Chapter One
64Please respect copyright.PENANAlxFD4nvYYd
64Please respect copyright.PENANAK1zP3chDIs
It was only three weeks ago… There was a stir after school a few hours after school. Kids were walking home, trying not to get themselves involved with the large crowd. Birds of prey were encircling the carcass of a dog, pecking its intestines and guts out. It was just after school, no one had gotten home yet. The dog, it wore a collar, a very old and cheap collar, perhaps homemade. It said, “Duke H.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAivevS5EnUF
Duke Harrod.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAKChYyuBYfj
Liam rushed to the crowd outside the gate, whispering and looking over what had happened. He had a feeling, a small tinge of realization. He knew what he was going to see, he knew what the whispers were about. He pushed his way through the crowd and saw the body of his dead pet brutally killed with a blunt weapon,
64Please respect copyright.PENANAroTjJEzW8l
Expecting and knowing is far different from experiencing and seeing.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAXVqCYp32Fx
It was such a gory sight. Elijah told him what he’d do if he didn’t show up for their sessions. But… he… didn’t know he’d actually…
64Please respect copyright.PENANAFCKpD7Bpws
The buzzing of the flies rang loudly in his ears. He fell to the ground, eyes bloodshot. This wasn’t anything to him but all of the things that Elijah did piled up. It kept piling and piling and adding and adding, there was no end.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAEp700Fc5N5
What did he do, what did he do?! Why wasn’t it me???
64Please respect copyright.PENANAi6S7kFaYdW
The crowd started dispersing. One by one they left. Maybe because it was getting hot out. Or maybe they didn’t want anything to do with this. With the pitiful boy on the dusty ground. With the cold carcass which was almost infested with maggots. They were normal people. They had nothing to do with this. This doesn’t concern them. It can’t. It shouldn’t. Children, parents of those children, workers, and people who were just simply passing by.
64Please respect copyright.PENANA43ghbVazRl
While Liam was left alone. He felt something else. Rage? Anger? Sadness? He can’t feel any of those. His voice was hoarse, his throat clogged up. What was it? What’s he feeling? He wants to… break… What? Break Elijah? Break him into pieces until he can’t even talk, like what he did to him? He can’t do that. He doesn’t want to. Then what? What is it?
64Please respect copyright.PENANAeuMVXtevyM
So, so many questions, too many questions.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAvokEqrJoee
The sun was starting to set. He had been sitting there for how many hours, looking at the ground, sorting his thoughts but, in the end, was unable to do so. He lifted his head and dragged his knees. One hand in front of the other, one knee in front of the other. Doing it slowly, carefully. Prepare for what you’ll see. He crawled towards the body. The pebbles on the ground scraped against his knees, making them bloody and scarred. As he got closer, the rotting stench became stronger. There was a burning sensation in his nostrils.
64Please respect copyright.PENANA3oRTHxR1xu
The ground was so hot. But the sun which brought the scorching heat was already halfway gone. The cold started to settle in the air. But the ground soaked up the heat. Perhaps the body was hot, too.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAioaGVtTUN0
He doesn’t know. He can’t feel anything anymore.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAAXyxpQnGgu
The sun had gone all the way down. He was still there, his bloodshot eyes staring at the ground. His mind was no longer on the dog. He was thinking about tomorrow. What would he eat for breakfast tomorrow? Will his mom get home on time tomorrow? Will they have homework? Will he get home unscathed? Safely? Just like he did before any of this happened? Will he… stop feeling this way? Maybe, just maybe? This feeling which he felt was so wrong?
64Please respect copyright.PENANApODPWgJ0Ma
Tomorrow does not have any answers for anyone. It leaves one with an empty feeling, a longing to live for just another day. To find out. What will happen tomorrow?
64Please respect copyright.PENANAPYoEiJjuMd
He stood up, leaving the carcass behind.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAZysV2dIgdc
Two… Three… four… He stopped counting his steps and stopped in front of an oddly-shaped rock.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAMnCtp3Q1dS
Picking it up, he mumbled, “four… Okay.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANA0TcEyqxtey
He knew Elijah’s circle of friends. There was Wyatt, a boy his height and build; Nico, a smaller boy, his family was almost always around him; and Rome. Liam always thought Rome was a strange name. Rome was the tallest and thinnest.
