Nah, I was looking for trouble.
One guy leaned toward his friend to tell him something and it created a little gap on the other side of him, so I squeezed into it. Silence and stares went over the table like ripples in water. After a moment almost everyone at the table was staring at me.
I grinned and said, “Hi.” Yeah, this was much better. I didn’t care what they did to me. There was no way they could hurt me, but I could definitely hurt them. Confidence, baby.
“Who the fuck are you?” The biggest guy asked, sitting across from me.
“My name is Alex, nice to meet you.” I reached my hand across the table.
The jock stared at my hand, then up at me. “Who said you could sit there?”
“Nobody. I got tired of eating alone, so I decided to join you.” I kept smiling. One of the guys closest to me scooted a few inches away. I reminded myself that I had to be careful. If I started getting angry, I had to make sure my body wasn’t going to get hot. Burning a couple of jocks by accident wasn’t a good way to start my first year of high school.
“Find another table, Alex. This one is full,” another of them said.
I looked down the end I was sitting on. “If you guys scooted down a little that way, there’s plenty of room.”
They stared at me. “Seriously, what the fuck? Just leave,” the big guy said.
“Nah. I think I’ll stay here.” I picked up my chicken sandwich and took a bite. I looked across the table, daring them to try something.
One of the guys farther down asked, “Are you looking for a fight or something?”
I swallowed my bite before answering. “Nope. Like I said, I was tired of eating alone. You guys looked like you were having a good time, so I decided to join you. I’m new here, just transferred this year. No friends yet, but you guys look friendly enough.” I couldn’t help it, I gave them a very predatory grin and a few of them shifted uncomfortably.
The somewhat smaller guy studied me, more curiosity than hostility in his gaze. “You from a reform school or something?”
Ah, so they did sense I was dangerous. “Home schooled, actually.” I took another bite.
“Home school,” one of the girls said. “Are you Mormon or something?”
I barely avoided choking. “No, I’m not Mormon. My parents thought they could… do a better job by getting me tutors instead of sending me to school.” That was true enough, although their concern had been that I would kill or seriously injure the other children if they sent me to a school of any kind. I had god-like powers so all it would have taken is someone calling me a name or pushing me in the hall and there would’ve been a disaster.
The jocks didn’t start a fight with me and I finished my lunch. I said good bye and headed off to my next class, like there was nothing wrong. A few times that day I caught a few of the people from the table giving me a curious look. Right before my last class I was grabbing a book out of my locker and this emo looking kid slid up to me. A chunk of bangs hung down the side of his head, half covering one eye. “That was cool, what you did at lunch today. I don’t know what you said to them but the looks on their faces was priceless.”
“Uh… thanks,” I said. I closed my locker and turned back around. He was already headed off down the hallway. I briefly considered going after him, but I didn’t know what the point would be. He’d said what he wanted to say and I’m not sure he wanted anything in return.
Sitting with the jocks and making them uncomfortable had been fun, but as I thought it over that night I realized it wasn’t the kind of thing I should be doing. I was playing normal, and normal kids didn’t do that. Sure, I could go right back to that table tomorrow and maybe after a few days they’d accept me, maybe even become my friends. But were they the kind of friends I wanted?
About The Author
Devin Harnois writes about the strange and fantastic, loves skulls, and lives in Minneapolis with a lazy cat and a wild imagination. Find Devin at:
Twitter: devinharnois
Blog: devinharnois.com
Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
NOT MY APOCALYPSE
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
SAINT OF SINNERS
About The Author
Not My Apocalypse Page 15