Cold.
Dark.
Quiet.
Nothing but the sound of my breath filled the empty lobby. And not a soul was in sight. The lobby was old brick, long and wide, at the end, painted in red, black and white was the word 'Mohawk's'. Don't exactly know who or what that is, let alone what that means, I assume it's something they take pride in otherwise it wouldn't be up. I can already tell the school, also, took some pride in culture; flags from all countries of the world hung from the ceiling. Off to my left was a garden filled with dead flowers and weeds with autumn leaves giving it the only color. The plate glass window was surrounded by black bench's like a barrier.
Not too bad first impression for a first day of high school. My luck, I'll probably make an ass of myself somehow and be labeled 'class clown' or whatever.
A sudden icey chill soared down my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck stood, bumps formed on my skin. In a nutshell, I felt like I was being watched. When I exhaled, I could see my breath as if it was the dead of winter inside this school. I looked down the two hallways, no one was there. Then I looked back at the lobby, nothing but a bunch of national flags and a trophy case.
It's really eerie.
Thank God! Someone else is here.
Of course, when anyone is anxious in a any new surroundings, the first thing they want to do is find someone else. Somehow, these three who stood huddled in a circle dressed up like your usual jocks. Denim jeans, leather jackets, different hair styles with hair jell being a common factor, and each a not exactly menacing but not someone-you-want-to-spill-coffee-on expressions. Their bright eyes like ice piercing through me, their smiles were menacing and dark. One was twirling a cigarette between his fingers, the other two were just staring at me. Suddenly, I felt my stomach drop to the floor, goosebumps formed on my arms, the room suddenly got colder, and I immediately began to look for an escape.
Thank God, an adult!
"Um, excuse me." The skinny, middle aged blond teach stopped and turned around sharply. As if shocked to find a student wondering the hallway this early in the morning. Well, who wouldn't?
Her shocked expression quickly changed to friendly, welcoming face with a pearly white smile.
"Oh, you must be looking for the cafeteria." Not exactly what I had in mind, but I'll take anything at this point. Are all teachers like this? "Go straight down that hall, can't miss it."
With that, she nodded good-bye and took off down the opposite way. The jocks continued to star at me. Best to ignore them and just get going. I turned down the hallway just before the doors despite the heavy temptation to run out there. I felt my stomach grow heavy and hot, I couldn't focus, my mind felt like it was swelling up like a bloody, mushy balloon. The further I walked, the more tense I felt. I couldn't breath, my heart was racing, my blood was racing and turning cold. The large bay windows allowed some of the morning sunlight to give off the illusion that this place was lively. But the air, oddly enough, got much colder and colder the further I went. The hallway seemed to never end until I saw a carpeted slope leading down into another room. I heard a metallic clank nearby, basic curiosity told me to follow in that direction. I found myself standing right outside the cafeteria. To my surprise, there were a few other students eating peacefully at round tables.
I recognize one of Ryan's kids coming out of the doors at the opposite end, carrying a tray of familiar food. I saw another student enter through the other door, a few moments later, he appeared out the other side with food on a blue tray. I took a deep breath, remembered what Dean and Sam told me, and turned around. I nearly ran down the hallway and out the door. I ran as fast as I could pass the parking lot, and into the woods.
I stopped running right as a creek came into view. Despite my heavy breathing, I felt free, I could finally breath. The heavy pressure was gone from my chest, the pressure had eased from my head, and the tension in my gut loosened. Not sure if Dean's gonna kill me or not for running off. But if he's not gonna be at the house, and Bobby doesn't give a damn, I don't see any point. Who's gonna know if I show up or not? Let alone if anyone cares. I dropped the bag onto the ground, and plopped down next to it.
Not sure how long I was out here. The sun hid behind the clouds, the day was still fairly cold, small droplets of rain fell from the clouds, leaving ripples in the creek and splatting on the leaves. I was solely, and simply, alone. Nothing but the air and the coolness of the rain. Anyone would have found this utterly depressing. However, I found this relaxing. I just sat down by the creek, the water wasn't moving expect for the ripples from the rain. The wind was still. Car's zoomed by on the bridge without a care. I leaned back against a tree, and dug out the items from my bag. Sam put one of the books he bought me inside. Almost like he knew I was going to take off.
"Why not?"
I know better. I should be in 'class', to be honest, this is too much.