by N. Phillips
“Fight, fight, fight,” the students chanted in sync as they watched the two of us claw at one another. She kicked me off of her and delivered a slap across my face, which only fed my adrenaline. I swung a hard fist with my uninjured hand that knocked off her glasses and made her step backwards in a daze.
Multiple security guards bolted to the action, and someone’s arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. It was Tyler, who appeared frustrated by what was unfolding.
“What the hell is wrong with you two?” he yelled at Bruce and Jerome. “Why didn’t you stop it?”
“Not my problem, man,” Jerome said with a sly grin.
“Yeah, dude. She came messing up our fun,” Bruce said with a smug expression.
“Everyone get to your classes,” one of the guards demanded, making the throng of students scurry away. Candice spit in my direction as security pulled her to the side.
“You five,” a guard pointed to me, Bruce, Jerome, Candice, and the bullied boy. “To the office, right now.”
Candice barked every foul name in the Spanish language as security escorted us to the principal’s office. This was not how I envisioned the start of my day.
I was fortunate enough to avoid detention after explaining to the principal what had happened. Afterwards, the school day had gone by pretty quickly, and I was happy to see Lucas standing outside the door of my science class.
“Hey, Ali. I got your text about what happened earlier. I’m sorry I wasn’t there; you know all of my classes are on the other side of the school.”
“It’s fine. I just hate this place and the people in it.”
He squeezed my unbandaged hand and kissed my forehead. “I know. I spoke to Bruce and Jerome about it. They apologized, but Tyler’s still pissed. He can get really heated over stuff like this.”
We began walking down the stairwell to the bottom floor with our fingers entwined and our bodies close together. “You know, maybe you should kick their ass and knock some sense into their heads. Do it for me,” I proposed.
“Well, to be fair, I should fight all of those other dudes who be sending you private messages online, too. But I can’t ruin this face just yet, you know? Wait until we’re rich, first.”
We shared a laugh as we neared the music room.
“So, how’s your new friend?” he asked. “Maylene, was her name?”
“Yeah, she’s good. She’s not in school today because of personal reasons, but I managed to get a new math packet from Ms. Walters after the first one was ruined yesterday.”
“How the heck did the first one get destroyed, anyway?”
“It’s a long story,” I replied, hoping to avoid a big explanation for now and catch him up to speed some other time. “So, who’s your partner for the assignment?”
“Some guy who has no idea what he’s doing. But how’s your hand? Does it hurt? I was worried when you called me at three in the morning last night.”
“It’s not bad, actually. Almost like nothing happened at all.”
Look at me now, lying when it’s not necessary. Truth be told, a painful sting could still be felt in my left palm, but at least Lucas’s question reminded me of the lie I told him and my parents: a stray cat bit my hand when I tried to pick it up. Terrible, I know. But it worked.
Or, at least I think it did.
“Cool, I’m glad you’re alright,” he said. “I was afraid you damaged it more fighting Candice. I can’t believe Bruce and Jerome are still messing with James. It’s not funny anymore.”
“James?”
“Yeah, that sophomore in the video with the dress on.” He took out his cell phone and scrolled through it. “Look here. The fight’s been online all day. Five people posted it last time I checked, but now there’s about eight or nine students who uploaded it.”
I shook my head in disgust. “It’s like no one’s satisfied unless the world sees what they see. People seek attention so bad, it’s ridiculous. It’s exactly why nothing feels special or personal, because everyone wants to broadcast their lives instead of experiencing it. Like, tell me, am I a boring person because I don’t want to do the same thing? I’m sorry if I value my privacy.”
Lucas smiled and let me continue on with my rant. I loved that about him.
“And you know what else is annoying? The fact that as soon as someone speaks out against the overhyped trends and fake, manufactured crap that’s shoved down our throats, the person is labeled as woke or edgy. Like, what? That’s so stupid. Not everyone has to like what’s popular.”
He nodded and chuckled before gazing into my eyes. “You’re amazing; you know that?”
“Um, what did I do?”
“Nothing but be the girl I fell in love with. We may not agree on everything, but I love your passion for doing the right thing and not following everyone else. I swear, you and the music are all I need to be happy. Not anything or anyone else.”
I simpered at his words, my cheeks probably burning red. “That’s sweet, Lucas. Thank you.” My smile faded before asking him the question, “How’s your dad?”
“Well, he wasn’t passed out on the couch when I woke up this morning, so I guess that’s a good sign. But anyway, I want you to come in the music room and watch us practice for a bit. I’ll drive you home in an hour or two, I swear.”
Mom would kill me if I wasn’t home right after school, especially after what happened last night. But damn was it hard to resist his invitation.
“Fine, I’m coming. But aren’t Bruce and Jerome in detention?”
“They’re supposed to be, but I got a text from Bruce saying that they’re not going. You know those two don’t care about the rules.”
We entered the music room to a foul stench filling our nostrils. My face twisted in repugnance at the smell as I closed the door behind me.
“Dude, you two rolling up in here?” Lucas asked Bruce, who was turned facing the wall.
Jerome chuckled as he held a small paper wrapped around narcotics. “Yeah, man. Bruce needed this to cool down.”
