Fragments

1.4

1.4

            On Friday night there's a knock at my bedroom door. Confused at who could be knocking and slightly hopeful that it's Adam, or somehow mysterious drummer guy who I still have to return his jacket, I put my English book upside down on the comforter to save the page and head towards the door.

            When I open the door, I'm surprised. Neither the drummer nor Adam, but another man. Man, indeed.

            He looks like a body guard for a nightclub that gets a lot of knife fights with his arms that are as thick as my torso and his body that would make a hippopotamus back down. My eyes are wide when I finally stop looking at the living steroid in front of me and meet his gaze.

            "Piper?" he asks. Even his voice is scary.

            Unable to choke out a yes, I nod.

            "Let's take a walk."

            Unable to find the courage to weasel my way out of this one, I slowly close my door behind me, never turning away from the man. He gestures to his left – the way towards the exit of the doom half of the school and towards the middle where the office is. Still unsure, I walk tentatively in front of me, looking over my shoulder every so often to make sure I'm not about to be kidnapped or shot.

            The whole way past student's freaked stares and whispers, I try to open my mouth to ask what's going on, but no words come out. It's as if part of me already knows, and the other part is too afraid to be screamed at for simply asking.

            When we arrive in the school foyer, Mrs. Gallagher is waiting for me. Her arms are folded as she stands in front of the school office, looking incredibly annoyed and impatient. As I stop a few feet away from her, she looks to the bodyguard.

            "Thank you for the favor. I'd stick around though, I've heard she's a runner."

            I open my mouth to say was a runner but decide against it. I was a lot of things, but now, I'm not so sure.

            "You've been avoiding your pills," Mrs. Gallagher says. "Since you've refused to come willingly, you are going to be escorted every day."

            I look away from her bird eyes and catch Adam as he opens the front doors to the school. He's half facing me, and for the first time since that night, his eyes meet mine. He shrugs his shoulder, as if to say whatever, and leaves me to face my own dues.

            When the headmistress holds out a plastic cup I hadn't seen before, I take it gingerly in my hand. Staring down at the small, round white pill, I cringe.

            Knowing I have to, I swallow the pill.