64Please respect copyright.PENANACwRk4NDwo3
Four. He categorized the four: Elijah was zero, he was the strongest. Nico was two, he was always beside Elijah. Wyatt was Three because his strength was neither greater nor lesser than Liam’s. Rome was Fourth. He was weak. All he had was his height. His face is insufferable, Liam thought.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAqyTCwNLoTE
He ended up with four.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAWD9W5RMS7P
It’s good he did.
64Please respect copyright.PENANA87n1dmDG1b
64Please respect copyright.PENANAnlHedAt7R7
* * *
64Please respect copyright.PENANAF5PREhBTfr
“I don’t know euphoria”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAjDHkLs3YFH
A song played faintly out of the left headset connected to an old phone discarded on the floor.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAvgEiMmjdkh
“Would like to meet her someday”
64Please respect copyright.PENANA4d3Mzxlewr
Zero, Two, Three… Four is not present. The teachers say he is in the hospital after falling off a roof last night. He fell off a roof by himself, no one else was there. No one was there to testify.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAJhRq7gD7Ot
A body alone cannot testify. A body needs its spirit to be alive. Liam reasoned.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAGZDVyCEGOo
One is on the ground, thrashed and beaten up. Why is he One? Because Two is not the closest to Zero, One is. It’s only reasonable. It just makes more sense. He is the closest one to Elijah. He knows his pleasures and pain. Especially pain. He felt it himself, how could he not know?
“I don’t think he could take another hit, Eli, just leave him alone.” Wyatt tugged on Elijah’s shirt.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAskpOC27o51
Elijah grabbed Liam and pulled him closer. The details on his face were clear. The creases on his forehead, his eyebrows. His breathing was unsteady. His eyes never showed weakness or self-pity. There were no tears.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAbQeVsw6ZTe
“Well?” Elijah asked, “Do you think you could take more?”
64Please respect copyright.PENANALvFn5hWjgc
Liam exhaled. The warm breath almost appeared visible. He nodded. “I could, I will take… more.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANALz5JE0MF0b
He gasped as he hit the ground once again when Elijah let him go. Elijah’s eyes darkened at the sight of Liam gasping for air, his lips slightly parted for just enough oxygen to go through while his chest was rapidly pumping as his own body fought just for him to survive. His hair in complete disarray and his clothes slightly torn, exhibiting the blood on his lined collarbone. His eyes turned away from Elijah for a second as he hit the ground but he maintained contact, glaring intensely at Elijah’s eyes. They both knew what was in each other’s minds. But they didn’t want to accept what was in their own.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAseMbAelr55
His hand nudged where the old phone connected with the headset. It came loose. The song escaped.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAGrIRiB87w8
“C’est la vie”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAUjfgub5If5
64Please respect copyright.PENANABuSmcyReUY
* * *
64Please respect copyright.PENANAS3KvbgPhjw
64Please respect copyright.PENANAnerErUKIWR
“So is life. It happens to everyone, and worse. But they get through it. We can get through it. You don’t have to ‘stand up and speak.’ If others live and survive then you can, too.” A girl spoke.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAsGqDwqmg1f
There was a class debate about what the bullied should feel. One team taking the stand with them, the other against, as how things should be. Sam, the representative for those ‘against,’ had a petite body and curly hair. Her eyes were big and shiny like pearls.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAorW7Xq7GHZ
“Agreed. So is life. It happens to everybody, right? You’re saying that, basically, if others could do it, I should be able to do it, too, right? ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ correct?” The representative who ‘stood with,’ Eana was considerably taller than Sam. She had a strong build and fierce eyes.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAiJOBfSOFvw
Sam nodded, “That’s correct.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAwoxtBFkdRm
“Hmm, but what if it does? What if it does kill you? ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you–’ what?” She motioned for Sam to continue.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAmMoklZFxQe
“It makes you stronger,” Sam answered.
64Please respect copyright.PENANATWTwQs4Owy
“Wrong!” Eana slammed her fist on her table, “What doesn’t kill you… might kill someone else. Just because YOU can brave through it does not mean others can, too. You, of all people, should know that.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAmG2VBgqJyb
The teacher chuckled lightly and raised her hand to signal that the debate was over.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAGsnwTOBBPx
“Okay, and we’re finished. That was more than 15 minutes, I enjoyed myself, I’m sorry.” Ms. Auburn jested.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAqZcTFwWgi0
There were giggles scattered throughout the classroom. Eana and Sam shook hands and went back to their respective places.
