One

A Chapter by Reya

My nose twisted in distaste as I passed the small room/office marked with a tacky wooden board. The edges of the wood were worn and haphazardly cut but the crimson writing in it was undeniably beautiful. The letters were curved in all the right places with swirly ends drawn to precision. It said, ‘Treasured Tomorrow’. A tacky name for a tacky group.

Treasured Tomorrow was basically a self claimed student help committee in my school. Every student who the teachers deemed was having teen life crisis was sent here. Those unlucky few could’ve been sent to the counselors’ office but apparently ‘Today’s youth feels uncomfortable talking to someone much older than them and they should have people their own age, their friends whom they trust completely to share their troubles with.’ These were the principles words not mine and these words were the beginning of Treasured Tomorrow. I honestly can’t think of a worse idea. I, as a teenager can guarantee that no one in this school would be willing to spill his/her life story to another sixteen or seventeen year old who is sure to babble it out to everyone during lunch.

Quickly walking past the room/office of Treasured Tomorrow where a girl with glossy black hair sat in a swivel chair, chewing gum, I turned the corner to head to my next class of the day.

Psychology was as boring a subject as any. If you looked around during the period you could easily make out that the entire class was doing nothing but slumping in their seats and sleeping with their eyes open. The teacher, Mrs. Clarence, an old lady in her mid sixties who refused to believe she was growing old and sprouting white hair, never noticed anything out of the ordinary and turned a blind eye to anyone who was late. That was the reason why I walked deliberately slow and by the time I reached the class, I was already yawning, anticipating the sleepy lecture ahead.

As my fingers curled around the door handle and I got ready to face the hour ahead, a banshee like scream erupted from behind me, bouncing off the empty hallway walls. It made cold shivers run up my spine and goose bumps appear on every inch of my skin as I jumped about a meter off the ground in terror. The door handle, still within my grasp, turned due to the sudden movement and before I could do anything else, much less turn around to look for the source of the noise, I was tackled from behind.

Falling face first with my eyes wide in shock and the anticipation of unbearable pain through the now open classroom door, I felt arms wrap around my shoulders in a vice like grip and I wondered in the split second before I along with my attacker fell- What if those arms were wrapped around my neck instead? I didn’t get the chance to think of an answer before I was turned around with lightening speed. But it wasn’t fast enough. A moment later I felt my head hit the granite floor and an immediate throbbing pain erupted in my head.

All I saw were an open mouth and wide green eyes filled with horror and a tinge of regret before I blacked out and yet the last thought on my mind was- I wish I had eyes like those.