Slender

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

By the end of the day everyone knew about the event in social studies. Numerous people came up asking me “I heard you fell in social studies”, “What were you playing”, “I heard you about pissed your pants in third hour”. I was playing it cool, but inside I wanted to stab everyone. I wish I had something to just wipe everyone’s memory. I got out of eighth hour and Mr. Jackson stopped me on my way out.

“It’s good you stayed in your chair this hour.” He told me with an amused smile on his wrinkled mouth. I laughed a small laugh.

“What?” I instinctively asked.

“I heard you got a bit…frightened in third hour.” He told me with a chuckle.

“Oh… yeah.” I replied laughing and waving goodbye as I exited swiftly out of the room with my cheeks red. When I got to my locker I bent over, spun in my combination, and opened my locker. I tossed out my backpack and threw my math book back in the locker. I felt a bag fall on my head and I looked up to the person who had the top locker, but she had her back grasped tightly in her hand. I turned around to the side of me, and saw Micah towering over me. I never realized how tall he was until now. I always assumed he was shorter than me, but yet again I wasn’t that tall so it didn’t surprise me. He had on a huge grin.

“Oh hey Micah.” I said with a surprised smile on his face. He started laughing. I pressed my eyebrows together in confusion.

“You picked to test out our game in school?” He exclaimed between his high pitched constant giggles. I squinted in annoyance.

“You could have told me what it was about first.” I said as I slammed my binder into my locker and closed it.

“What did you think Slender was about?” He pressed still laughing. He was right about that. I got to my feet and looked up to him. His pale face was turned to the side laughing against Mrs. Amber’s open classroom door that was right next to my locker. He finally stopped laughing and turned to face me with that huge grin on his face and his squinted blue eyes.

“Okay you’re right. Yeah, it’s true. I fell backwards out of my seat.” I told him punching him in the arm with a small smile. Micah paced beside me as I pushed through the crowd. It was odd for someone to walk me out of school.

“I…I cannot believe you decided to download it on a school computer.” He said with astounded and amused.

“Well I was curious.” I told him curtly with a smile on my face. His eyes seemed to love the idea that I downloaded his game. He seemed like he had a lot of passion for his creations and topics that enthused him. I was pacing quickly through the crowd of people pushing through. I turned my head to turn to Micah, but he was gone. I stopped in the hallway and was knocked forward by travelling people behind me.

“Move.”, “Come on, walk faster.” I heard some unisex murmurs from behind me. I turned my head in both directions and then saw Micah in the doorway of Mrs. Clouse’s classroom. She was the seventh grade science teacher. He waved to me with his hand in the sleeve of his baggy Nike hoodie.  I waved goodbye to him with a casual smile, and quickly turned away continuing down the hall to the exit doors.

When I got to my house I had the house to myself for awhile since my dad was out, who knows where, with my mom.  My sister wouldn’t be home for another hour. I did the usual routine, and then decided to sit outside for awhile. It was a nice day. Not too hot, but not near cold. I paced off my stone porch passed the white pillars that came up from it onto the red metal roof, and onto the uncut grass. My shoes dipped into the soft ground from last night’s rain. I walked through the grass down the hill, past my pool, and over to the trampoline. I rolled onto the rubber circle across the rusty springs and just sort of sat there for a moment’s time.

I got to my feet and began jumping. It was such an odd way for people to amuse themselves. Simply jumping and your only motive to try and jump higher than you last had, or find some odd buoyant thing to learn how to do. I was bored with myself. I fell on my back staring at the blue cloudy sky and the tops of some treetops. There was never anything to do here. Nothing exciting. I knew every inch of my acres, I had done everything to do, and the entire mystique is just gone now.

I rolled my body over across the trampoline, but as I twisted my muscles to do so, the mat collapsed beneath me and I fell through onto the grass. I felt mud gush between my body and wetness from the ground seep into my jeans and shirt. I recollected myself and my breath. I got up on my feet standing inside the rim of the trampoline looking at the fallen in center. I couldn’t believe it. I always feared falling in the trampoline while on it, but I never thought it would actually happen. I mean I guess I thought about it, and it’s definitely plausible, but I guess just being wrapped up in effect of the situation it seemed unrealistic even though it completely was. And this is just how my mind works. It jumps around from emotion to emotion filling each and every nook and cranny with odd and strange thoughts and decisions. It flooded itself with deep intelligence and thoughtfulness as well as intense mechanisms that exhilarated me to the core at points.  

I snapped out of my train of thought as I realized something from the top left of the springs. I picked up the edge of the fallen in trampoline and saw that the straps were all cut. Not pulled apart by force, but cut. That was impossible. They must have been torn over time and finally given out, but they were all torn in the same spot. Why weren’t the remaining in place straps torn? It was mysterious and made me feel odd. I heard a car rumbling up the driveway, and I turned around to face the thick green forest behind me quickly before jogging back up the hill to the house’s front porch.

My uncle’s black truck pulled into the driveway and he waved at me through the tinted windshield. I smiled leisurely and waved back. Fleur hopped out of the tall truck with a thud and heaved her enormous unnecessary backpack to the porch. “Hey, when I get done with my math do you want to play volleyball?” She asked me.

“Nope. The trampoline broke.” I told her.

“What?” She exclaimed in shock.

“Yeah, I just rolled over and snap went the ropes.” I told her uncaring, but I was actually upset because I liked spending time there. It was the chill spot for me and my friends at parties. “What’s weird is that they all are snapped in half except for the back side. I wish it would have snapped on the other side. The side I wasn’t laying on!” I complained rolling my eyes. Fleur laughed a little.

“Want a smoothie?” Fleur asked as she took the strawberries out of the fridge.

“Sure dog.” I told her as I flipped over the back of the couch onto the cushions.