64Please respect copyright.PENANA15WJMQ4KFx
“Okaaaaayy…” She scanned the room, “Liam still isn’t back, huh?”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAe3Y382gBOJ
A girl raised her hands, “I think I heard he was sick from Wyatt.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAHYjnSbrDyN
“Wyatt? Are they close? Isn’t he a senior?”
64Please respect copyright.PENANADOcpz9GepQ
“No, I don’t think so. Oh! But I think he heard it from Eli. Eli’s close with Liam, I think.” The girl said what everyone else was thinking, ‘yeah, they’re always together. They’re friends.’
64Please respect copyright.PENANA7fKPbUHfJ1
Ms. Auburn sighed, “Okay, uhm, can you tell Wyatt to tell Eli to come to the office later?”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAqVW9Fm680r
“Yes, Miss.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAw6AXZfQ5k0
She adjusted her glasses and sat back down on the teacher’s desk, dismissing the girl. She opened the textbook and continued writing down the contents on the chalkboard.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAoqYOjbOyLt
.
.
.
64Please respect copyright.PENANAKR9XhuiZyU
The 4th bell rang, screaming into everyone’s ears that time was almost over. At this time, students were encouraged to study alone for the remaining time. Ms. Auburn went outside of the classroom and into the teachers’ offices. She pulled out a pink folder from her bag which she struggled to lift up because it was a bit thick. Inside were all of today’s quizzes and tests from the students that she had to grade. She sighed, smiling. There was too much work, she shouldn’t have given that surprise quiz. The clock ticked slowly as she worked. Other teachers were also working, but she had started earlier. Finally, after a few more hours, she was done, standing up with s satisfied sigh and reaching for her phone.64Please respect copyright.PENANATLichiP5E5
64Please respect copyright.PENANAivot4Gnd0e
She thought of calling her missing student’s parent in order to inquire about his well being. First, she sent a greeting through text:64Please respect copyright.PENANAhEmYoUNzFo
64Please respect copyright.PENANAkzVmQCbfQz
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Harrod,”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAQURwuZzFgO
Then she mentioned the subject:
64Please respect copyright.PENANAd0hTdnrmnV
“How is Liam doing lately at home? He has excellent grades but he’s a quiet kid.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAGJUuPGzfDF
64Please respect copyright.PENANAC8vHmzJeY6
Finally, she addressed the cause of concern:64Please respect copyright.PENANAqHBIJVPTC4
64Please respect copyright.PENANArVU6kRvyWz
“He didn’t come today, which is unusual. Is he sick, maybe?”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAEQ3FRez7xF
She waited for a few minutes. A notification popped up in her phone. It was from her desired sender. It went:64Please respect copyright.PENANAP5hFZOOuF1
64Please respect copyright.PENANAMEOlwxVghb
“I’m sorry? He’s not at school? He left this morning, I… <tap to see more>”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAXw2RU5Ok2G
She was about to click on the notification when the final bell rang. School’s over. Everyone gets to go home, or maybe just hang out, but otherwise, it was after-hours already. Sighing, she replied without even reading the whole message:64Please respect copyright.PENANACYORNdhsPn
64Please respect copyright.PENANAWYmdVfXJ1R
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harrod but I have to go. Maybe we could talk about this tomorrow over the phone.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAWsNzXFeAik
Ms. Auburn wasn’t a particularly bad teacher nor did the students think she was a really kind one. A teacher’s workplace is the school and she is just there to, well, work. Anything that draws a person’s attention– a perfect attendance student being absent for a day, for example– she would try to find out why… as long as it’s in her jurisdiction. And, who’s to blame? She’s doing what she has to and she doesn’t want to do more, that’s no problem. Students were always gathered behind the school watching ‘a fight’ going on or whatever. Was it her obligation to look even after school hours? No. She thinks herself an ordinary but lawful woman. Nothing more, nothing less. Ah, for the ordinary people to look over the wrongdoings of others to remain ‘ordinary.’ Who’s to blame? Who’s to blame indeed. For, she believes, ignorance innocence is not going against the law. Keep your hands clean and keep your mind cleared, hands in pockets and eyes ahead. Neither blessing nor cursing. Be good, not kind. Keep yourself ordinary.
Chapter one: - END -
ns 172.70.126.84da2