This year, I didn't have a single elective with any of my CGS friends. Since only the first two classes of the day are CGS, I wouldn't see Andres or anyone else for the rest of the day, except for lunch.
Mr. Mulreany was finishing his APHG lecture when the bell rang. We all hurried to put our binders away and rushed to the doors. Andres and I both had first lunch, and I was looking forward to some time alone with him.
As hunger led me through the school cafeteria, I lost sight of Andres. I had left before him, but I knew he would want me to eat instead of waiting for him. Alone, I maneuvered my way through the crowd and found myself to be one of the first in the cafeteria. As I smelled the food, my stomach took control of my body and I rushed to the lunch line. I ordered a pizza, grabbed a side of apples and broccoli, chocolate milk, and an applesauce cake for dessert.
As I left the lunch line, a few people flocked into the cafeteria. I hurried to grab some napkins and a fork, and rushed to the table closest to the staircase. Walking over, there was not a lot of people. Of the few there were, I only recognized a couple. There was Lil' Man and Jessica walking around, probably looking for Angel. I saw Angel standing near the gym, he looked like he was stalking someone, but I couldn't see who. Then, there was the Student Council.
They walked forward towards the front of the cafeteria to their own special table. The table was decorated with fancy dishes, centerpieces, and always held elegant food. I always wanted to sit there, but I didn't want to deal with the student council. I kept walking, back towards the staircase when I noticed that Cole was smirking at me, as if plotting something, something diabolical, but I ignored it and kept walking.
I arrived at our table and dropped my food on the table. Now all I had to do was wait for Andres to arrive. I began to eat the pizza.
"You're here early," Andres said, sitting across from me, as he ate a sandwich off his lunch tray.
"When did you get here?" I asked, confused.
"I've been here for a while now, waiting"
"But, you were behind me, and I was first in the cafeteria," he just tilted his head and smiled.
Xander and Dennis walked by our table. Xander, looked at me and smiled. "Can I sit with you?" I nodded, but Andres rolled his eyes and picked at his food with a fork.
Xander sat down next to Andres with Dennis still on his shoulders and placed his backpack next to him. He opened it, then pulled out four plastic cups of applesauce.
"What do you do, run an apple farm?" Dennis instigated. Xander just sat at there and pulled opened the lid.
"Seriously though, what's with the applesauce?" Andres mocked, "You're not doing some Australian diet, are you?"
"No, see, I discovered this placed called Costco," Xander replied, not realizing Andres was belittling him. "I'll show you," Xander picked up his backpack and held it upside down over the table. He viciously shook it, and applesauce cups fell out. By the time he was done, a mountain had formed. "I went a bit overboard," he giggled. I joined him and laughed.
Dennis walked over to me and hopped on my shoulders. "What about your lunch, hm?" he tried to interrogate, his head next to mine. "Xander may have applesauce, but you have jizz cake,"
"I beg your pardon, Xander" Andres furiously stood up and stared at Dennis. Dennis hopped off my shoulder and onto the table. He smugly walked towards Andres.
"First, MY NAME IS NOT XANDER! SECOND, I meant what I said. She, and you for a matter of fact, are eating jizz cake." Dennis pointed with his paw at my applesauce cake, then at Andres. "What, did they let you bake them or something ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)?"
Xander looked at Dennis and laughed. He shook his head saying, "You're done," I didn't understand what a "jizz cake" was, so I just sat there confused. I would have asked, but I had a feeling I didn't want to know. Andres just rolled his eyes.
Anne and Tanya walked up behind Xander and asked to sit. I said, "sure," and they sat next to me.
"Sorry about in class," Tanya said, "I didn't realize it was, you know," she slowly nodded her head, trying to get him to understand her.
"You're fine, mate," he leaned close to her and whispered, "How did you know? Unless, are you…"
"Yes," she stopped him, "we both are," Tanya nodded her head towards Anne. Xander leaned away from her, but kept his eyes locked on hers.
"We just have one thing to say," Anne began, "You need to stop him, before he does something...something worse," Xander nodded, then glanced at Andres.
What were they talking about? What was with that look? What happened originally? I realized there was only one bad, terrible thing that had happened...the fire. I looked over at Andres, he stared down at his lunch, as if attempting to resist drugs.
He tapped his feet on the floor and his fingers on the table. He looked left, then right, left again. Eventually, he stopped moving and looked down.
Andres reached down and placed a silver canteen onto the table. He took a deep breath, almost regretfully. He looked at me, sadness in his eyes, and turned his back to me. He stood up and walked to the bathroom. He was acting so suspicious, that I decided to follow him, stealthily so I wouldn't be caught.
