SHADOWS AT MIDNIGHT
By: mahatiel
When I was a child, my parents told me that if I wanted to play with a toy and so did my friend-I must share it. Why? Because it was only fair they said. When I entered highschool and I was late to class by two seconds and got a tardy slip-I complained. The teacher said to get over it. Life wasn't fair.
When did the 'fair' rule change?
Why was it that when I was one age I was told one thing and then at another I was given a new rule to accept? Does anyone besides myself wonder about these trivial implications? Probably no one but me.
CHAPTER ONE
School sucks. Thats all I have to say about that subject. I'm a sophmore in college so that means that I only have two more years and then I am free to spend the rest of my life working until I have accumulated enough money to afford a room in a retirement home. Peachy isn't it? So here I sit in one of my GE classrooms; praying that the darned bell will ring if I stare unblinkingly at the clock. It was my last class of the day and I was ready to go to work so I could then go home. It was pathetic really.
I looked down at the notes I had been taking on psychology and skimmed to make sure it was legible for later. Glancing back at the clock I saw the minute hand hit the time I had been painstakingly waiting for. The shrill scream of the bell released me from my torment and I hurriedly filled my bag with my notebook and pen.
I ran from that room. Okay so that's a lie, but I'm allowed to exaggerate right? As I walked toward the parking lot I fumbled for my car keys which were located at the bottom of my bag. The very bottom. Since I was distracted I didn't get to look in front of me. There I am-minding my own business looking for my car keys when all of a sudden I run into something that felt like a carpeted wall. With a shriek I stumbled backwards onto my butt.
I sat there a little confused since I hadn't seen it coming. There was something very cold beneath my right hand. Lifting it I saw my keys; with a grin I let out a whoop of triumph. Putting the rest of my things in the bag I had dropped in suprise, I looked around to see if I had run into anyone. There wasn't anyone near me, but a man getting into his jeep a few feet away. So I got into the car and drove to work.
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I work at a flower shop thats about fourteen minutes from my house. Convenient. I'd worked there since my senior year in high school and I really liked my job. The pay was minimum wage and I often got cut if I didn't keep a look out for thorns, but the old couple who owned the shop were very kind to me. I didn't take things like that for granted, with the world in the state that it was-it could be hard to find truly nice people.
As I watched the woman that had just bought a bouqet of a dozen pink roses for her daughter's birthday walk out the door-I realized that I needed to use the restroom. I needed to go badly. Sitting in the puny cubicle my mind began to wander. Did other people stop to think when they went to the bathroom? I'd never asked anyone if they did or not. It didn't exactly make a good topic when you were on a date.
When I reached for the toilet paper my hand hit the wall. Blinking at the spot where the paper should be I reached for it again. Somone had forgotten to refill the roll when it had ran out! This was a large bathroom with three cubicles and two sinks. The door was about four feet to my left and the sinks were infront of me and also to the left. In an indentation in the wall underneath the sinks was a cabinet with at least five more rolls of unopenned toilet paper.
A normal person would have just stuck there arm beneath the cubicle wall and grabbed a wad of paper from the ajoining wall, but unlike most people I was a deep thinker.
For this bathroom the toilet paper canister was on the opposite wall so I could not reach it unless I got down on my hands and knees and crawled into the next stall. I had chosen the closest stall to the door so I had no other stall to chose from. Brilliant. I didn't want to crawl on the floor even though I knew it was clean since I had mopped it myself. With a sigh I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I only had one choice.
Reaching forward I unlocked the door and quickly stood up. Waddling to the adjoining sinks I knelt down, openned the cabinet, reaching for a roll. Hearing the shuffling of feet from the other side of the door-I froze. My mouth gaped open and I dropped the roll. With a squeak, I grabbed the roll and shuffled back to my stall in time to close it before three women entered the bathroom.
Slumping onto the toilet I closed my eyes. I was ready for this day to be over.
-----------------------
"Dearie?" Mrs. Armand called to me as I headed towards the backdoor. Turning, I smiled at her. She was a sweet old thing with a curly mop of white hair held in a bun at the nape of her neck. She was short and she honestly looked like she was Santa's wife with her plump figure, rosy cheeks and sparkling blue eyes. "I wanted you to know that come tomorrow you won't be the only one helping us out at the shop. We've hired another part time worker so now there will be four of us!"
"That's great Mrs. Armand," I said with a smile. It had just been Mr and Mrs Armand since I had started working here, and you may not know it, but it was hard work.
Saying our farewells I headed home.
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As I lay in bed, I wondered who my new partner would be. A girl or a boy? Would that person be nice or would they be a pain the butt? Rolling over I thought of something else.
'"As evening approaches and the shadows begin their
descent into Bridewell, the same frightening thoughts
always disturb me. Darkness sends its shadows to
draw all men back into itself, for it is in the shadows
that darkness plays. And what of the man who
stays in the shadows too long, at play with sinister
thoughts?
