Chimes

26

*Mordecai's POV*

~~~ Present day, January 12, 2021 ~~~

"The Bolts! It's the Bolts!" Zach, Jared, and Ben barge into my house unnoticed, spewing new information about God knows what. I was just about to leave for school before being pushed back into my own house. Ben heads to my fridge for an early-morning beer as Jared sits uncomfortably on my couch.

"What the fuck are you guys on about now?" I ask them. Zach looks at me with curiosity in his eyes.

"My dad told me that in prison, he found out some Bolts were out for this kid running a drug business here in San Newark, it's gotta be Ben and Calvin they were referring to, right?" Ben and Jared answer his question by nodding in agreement. I was stunned. More relieved to be reminded how I did not shoot my classmate in cold blood.

"How can you be so sure?" Zach then explained those guys his father became buddies with in prison were exiled Bolts, kicked out, and disgraced for their lack of ruthlessness and more of a sense of compassion. Zach and Ben's dumb ass made it seem confusing at first, but Jared's unbelievable phrasing made everything so easy to understand.

"We gotta tell the rest, come on, let's go," I grab my hoodie and open the door. The three guys don't move from their places. Zach shakes his head.

"You're being hella suspicious, dude," Ben says as he sips the beer he literally stole from my fridge. His smug face made me want to punch him sometimes. He had a wisdom tooth removal, so I intended to punch him in the stomach instead.

"We made that all up. Just to see your behaviour." Jared explained. My friends lied to me. I was a little offended, but couldn't blame them. After my actions at the school interrogation, I was top of the list of 'Who did it?" A question to be remained unanswered for a long time still, probably.

"Ha ha. Very funny." I respond. They begin giggling a bit, then burst out laughing. I roll my eyes and proceed to exit my own home, leaving my three friends inside.

"No, but for real! Bolts gotta have something to do with this!" The boys discuss inside. As I make my way to school, Janelle stands in front of me, admiring my mother's garden before noticing that I was watching her.

"Good morning! Walk me to school?" She puts her hand out, offering to hold hands on the way there. I stick half of my arm out of the front pocket of my hoodie, allowing her to hold my arm instead. Her smile grows smaller, but she is undeterred. It was a familiar feeling, but something I wasn't too comfortable with.

"So, now that we're together again-" Whoa, whoa, whoa, woman. Stop right there. Together?

"Jan, what are you talking about?" My walking is halted and I was baffled. She attempts to give me puppy-dog eyes, but my older brother always warned me that the French were deceitful. I pull my arm away, startling her.

"Do you not remember? The night you called?" She persists. Normally, I would come up with a clever excuse, but I truly had no clue what she was going on about. She crosses her arms and looks at me up and down, annoyed. I stare at her blankly, before tears start falling from her green eyes. She forcefully puts her arms down and stomps her feet in a child-like manner, before storming off, leaving me by the side of the road. I didn't mind it, but I struggled to comprehend the situation. I proceed to head to school, my friends leave my house in Ben's car, slowly driving past me while collectively looking at me.

"You okay? What's going on?" Jared asks. It seemed as Jared was the only one who was genuinely concerned, as Zach sat quietly in the backseat looking at his phone while Ben lit up a cigarette. Jared dolefully looked at me, while I couldn't stop looking at the unfinished dick drawn on his cast.