School

Where it all started.

“BIANCA!”

“WHAAT MOM??”  

My mom walks in my room. “Time to wake up Hun!” She walks over to my windows and opens the curtains. The sun makes my room light up instantly.

“Seriously?” I murmur under my breath and then pull the covers over my head.

“It's time for school, Bianca,” she says. “It’s Friday, one more day till the weekend. So, get up! You're going to be late.” She finally walks out of my room and shuts the door behind her.

I glance over at the clock on my wall. It's one where all the numbers look like they have fallen to the bottom out of order and left the hands at the top pointing to lonely dots. My mom thought it was just the “cutest thing” against my aqua colored walls. I notice it's already 7 o'clock. School starts at 8 o'clock! I have to hurry if I want to meet up with Bea and Eve.

I jump out of bed and look through my closet. After about 5 minutes, I pull out a pair of washed out skinny jeans with those already-made-cuts in them and pull them on. I grab a blue t-shirt and throw it on while I find my light blue converse that somewhat match.

Before running into the kitchen to grab a granola bar, I stop in the bathroom to turn my straightener on to let it heat up while I eat. I apply my dark mascara on with nothing else. I hate wearing any other make up. My mom says I have natural beauty. Whatever... I just like my eyes to pop. I have to admit, I do have really nice green eyes.

I go back to the kitchen to eat my granola bar. My mom is sitting at the table drinking her coffee. She is a nurse and works at the local hospital and has to be there at the same time as school starts. Sometimes I go there to help out. She shows me a new place where they keep different medicines and equipment every time. I'm not suppose to be in those places, but she told me in case of an emergency, she wants me to know where everything is. She thinks the world might have this big disaster where there's very few of us left and we have to survive on our own. Sure... like that will ever happen…

My dad, on the other hand, is a businessman. He is always at work, but I guess it really doesn’t matter because he lives in New York and we live in Kentucky. My parents are divorced.

When I finish eating, I go back into the bathroom and straighten my hair to my best ability. I don't look half bad today.

I grab my backpack and say goodbye to my mom. “Have a good day!” She yells when I'm halfway out the door.

I am about to turn 16 and going to get my license when I do, but my dad still won't let me drive to school until I actually have the card in my hands. What a waste of a seat on the bus!

I walk onto the bus and my bus driver, Amy, greets me with a “good morning, Bianca!” and a smile, as always. I smile back to her and walk to about the middle of the bus and sit down. I pop my headphones in and turn the volume up on an Eminem song. He's my favorite, of course. I hate the bus because of all the annoying kids and bullies, so I just block them out with my music and they don't usually bother me.

But I guess I was wrong and today is Bother Bianca Day. Of course the bus bully, Frank, decides to start messing with me today.

“Heyyy B,” Frank smirks. He's one of the best players on the football team, but has the IQ of a 5 year old.

A few more miles down, my bus pulls into the school bus lane. We all get out one by one and walk into the school.

As I walk up to my locker, I pass couples making out and touching each other. Like, who does that in school? Nasty! Welcome to high school!

I'm in the tenth grade so my locker is all the way upstairs. I hate stairs... I'm greeted by Bea and

“What do you want, Frank?”

“Just wanted to talk, girl. You're lookin’ fine today. New mascara?” He taunts.

“No, now leave me alone. I am not in the mood for your jokes today.”

“Well fine! I'll just go pick on some nerd,” he walks away to another seat.

Finally. He is a real pain sometimes. He's always had a small crush on me, but doesn't like to admit it. So now he just throws in compliments but acts like they are jokes. Such elementary school behavior.

I put my earbuds back in and stare out the window. I have to take a double-glance because just beyond the treeline there's what looks like a man digging in a garbage can..? Half his body is deep inside rummaging around. I mean, I've seen a lot of homeless people in my time, but this is different. He has a suit on and there's a briefcase next to the can. All it's contents are lying everywhere and ripped up. What was this man doing?

I just rolled my eyes and looked away. I'm losing my mind. He's probably just some homeless man rummaging for food.

I saw Bea and Eve when I arrive at my locker.

“Ohmygosh, Bianca! Finally you're here! We've been waiting all day,” Bea says.

