No More Mr. Nice Guy [Slow Updates]

6 - I'm Not Sure How to Reply When You Go All 'Joined the Dark Side'

I stood outside the steps of my own personal prison and watched as students lingered outside, mingling and catching up with their friends. It was sad really. All these teenagers were smiling and going about their carefree lives, completely disregarding the fact it was seven thirty in the morning on a Monday.

It made me sick.

September had flew by quickly; that 'beginning of the school year' feeling was long gone and instead replaced with the longing for the school day to end. It was now the second week of October. The air was cool and crisp and nature began to take its usual course. Plants had begun the process of withering and leaves in varying colors from a bold red to a warm yellow had fallen to the ground, leaving a delicate crunching sound with every step I took.  

People were scattered throughout the grounds, dressed warmly in sweaters and jackets. The anticipation for Halloween was in the air; the student committee that planned all of our grade's field trips, dances, and events chose to put up 'spooky' decorations in light of the holiday and as an advertisement to encourage students to show up to the annual Halloween costume party at school, which everyone always ditched.

"Hey, Lola. We haven't seen you in a while." I jumped back, startled from Molly's voice. I turned around and found her standing against Dylan. His arm was slung around her shoulders and they looked every bit the couple I knew they were. She had French braided her brown hair to the side and was wearing an autumn inspired outfit, consisting of a maroon floral print dress, paired with a saffron colored cardigan and tan knee-high boots. Dylan had opted for cozier apparel like I had and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, hair mussed up lazily.

I bobbed my head and clasped my hands nervously. "Yeah, I've been, uh, busy."

Truth be told, I had been ignoring them. The day that I returned back to school, I went straight to Molly and apologized for ditching school and not telling her. My apology was followed by an, "Oh, I hadn't realized you didn't go to school on Friday," and since then I had been avoiding Dylan and her like they were some clingy ex-girlfriend who was incapable of comprehending the words, "It's over."

Ironic choice of simile considering the situation.

"Busy?" That word seemed to have gotten their attention. Molly tilted her head to the side in confusion, her blue eyes bright with curiosity while Dylan played with Molly's hair and waited for me to explain.

Since lunch was the only period I shared with them, I was easily able to ditch lunch and spend it up at the library. Reading, completing homework or using Netflix on the school laptops; that was how I spent my free period. Of course, they were completely oblivious to my absence. I wasn't sure how the whole 'ignoring someone cause you're mad at them' thing would work out, especially since I was a total pushover and would cave after a few minutes of careful persuasion. But it turned out all I had to do was do what I do at home, but at school.

The ignoring, I could do easily. Confrontation? Not so much.

"I've been. . ." I dragged out the sentence and struggled to come up with a believable excuse. Being in the spotlight, under pressure was always troublesome for me. Hell, I felt uncomfortable when people watched me tie my shoes.  

Molly raised her eyebrows and made a gesture for me to continue. "You've been?"

"Working on my English project," I blurted out as I caught sight of Finn's familiar mop of brown hair in the parking lot. It wasn't the worst lie I had come up with and was partially true. During these last few weeks, Finn and I had grown close. Okay, well we weren't Frog and Toad, in fact compared to others we were borderline acquaintances (you'd think starting a food fight in my kitchen or almost seeing me naked would progress our relationship, but no). Whenever there was any free time in English, Finn would attempt to speak to me, rather than Ian who was quite content to sit in the corner and watch the ordeal, by bringing up recent events in his life such as scoring the number of the cashier at the grocery store or meaningless gossip like how Marina Dower 'accidentally' sent out some not so PG rated photos to the popular kids in school.