Darkness will surely overtake him."'
I'm in my Advanced Art Class. We were working on blending pen with watercolors today. To let you know . . .I'm not a very good painter. I'd decided to ink two parakeets snuggling upon a branch. That wouldn't be too hard.
The door openned and in walked my Instructor with two people behind him. Intrigued I set down my ink pen. New students? Or were they from the office sent to collect someone?
One of the newcomers was a girl. She was pretty-I noted this in an artistic manner. That had always been my problem growing up. Due to the fact that I drew all the time, I would stare at people for long periods of time. The consequence of my quirk made others think of me as a lesbian. I will tell you now-I love men. I think they are the sexiest things on the darn planet. Other people like me have this same problem.
Anyway, this girl looked to be about 5'8, which made her taller than me (I'm about 5'6). She was thin and lanky with long blonde hair that brushed her lower back. Her face structure was delicate and yet it held a gentle strength which was located in her eyes and the way she stood with her hands on her hips and her head tilted slightly upward in a defiant manner. She wore a sage tanktop with khaki shorts that stopped at her knees. If I was right; she was also wearing peach colored sandals that were held together with scotch tape. That was my guess anyway. She was lightly tanned and and it looked like she had a tattoo on her left shoulder, but I couldn't tell.
The man/boy next to her was intimidating. He might have been over six feet, but since I was seated at a higher elevation level-I couldn't really tell. His hair was the color of fire (obviously dyed) and it was spikey. His eyes looked like they were a type of icy blue and both of his ears were pierced with bright orange feathers hanging from both ears. The feathers were small, about the size of my thumb. He was tan, nicely tan, and you could see muscle indentation underneath his long sleeve shirt. His shirt and shoes were white, but his pants were black with chains wrapped loosely around his legs. His hands were hidden within his pockets and he looked lazy. At the same time however . . .he seemed just as dangerous as the girl beside him.
The miniscule hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. With a shudder I turned away from the two mystery people. Looking back at my picture I began to finish with the ink. I was more than ready to finish so I could leave and go to my Literature Class next.
-------------------
That girl was in my Lit Class too. I simply stared at her in shock, I couldn't believe it. It felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something. To think of it-I didn't even know her name, dang it! I glowered at my Lit Book even though I knew it couldn't help me-I prayed something would just hit me or talk to me.
"Hi, I'm Ino." I jumped and stared briefly at my book in irritation. Turning, I looked to my right to see that girl sitting in what used to be an empty desk. She was grinning at me. That smile? That smile was so sweet it made me want to gag. However, I could still see that primal glint in her eyes. Looking at her eyes I did a double take. The pupils were slits; they looked like cat's eyes, but instead of being green or yellow they were cerulean. Freaky really.
"Hi."
"What's your name?" Her voice practically dripped acid sweetness. Disgusting.
"Sakura."
"Aw, what a pretty name! I couldn't help but notice that you and I also take art together, correct?" Who was she fooling? Acting all interested and crap. Others didn't normally talk to me-unless they needed help with work or something. I was happy to keep it that way.
"You aren't wrong." Short and simple answers should make her leave me alone.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kind or new here . . .So do you think you could maybe, I don't know, hang out with me during lunch?" She gave me that puppy look, but seeing as her eyes made her look feral it didn't really work. I blinked. What was I supposed to say? 'No'?! I wish I could.
"The Office didn't assign you a student guide?"
"No, they told me to attach myself to someone. I feel bad asking actually," She turned away from me and looked towards the windows on her right. "Normally, I don't ask anyone for help."
Then why start with me?! Seeing as I was weak-I told her yes.
"That's great! My friend just started here today too!" Ino was excited to say the least. "You know that guy that stood next to me during art?" Oh joy. Nodding, I turned away from her and began to work again. In my head I played the same song over and over:
'"No time for goodbye he said as he faded away,
Don't put your life in someone's hands-
There bound to steal it away.
Don't hide your mistakes 'cause they'll find you-burn you
Then he said:
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for your life.
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for your life.
This is my last time she said as she faded away,
It's hard to imagine, but one day you'll end up like me and she says:
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for your life.
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for your life.
IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT ALIVE, OH, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
IF YOU WANT TO GET OUT ALIVE, OH, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
If I stay it won't be long til I'm burning on the inside-
If I go I can only hope that I make it to the other side.
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for your life.
If you want to get out alive, Oh, run for-
If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive)
Run for your life.
If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive)
Run for-
If I stay it won't be long til I'm burning on the inside-
If I go I can only hope that I make it to the other side.
If I stay it won't be long til I'm burning on the inside-
If I go-If I go-
Burning on the inside
Burning on the inside
Burning on the inside
-----------------------
"So is this food sanitary or what?" Ino asked me as we walked towards the Cafeteria. How I longed to say something rude! Amazingly, I kept myself in check.