“Yeah, and we had to watch hot guys walk by the whole time!” Eve adds in.

“Wow! Sounds to me like you guys had it rough this morning!” I roll my eyes at them.

Bea looks at me, then Eve, and then back at me. “We saw Chad today.”

“Lucky you.” Chad is the boy whom I've had a crush on since the fifth grade. He barely talks to me, though, but always glances over and smiles. We have two classes together, but never talk. He's way too hot for me. I don't think I'm totally ugly, but not as good looking as some girls. That's okay though, because most of the pretty girls in my school get around to all of the guys. I'm more of the pretty tomboy type. I can be a girly girl sometimes, but I prefer to be laid back and have my comfort. I am definitely not one of those girls who pretends to be way more elegant than they really are for a boy. Unless that boy is Chad Johnson. I guess I shouldn't be even for him. My mom always told me to be who I am and the boys will appreciate me for that. I'm just not so sure how much Chad is into girls that like the creepy stuff.

Noticed I said creepy stuff? Well I am the type of girl who LOVES horror. I am up for watching scary movies all night long, but I might get nightmares... I also love reading scary books. They are just better than anything. Sometimes, I look up creepy stories about the past and it's so weird but really neat. Although I am not a fanatic about a zombie apocalypse, zombie movies are my favorite. Everything zombie. I have posters, I have many books about them, and I have watched every zombie movie on Netflix, even the old ones. I am weird, I know.

Back to Chad. He has short blonde hair that sort of flicks off to the side and I just love when he shakes his head to flip his hair. He has dark brown eyes and is really tan.

Last year, I had swimming with him and I noticed that he has a nice set of abs. A six pack to be exact. I couldn't stop staring at him and I think he noticed because he looked over at me and smiled. I got really embarrassed and turned away really fast. Eve said I was as red as a tomato in seconds. Whatever.

“7:50! We need to go now, girls! I still need to stop at my locker before class,” Bea panicked.

All three of us have the same first class and fourth class. And since there's only four classes a day for 90 minutes, it's a nice gossiping time.

First class is science. My favorite!

We walk into class and the first person I see is Chad Of course. I forgot he was in my first class. I walk over to my seat with Eve and Bea, trying to ignore the fact that the cutest... no, hottest boy in school is right in front of me. Eve and Bea nudge me a little and I can hear them giggle behind me. I roll my eyes. They are so immature sometimes.

Chad starts walking towards me. Uh oh, what is he doing? Why is he coming over here? He is probably just going to pass by. No, he's staring straight at me! Why! No, I am not ready for this.

I sit up straight and clear my throat. “Hey Bianca,” he smiles.

“Oh, hi Chad,” I respond. I can feel my face getting hot.

“Do you have a pen I could borrow?” He asks.

“Oh. Sure, one second,” I say, kind of disappointed that he just wanted a pen. I grab one out of my bag and hand it to him.

“Thanks, you're a lifesaver!”

I guess I am. I frown and turn to the girls. “He just wanted a stupid pen,” I tell them.

They look at me and frown. “He needs to man up and start talking to you for real. Not just use you for your pens. Next time, tell him not unless he talks to you!” Bea says.

“No!” I say. “I am not going to be a jerk. I just wish he would talk to me and notice me. He looks right through me, even when he comes up to me for something.”

Eve rubs my back. “It's okay, girl. He will come to his senses one day.”

I make a face and turn around as the bell rings.

After the announcements are over, Mrs. Walker stands up in front of the class. “Alright students, settle down in your seats. Time for our worm dissection lab.”

The class roared in whispers and giggles about how worms are gross. I don't think it's that bad, to be honest. I used to play with worms all the time. I also go fishing with my dad and I put my own worms on the hook. I am definitely not like most girls here.

“Groups of three!” Mrs. Walker announces.

Of course Bea, Eve, and I look back at each other and smirk. We are always a group of three for everything.

We get up and head to the back of the room to our lab table. There is a little bowl full of dirt and a couple slimy worms in it. Some are long and stringy and the others are chunky and short. Man I love playing with worms! Beatrice and Evelyn, on the other hand, hate even going near the worms. Sometimes I think of how I am even friends with these girls. They are so different from me.