“You trying to get us expelled?” Lucas shot back, swiping away the smoke that had already clouded the room. He then grabbed the drugs out their hands, with Bruce taking a deep breath and grumbling before setting up his equipment.
“Ali, can you take my guitar out while I open the window?” Lucas asked. “I wanna get some of this smoke out of here.”
I removed his guitar from its case and saw the black and white aesthetics of the instrument gleam with my reflection in it. The memory of being there with him when his mother gave him the guitar played in my mind. Reminiscing on the moment made me smile.
A few minutes had passed before the doors of the room opened. Tyler walked in carrying a box of Dunkin Donuts, much to the delight of everyone inside except me. Why? Because a slut was right behind him, stepping into the room with a scowl.
“Where’s Lucas?” Robyn questioned. “He texted me not to come. Why on earth would he do that?”
“A better question would be why the hell are you following me,” Tyler said.
I approached her with my brow raised and my arms crossed. “You’re not a part of this band anymore. Sorry, but your basic services are no longer needed.”
“I should’ve known something wasn’t right,” she hissed. “What, are you supposed to replace me or something?”
“No, but here’s a question: heard any good lyrics lately? You know, ones that aren’t stolen?”
“I don’t know what you mean. Are you implying that I stole someone’s music? Even if I did, how would you know? A bunch of demons knocked your ass out for a month.”
“Funny. With all that devil worshiping you were doing in those lyrics you stole, I’m surprised the demons haven’t come after your satanic ass yet.”
Bruce and Jerome looked on in confusion behind Robyn’s back. She snickered and sucked her teeth before asking, “Are you angry because I made this band relevant? Let’s be honest, sweetheart, this group was going nowhere
until I joined. If you don’t like the style, that’s your opinion. You can be cute and take your generic criticisms elsewhere.”
“Generic? How many indie artists did you steal from to come up with half of the material I’ve heard from this band so far?
Are you so delusional that you don’t realize you’re nothing more than a useless co-singer?”
“Well, the voice in my head tells me I’m doing just fine, as well as the audience. Did the band ever reach eighty-thousand views online before I started singing?”
“Stop it.”
Everyone in the room turned their attention to Lucas after his shout. “Why are you here, Robyn? I told you not to come.”
“And why the hell not? Because of her? My appointment is today, Lucas. You have to be there, remember?”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Uh, what?” I asked, stepping in front of Lucas. A gut-wrenching pain in my stomach formed as I watched his eyes avoid mine. “Lucas, tell me what she’s talking about right now.”
“Ali, I didn’t want you to find out like this. It’s just… I—”
“Can you please stop with the dramatics,” Robyn exclaimed with her hands in the air theatrically. “Just tell the girl already. We’ve been through this charade enough.”
My throat tightened from the fear and disbelief of the answer that awaited me. Lucas separated his lips to speak, but it was Robyn who sealed my fate.
“I’m pregnant.”
CHAPTER 10
As if I had fallen into a deep slumber, all of my senses shut down. The miserable, empty feeling of betrayal sank deep into my heart. A stream of tears began to roll down my cheeks as the burning sensation in my lungs prevented me from screaming in vexation.
Why?” I finally asked. “Why?”
Lucas appeared at a loss for words. The bright, soulful eyes I loved to stare into were now full of regret and sorrow. “Aliyah, I’m sorry,” he said in a soft, fragile tone. “I don’t want it to be real, but it is. I’m sorry.”
We looked at one another, speechless. Unmoving. It wasn’t until a loud, feminine screech piercing the brick walls of Ravenvale High that a sound was heard.
“What was that?” Tyler questioned. Everyone in the room stood at attention as more alarming screams resonated in the hall.
“Sounds like something’s going on in the school,” Lucas said, putting his guitar back in its case. “I think we should pack up and get out of here. Ali, I—”
“Don’t.”
Bruce yawned and walked from behind the drum kit. “Relax, I’ll check it out,” he said. He turned the knob and mumbled, “Bunch of softies.”
At the crack of the door opening, a purple fog entered the room. “Bruce, wait.” I tried to stop him, but he walked out and narrowed his eyes in the direction of the school entrance, laughing as he pointed down the hall.
“Say something already,” Tyler urged as the rest of us waited inside the room for a response.
“Man, it’s just that punk ass loser we put the dress on earlier. He was probably the one screaming like a little girl. Yo, Jerome, get out here so we can—”
Bruce’s body suddenly stiffened. His face was etched with pain and suffering as he began to gasp for air with his hands around his neck. We all watched in terror as his body collapsed on the ground with a hard thud.
“What the hell?” Robyn muttered at the frightening scene in front of us. Jerome rushed to Bruce’s lifeless body and kneeled down to shake him.
“Bruce. Bruce. Get up, man,” he hollered as we all walked out the classroom.
Tyler bent down and put his head on Bruce’s chest. “He’s not breathing. Guys, he’s not breathing.”
A gasped escaped my lips. Not because of Bruce’s death, but because of the eerie presence of James, the bullied student. He walked toward us with a deranged, maniacal grin that was only matched in horror by the unstable, ghastly demon that trailed behind him.