"So they say." Now that we were in the food line-I was hungry, but I ignored my stomach's obvious cries for help. Ino loaded her tray full of food. I merely bought three water bottles.
"Aren't you going to get any food?" She asked me as we looked for a table. Not only was she looking for a place to sit, but I could see her eyes roving every area of the room for her friend. I shivered in regret.
"Nope. I'm on a diet. There's a table over there." I pointed towards our right at a table that was blessedly empty and infront of a window overlooking the river next to our school.
Seven long and awkward minutes later with her jabbering away and me trying to ignore her-her friend sat down next to her and across from me. His tray was as full as her's had been minutes earlier. I blinked. He was cute in a rebellious sort of way.
"You're here!" Ino cried. The boy flinched and looked around the room to see if anyone was staring. I was, but no one else. "We were waiting for like . . .ever! What took you so long huh?!" She was definitely intimidating. I almost felt bad for the poor sucker. Almost.
"I dropped the map to the school," He said. His voice was nice, sweet and husky. But he was a liar. He stopped his neverending food fest to look at me. Unblinkingly. I had been right-his eyes were icy. "Who's she?"
"This is Sakura. I asked her to be my friend since we're new. Maybe she'll be your friend too if you ask nicely," Ino said haughtily. What was I? A brandnew toy that she got to play with, but would only share with others if they begged?! "Sakura, I want you to meet Gaara."
"I would say it's nice to meet you, but that isn't always the case," He resumed his chowing.
"Gaara-"
"Oh don't worry. I could say the same about you," I retorted. Gaara stopped eating yet again to stare at me. I gave him a fake grin and pulled out a book to read. There was only twenty-six minutes left of our lunch break. With all the ignoring I was doing, I might as well try to ignore my anger.
"Oh the Shark Bane has such teeth dear,
And he shows them pearly white.
Just a jack knife;
Has old Mac Heath, babe
And he keeps it out of sight.
You know when that shark bites
With his teeth babe-
Scarlet billows start to spread.
Fancy gloves Oh,
Wears old Mac Heath, babe.
So there's never a trace of red.
Down the sidewalk;
Sunny morning-
Lies a body just oozing life.
And someone sneeking round a corner.
Could that someone be Mac the Knife?
There's a tugboat
Down the river don't you know.
Where a cement bag's just drooping on down.
Oh that cement is just-
It's there for the weight dear.
Five will get you ten-Mackie's back in town.
Did you hear bout Bobby Miller?
He disappeared, babe.
After drawing out all of his modern cash.
Now Mac Heath's been just like a sailor,
Could it be our boy's done something rash?
The line forms on the right, babe
Now that Mackie's back in town.
Yes, that line forms on the right babe-
Now that Mackie's back in town.
Look out old Mackie is back . . .
------------------
I leaned against the counter of the Flower Shop. I had just walked in and not only was it hot outside, but I was ready to go home and take a shower. After dealing with those two for that brief amount of time. . .well, I was done. Sighing, I thought about taking my cheek off of the cold desk.
"It must be hot out there or are you normally that red?" I jumped and looked up. A man, that looked about my age, was sitting behind the desk. This guy, by the way, was hot. He had black hair that flopped over his forehead. His body, that I could see, was nicely muscular. His arms were nicely corded, his stomach flat, and his eyes were a drowning sort of darkness. I didn't think that those eyes would miss much. They were intelligent eyes and I felt like he saw right through me. He had a kissable mouth that was curled at the edges by amusement. "Cat got your tongue. Or am I so gorgeous you forgot how to breathe?"
I gaped. Who did this guy think he was?! Recovering, I closed my mouth and walked towards the backroom. Inside, I found my box and put my wallet, phone and dangling jewelry within. I put the apron on and turned to leave only to run right into that jerk's chest. His hands held my upper arms-his hold kept me from moving backwards. Leaning back I looked up and realized that he was very tall-six feet maybe. He was angry-that much was certain. Gulping I tried to move away from him, but his grip on my arms only tightened in the process.
"It's not nice to walk away from someone when they're trying to ask that said person a question," His voice was low and husky. Attractively so. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to have any manners though; seeing as all you have done so far is stare at me."
"Now wait just a minute! Who are you? And get your filthy hands off of me or I'll start screaming 'rape'!" Struggling I got myself free from his grasp and backed away so I could no longer smell that dizzying cologne he was surrounded in. His face was slightly suprised and I could only imagine what my own looked like. I was probably red from the heat and my own frustration, my hair was with-out-a-doubt flat and I most likely-than-not dripped buckets of sweat. Raising my fists I got ready to duke it out with him if worse came to worse.
He blinked at me, scrunched up his face and then he started to laugh. I gaped. I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. I was confused. What was with this guy?
"I guess you've already started to affect me with that horrendous personality. My name is Sasuke Uchiha." He grinned down at me. It wasn't much of a grin-more like a smirk. "It's nice to meet you Sakura Haruno."