his cigarettes. He took a few very long drags. It looked like he had finished practically half of it in less than two minutes. "I don't know, man, he was acting really weird. Not himself."

I laughed. "I wouldn't be too concerned about about that. It's Cartman. He always acts weird."

Kenny just shook his head. "You don't get it."

"Maybe not," I said with a shrug. I couldn't bring myself to be too interested. I looked around and frowned. "Dude, have you seen Kyle anywhere?"

"No, I haven't," he said, crushing his cigarette under his foot and rolling his eyes. "And I think you should take this serious."

"Wow, Kenny McCormick says we should take something seriously! Never thought I'd see the day!"

Kenny sighed and looked away from me. "Dude, come on."

"Ken, you know how Cartman is. He's fine, he always is."

Kenny paused and glanced at me. "Why do you think Cartman has been missing school?"

I shrugged. "Laziness, to get attention, some stupid plan to get rich. Who cares?"

He sighed. "Something just seems seriously wrong to me."

I was about to reply, but then the bell rang. "I guess Kyle's going to be late," I said.

We walked upstair to first period in silence. I imagined that Kenny was still thinking about Cartman, but I just wasn't all that interested in talking about him. I was busy checking my phone, wondering if Kyle was sick. He usually texts me the mornings he's late or missing school.

We got to the classroom and the rest of our class was standing out in the hallway.

"The door is locked," Tweek said when he saw us. He was leaning against the wall right next to the door, tapping his foot rapidly. Tweek had mostly gotten his stuttering and panicking under control, but he still always seemed like he was on edge. "Butters went to go find Mr. Mackey to get the key."

About five seconds later, Butters walked up. "Hey, fellas! Mr. Mackey said that teacher's gonna be late, so we can just go in and wait."

He smiled big and looked at me as he started open the door. "Where's Kyle?" he asked.

I shrugged. We started to file into the room, but then Tweek stopped, holding up the rest of the class. I was about to open my mouth and tell him to just walk in. And then he screamed, loud and full of terror. He immediately turned and ran back out, shoving through the crowd. He slammed against the lockers and puked right on the floor of the hall. Butters ran over to him, hyperventilating.

Desperate to see what had caused such a reaction, the rest of us piled into the room and stopped dead in our tracks. I stood frozen. Several people ran out immediately, in a rush and a panic. But I couldn't move. The air felt heavy, hot. I vaguely wondered if the rain had stopped, before I realized it was just that I couldn't hear anything.

Up at the front of the room, sitting in the teacher's chair and slumped across a desk, was Cartman. He was surrounded by red, staining his wrists, pooling on the desk and the floor. There were droplets of red all around the room, like he had walked around after dipping his hand in red paint, letting it drip on the ground. Only I was pretty sure it wasn't red paint.

Finally, I regained control of my legs and quickly walked out of the room. I stood against the lockers staring out at nothing, unable to get the image out of my mind.

I checked my phone again. Still nothing from Kyle. But I was relieved by that now. I didn't want to tell him. Didn't want to talk to him, even. Or anyone.

Tweek and Butters were both on the ground on the other side of the hallway, pressed against the wall. Tweek was breathing loud and fast, pulling at his hair and scratching at his arms, his eyes wide. Butters was right next to him, curled into himself, his face buried in his knees. His breathing was uneven. Maybe he was crying. I couldn't tell.

It seemed like the whole class was in the hallway now, some people on the floor, some people leaning against the lockers. It looked like a few people, including Wendy, had run to the bathrooms.

The last person to leave the classroom was Kenny. I noticed because he quietly closed the door and took a deep breath. Compared to the crying and hyperventilating people in the hall, he seemed very calm and collected.

He stood in front of me, and I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I just stared at the floor. "I'm going to go find Mr. Mackey," he said, his voice quiet and level. "Are you okay?"

All I could do was nod.

"Could you make sure no one comes into the room?" he asked.

I nodded again, pressing myself harder against the lockers, willing myself to fade into them.

He turned and walked quickly down the hall, but he didn't run. How was he so calm? Did he not see the same thing I saw?

When Mr. Mackey came back with Kenny, he sent us all home. I was relieved, because I wanted to be far away from the school. But I was also scared, because I wanted some sort of distraction, something to do. I guess I wanted to silence my thoughts, get my mind off it. I wasn't sure if that was possible.

Kenny and I went back to my house. We sat in my room in silence for the rest of the day. I tried calling Kyle. He didn't pick up.