“The hurt, the hate. I’ll kill them all for it,” he uttered in a demonic voice as he began to twitch. “He should have left me alone. Maybe then, he wouldn’t be dead right now.”
“Wh-what do you want?” Lucas asked him before grabbing my hand and shielding me. His arm was trembling.
“Death to heartless bullies. Especially those who think they could push me around.”
Robyn stepped in front of the group to confront him. “We didn’t do anything to you. Let us go.”
James’s expression transformed, his face dropping into a doleful stare. “You’re right. You didn’t do anything to me,” he said in a nonchalant tone. “But he did.”
He leered at Jerome. James’s level of animosity for him was among the highest I had ever sensed. An impulse of dark emotions hit me after he smiled.
“You’re next to die.”
The five of us still alive fled in trepidation. We raced through the school in a panic and made our way to the upper floor, rushing into an empty classroom with Lucas and Tyler barricading the door with desks.
“What the hell happened out there?” Jerome asked as he stood in the corner, mortified. “I don’t want to die.”
I paced back and forth, hoping to come up with a solution. The sound of sniffling caught my attention. I looked underneath the teacher’s desk and saw a girl curled in the fetal position. “There’s someone else in here,” I announced.
Everyone looked as the girl stood up and revealed her disgruntled expression and swollen eyes. It was Candice, who backed against the chalkboard with a broken glass tube in hand.
“Stay away from me. All of you,” she warned, waving the sharp edge of the glass in a crazed manner. “Get the hell away from me.”
I backed away as Tyler approached her. “Can you put that down? We’re obviously not here to hurt you.”
A flurry of tears flowed down her face. Pieces of glass shattered on the floor after she threw the broken tube down with force. “Why is this happening? I didn’t mean anything I said to him.”
“What are you talking about?” Tyler asked.
“He did something to them. Two of my friends are dead. He killed the detention teacher and the security guards, too. I think he’s after everyone who bullied him all year.”
“How exactly did he kill them?” I inquired.
“I don’t know. He just stared at them before they collapsed on the ground and died. I ran out with a few other people before he got to us. I tried to hide and call the police, but I couldn’t because my damn phone exploded yesterday.”
Tyler groaned hearing her whining voice. “What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. You can’t kill someone just by looking at them. Unless…” He looked at me and I nodded. “Damn.”
“I know what I saw. It was him. I saw the way he looked at people who were always mean to him. Most of the time he stinks and never opens his mouth in class, so a lot of us teased him. I was just following the crowd; I didn’t mean to antagonize him earlier.”
“But you did,” I corrected her. “And I’m betting you’re the one who put Bruce and Jerome up to that stunt with the dress. You’re only apologizing now because you’re afraid to die. I can’t stand people like you, Candice. Even when you’re scared right now, I’m finding it really hard to care about you.”
“Maybe you should leave her for dead while you escape.”
My heart clenched at the voice of my demonic tormentor, who stood in one of the empty corners of the room. It vanished just as Robyn approached me.
“We need to talk. Unfortunately,”
“I have nothing to say to you. If all of this wasn’t going on, I’d punch you in the fucking face right now.”
She curled her lip. “Yeah, whatever. If you care about the people in this room, you’ll listen to what I have to say.”
I took a deep breath and followed her over to the window to speak in private. “What do you want?”
“I need you to get everyone out of here so I can kill that sociopath.”
“No. He
’s not a sociopath and you’re not killing him. What he needs is help, to be talked to and treated like a normal person.”
She moaned in exasperation. “Great. I forgot you’re a saint and think everyone can be saved.”
“Yeah, and? What, did Lucas tell you that?”
“No, your actions did. Right before you were dropped into a coma, people were confessing their sins left and right. So obviously you have the power to free people from their Shadows.”
Shadows. Now unless she had the same idea to call the black energy a shadow current, that was a new term to me. Though I had a feeling she knew more about this stuff than I did.
“What are Shadows? Are you talking about the demons?”
“Oh my God, you’re really this clueless?” she snickered before giving me an answer. “Shadows are different than the lesser Shade Crawlers we kick around every day. They’re the ones that specifically manipulate a person with negative emotions. They look almost the same as Shade Crawlers, but the brighter red eyes give it away.”
“Shadows? Shade Crawlers? How do you know all of this?”
“I picked it up from someone who knows about them. That’s all. None of that is important right now, anyway. Tell me about the power you can manifest to slay demons.”
I looked down at my bandaged hand. “Light energy. I haven’t been able to do it since I got out the hospital, though.”
“So, you’re basically useless is what you’re saying? Fine, just get everyone out of here so I can—”
Interrupting Robyn’s speech was a loud, excessive bang on the door. I grabbed her arm just as she was about to walk away.
“Wait. I need to know one more thing. Are you pregnant just because you want Lucas’s child?”
“I get what you’re asking me, and the answer is no. A person cannot manifest more than one desire. Lucas and I had sex and I got pregnant. It’s as simple as that.”
She pulled away and joined the rest of the group. We watched James pound through the glass window of the door.
“I don’t wanna die here. I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry,” Jerome cried out, crouching down to the floor with his head buried between his legs.