I pick up one of the fat worms and place it on the rubber block. The girls don't want to touch it so they have the job of telling me where to put the pins and handing the pins to me. I pin the worm down at the top and bottom, then slice the body all the way down. I insert the pins to hold open the body while we look at the organs and slimy parts ooze out.

“When you are done, call me over to check your work!” Mrs. Walter announces.

“We are almost done, ladies,” I say to the girls.

“Good because I think I might get sick staring at this mutilated worm,” Beatrice says disgusted.

“Don't be such a baby,” Evelyn laughs.

“Hey, you won't touch the worms either, Eve, so I wouldn't be talking if I were you,” I say.

Chad looks over at me and smiles. I smile back at him and turn away. I wish I wasn't shy. I'd be able to go and talk to him like real people would. Then I notice he starts walking over to me again. Great, he probably just needs another pen or something.

“Nice worm, Bianca. I wish I was that good,” he smiles at me.

“Are you trying to be sarcastic?” I ask him.

“No, definitely not. I'm serious, you're really good at this science stuff,” he says.

I laugh. “Well thank you!”

“No problem.” He winks at me and then walks away.

I stand there, unable to move. Chad Johnson just winked at me. I think I'm going to pass out.

“He is so into you,” Beatrice tells me.

“No, he's just being nice.”

“Girl, he winked at you! That is definitely not just being nice!” Evelyn says louder than she should have.

“Can you be a little quieter? I don't want him to think I am obsessed!”

“Okay, okay! Sorry! Let's call Mrs. Walker over here now, because we are done. Right?” Eve asks me.

“Yes, we are done.” I raise my hand and Mrs. Walker comes over to check on what we've done. She looks pleased with the work that I did.

“Nice work, ladies! Extra credit for being the first ones done,” she tells us.

We do a little victory dance. “Yeah, you're welcome,” I smirk at the girls.

“We love you!”

We finish off the class with worksheets about our lab. The bell rings. Eve, Bea, and I walk to our lockers to get our books for the next class. We don't see each other until lunch after third block, and then we go to fourth block together. We have History last block.

I go to second block, which is English. It's probably my second favorite class because I love to write. I plan to take more writing classes before I graduate. Right now I am also in journalism. I don't think I like that kind of writing, though. I am more of a creative writer, not a news writer. I have tried writing books of my own. So far I haven't figured out the right topic to go on with. I've stopped all of my books after writing for a while because I become uninterested in them. I have started a love story and also a sad one. Nothing came of them. I think I am more of a horror writer, so I might go with a topic like that.

Third block rolls around. Study hall! Finally I get to relax. I haven't had any homework lately so I get to sit here and watch Netflix. The teacher likes me. I get to do what I want. Usually I bring some food into the class and just watch Netflix the whole time. This time I forgot the food! At least I get to eat lunch with my best friends after this class. I wish my lunch wasn't at the end of the class. I'm starving by the time it comes. Oh well. I'm watching “Bridezillas” now. The show is intense.

Lunch finally comes and I meet up with Beatrice and Evelyn at the deli section. Usually every day we get the same thing. I get a turkey, cheese, and lettuce sub with an apple and a water or juice. Eve gets a Caesar salad with a soda and Bea buys a tuna salad sandwich with a juice or water. Today I wanted to switch things up a bit, so I bought a Caesar salad as well. I also grabbed a Brisk lemon tea. Those are amazing.

“Wow, trying something new for once Bianca?” Eve smirks.

“Yes. I think it's time to make some changes. I need to start eating better and getting fitter,” I laughed.

“Yeah, I think I need to do the same,” Bea looks down at herself and frowns.

“Oh, shut up! The both of you are perfect sizes and in great shape!” Eve yells at us.

We head over to an empty table. There are principals and APs out more than usual. That’s weird… Most of the time they are hidden in their offices probably playing computer games because they have nothing better to do. They give each other glances every minute or so and whisper something into their walkie-talkies.

“Do you see that?” I ask the girls. They are looking around too.