When he went inside the Men's bathroom I almost gave up, almost. I looked around, and saw only Xander's eyes on me. He nodded. I don't know why, but I thought I could trust him. I took a deep breath and went inside.
I immediately locked the door as I didn't want someone to walk in and see me. I hid behind a small wall between me and the urinal. After doing so, I turned to face Andres, who was standing in front of a mirror. As I looked at him, I saw that he was pale faced, and, from what I saw, tears running down his face.
The canteen was rested on the sink, and he grabbed it in his hands, slowly bringing it to his mouth. He leaned back his head and chugged whatever was in the canteen down. A strange red liquid dripped down from his chin. He exhaled, quietly in an almost orgasmical way, but was trying to suppress it. When he released the canteen from his mouth, he splashed some water on his face to wash of the excess liquid. When he looked up, he saw me in the mirror and turned back to see me standing there. I was petrified, not because he discovered me, but because he had no reflection.
He dashed towards me, so I quickly turned around and unlocked the door. Before I could run out, Andres had grabbed me by my stomach, pleading, "Wait! Listen, please," to me. I didn't want to know what he had to say. I screamed and kicked until I freed myself from his grasp. I ran out the door, tripping over my feet. Andres grabbed my arm, stopping me from hitting the ground. He looked at me, guilt and sadness wore on his face. I shook my arm out of his grasped and walked forward, only to run into Cole.
"Well, well, well," He said with a smirk, "Just what were you two doing, in the Men's room?" At a loss of words, how could I explain this?
"Ha," Ashley laughed, appearing out of nowhere, "Slut!" No, no, no! That's not what happened! I turned around to see Andres, his face was frozen in shock, his body paralyzed. I was shocked that he would leave me like this. What the hell is wrong with him!?
"Oh, don't be so mean, Ashley," Meaghan joined in, also coming out of nowhere, "Didn't you hear that screaming? Who she said she wanted it," she laughed, they all joined in.
"What's that say about your choice of man," Cole said, "As Vice-President, you know I care for all student's well-being," he thrusted onto me, and pushed us against the back of the staircase. One arm barricaded me, the other stroked my cheek. "Of course, you take priority over others,". Scared, I looked back to see Andres, but he was long gone. Cole grabbed my face and pulled it to him. "What're you looking for, someone to help you? Trust me, no one will,"
I wanted to escape but, how could I? Ashley and Meaghan giggled behind Cole, they would never help me. Cole was infamous for blackmailing others; Wendy, Drew, Anne, and Kirstin just to name a few, now it seemed he was going to blackmail me. How could I explain to other what I was doing in the men's bathroom? Nothing anyone would believe. Cole began to lean in, his nose touched mine. I closed my eyes, the last thing I saw were his red eyes, giving off his insidious intentions. Before he got any closer, I heard a loud voice yell, "What're you doing!?" It was Adam. Adam, as much of a jerk as he was, always kept his colleagues in check. I always thought it was to keep his reputation from any damage, maybe he would help me here.
"Come on," Cole said, "Give me a break," Adam stood there, looking down at him like a parent at a misbehaving child.
"Alright, fine," Cole grasped my hair and pulled me towards him. He moved my head so my ear was next to his mouth. "Come with me, if you don't want to get expelled,"
"W...where are you taking me," I asked, as if my life was at risk. He looked at me, then gave a malicious laugh.
"You'll see,"
Adam walked passed us, signaling the rest of the student council to follow. Cole pulled me along and Ashley and Meghan surrounded me, hiding me from anyone who might have seen. They continued walking like this, until someone tapped Cole from behind. Cole turned back to see who touched him, it was Xander, Dennis on his shoulders, with Tanya and Anne behind him.
"Let her go, mate," Xander said as he towered over Cole. Anger was in both their eyes, neither willing to lose this small battle. I could hear Adam walk from behind me, but still in Cole's grasp, I couldn't turn to see him.
"Look," Adam said, "You're new, so I'll be lenient with you, but you need to STAY OUT of the student council's business."
"Oh, really. You're dragging a woman, my...friend, down the hallway by the hair, how is this not my business?"
Adam was silent for a minute, and I thought I was freed. But, Adam wasn't going to be outsmarted by a new kid. "This is for, investigative purposes. You know about the fire, right?"
Xander was quick on his feet, not a moment passed before he retaliated, "Yeah, but I also know of another investigation that can be started. You know there are cameras in the hallways, and by the stairwell, right?"
"Tsk," was the only response Adam gave. He put a hand on Cole's shoulders and said with a sigh, "Let her go," Cole threw me at Xander's feet. Adam walked up to Xander, equal in height. "But I'll have you know," he began, "One word of this, and you're back in Australia." The student council walked down the hallway.
Xander looked down at me and gave me his hand. "You alright, mate?" He looked at me mercifully and I at him, tears in my eyes. I took his hand. He helped me up and I immediately gave him a hug.
"Thank you," I cried at him. I could feel that his body was tense, but it slowly relaxed.
"Anytime, mate," He said.
"Well, what a kinky situation ✓✓✓," Dennis said, now on Tanya's shoulders.
"Yes, quite," Anne and Tanya both spoke.
I released Xander from my hug, both of us embarrassed.
"Where's Andres?" Xander asked me. I didn't respond.
"Look, Andres is going through some stuff right now," Anne told me, "Something worse than what just happened. I wouldn't worry over it so much,"
"It's just that, he's always saying 'I don't want anything bad to happen to you' and 'I'll protect you', but when I need it most, he leaves me" I began to cry. Tanya led me to a bench and sat me down.
"Well," Tanya started, "Maybe he can't protect you because he can't protect himself. That being said, a relationship isn't good for either of you to be in right now,"
Before I could answer Jessica came running down the hallway. "Has anyone seen Adam? I thought I saw him...wow" she looked at me crying. "What happened?"
"Boyfriend trouble," Anne and Tanya said at the same time.
"Oh, well does…"
"We got this,"
"Why do you want to see Adam?" Xander asked, crinkling in nose. "He sucks,"
"You suck!" Jessica loudly replied, looking very flustered all of a sudden. "Anyway, I'm going to go find him, bye," she ran off, leaving Xander to shake his head, sighing.
After she left, Angel and Lil Man walked down the hallway. "Cum walrus ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)!" Angel said, grinning. He noticed me sniffling on the bench and his smile disappeared. "Wait, were you crying?" he asked me.
"Okay, who did this?" Lil Man asked, "Let's beat em up. I'm plenty big bodied to do this." He struck a pose, trying to lighten the mood. Tanya and Anne laughed and, despite myself, a small grin split across my face.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Angel asked, sounding very concerned. I had never thought he could be this serious about...anything. I sighed and put my face in my hands. I wasn't sure of anything right now.
Tanya's grip on my wrist tightened, and I looked up at her, confused. There was a distant look in her eyes, almost like she was replaying something in her head. I glanced over at Anne, and saw that she had the same look on her face. For a moment, neither of them breathed. Then, their eyes refocused and they stared at one another. The fear on their faces was terrifying.
"Is everyone messed up today?" Lil Man asked, still striking his poses. Angel laughed and patted his friend on the back.
"Well I guess if you've got this handled…" He looked at me, as if asking, again, if I was alright.
Tanya and Anne both jumped up and hugged Angel. "Xander and us, we'll take care of this," they were almost at the brink of tears. "You go along. Bye, Angel,"
Everyone was confused, especially Angel. But, he just smiled and said, "Keep hugging me like that, and I'll get big bodied down low ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)," They both stopped hugging him. "So, anyone seem Adam? I have to 'leave a til' about something"
"Ooo," Dennis asked, "About what?"
"Well, I don't know if I should say yet,"
"DON'T," Anne and Tanya screamed.
"But, what's the harm, right? So anyway…"
Anne and Tanya took a step further away from Angel. "Okay, Angel. You need to run, now," they anxiously said.
"Run, why?"
"You just do, okay? Hurry, you only have thirty seconds left!"
"Okay, you guys are creeping me out now," Angel walked away from them and headed to into the office. Lil' Man followed.
"NO! DON'T GO IN THERE!" Anne and Tanya both screamed at him, but he just laughed them off.
Once inside he began talking to the secretary at the desk. She was on the phone, and signaled with her finger to wait. Angel took a seat near the window. Tanya and Anne split and ran. Tanya headed down the hallway, and Anne back to the cafeteria.
"What're they doing?" I asked Xander, "What's going on?"
"I don't know," said Xander, "They only told me about you,"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, sorry. Forget I said anything. But I think we need to leave," I stood up and we started to walk back to the cafeteria. But before we got there, I heard Tanya scream. Xander and I turned around, only to see a thick, oozing liquid splattered on the window by where Angel was seated. My stomach dropped, it was blood.