“Yeah, that’s a bit weird, don’t ya think?” Eve replies.

“Why do you think they are doing that? What’s going on?” Bea whispers as an AP walks past looking at us closely up and down.

“Excuse me?” I ask the AP that walks past. She stops and turns back.

“Yes?”

“Um, why are you guys walking around and like, inspecting us?” I ask her.

“We are just taking precautions,” she replies looking around.

“For what?” Bea steps in.

“That’s for us to know and for you, students, not to worry about,” she smiles and walks away.

I turn to the girls and give a weirded out look. I don’t know what's going on, but I am not getting a good feeling about it. I remember back to the bus ride this morning. Seeing that man digging in the trash can, it just doesn’t add up. He was all dressed up in fancy clothes and a suitcase next to him was torn apart. Why would he do that? Why would anyone do that, even if they were homeless?

“Hey, are you guys done? I am kind of ready to go now,” Eve speaks up. Her face looks a little green and sickening.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go,” I say. We stand up and head to throw our trash away. This boy steps in front of me and yells.

“WE ARE ALL INFECTED!”

My friends pull me away from him and we walk away fast. What was that?! One AP takes him by the arm and whispers something stern to him. He pulls away and starts running. The principal and an AP run after him and grab him. They drag him off to an office.

“I think we need to get to class now,” Bea says as she starts to walk away slowly.

Eve and I follow closely behind her. When we get to class, everyone seems to be taking everything normally. As if it never even happened. I look around the room. Everyone is either sitting and talking, reading, or on their phones. We go to our seats. We just have to get through this last block and then we can go home and get away from this strangeness.

“I have been getting bad vibes all day today. I am scared now. I wanna know what’s going on,” Bea turns around and starts talking to us.

“Oh, me too! And I am soo ready to get out of this peculiar school,” Eve says in a low tone so Mr. Bale doesn’t hear.

“Nice word choice,” I smirk.

She winks at me and I turn back around as Mr. Bale starts the class with his daily supply check. “Now guys, we are going to have a normal class as usual, despite the incidents happened today.”

One girl raises her hand. “Mr. Bale, what’s been going on lately? Everyone is being so secretive and I don’t understand.”

“Well, Miss Katie, no need to worry, any of you. I don’t know much, the principal won’t tell any of us teachers anything either. I assure you, though, that everything is going to be fine. Nothing is wrong. I hope…” He adds that last part as a whisper.

I hope... Yeah that’s very reassuring to hear from your teacher who is supposed to tell you not to worry about anything. The old woman in the back of the room, who is supposed to be one of the librarians checking on our books, speaks up.

“Children, have any of you watched the news lately?”

None of us raise our hands. I don’t remember the last time I checked the news. Usually I just look on my phone for the weather, but don’t pay any attention to news happening around here in Chesterton.

“Well, you better be watching. Every day. Maybe even every couple of hours, now ya’ll hear me? Something wrong has been happenin’ ‘round here lately. And it ain’t nothin’ good. People are gettin’ sick. And they’ve been beginnin’ to be aggressive towards others. Such as bitin’ and scratchin’ folks. They say people are gettin’ infected or whatnot. I say the dead is risin’!” She explains.

Everyone in the room is frozen in place from shock. “Now, Ms. Westerton, the dead is not rising. Some people have just been getting a little sick and that causes them to be grumpy. No one is attacking anyone or hurting each other. I assure you, class, everything is okay,” Mr. Bale announces.

“You can think that for yourself, Mr. Bale, but i ain’t waitin’ around to see what will happen to the rest of us. I’m gettin’ outta this place as soon as I can!” Ms. Westerton says. “I recommend y'all better do the same or least prepare for what’s a comin’. It ain’t good!”

Eve, Bea and I glance at each other. I am a little more than creeped out now. I can’t wait to leave, so I can go home and maybe watch the news myself. What if Ms. Westerton is right? What if the dead is rising?

. . .

Author's Note

This is the chapter I am not so sure of. Wondering If I should rewrite it. Thoughts?

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good chapter. I liked the introduction of the characters and the story line. I liked the real life feel leading to the open ending. Thank you for sharing the excellent opening chapter.
Coyote