Reasons to Live | ✔

Chapter 2-

Chapter 2-

"Welcome to Starbucks. What would you like today?" I put on my best façade smile as I took the person's order, trying to focus on the order given to me.

The first day of school had been terrible. The incident with Calvin this morning was still fresh in my mind, showing no chance of me forgetting anytime soon. I couldn't bring myself to look at Calvin all day, nor could I talk about the incident with Megan or Joshua. I mean, how will they react if they find out that their friend tried to commit suicide by jumping from the school's rooftop?

How does a regular person react to that kind of situation?

Was he actually going to jump, or was I imagining it? Mom always said I liked to jump onto a conclusion quickly rather than assess the given information. So, for a second, I thought of the fact that maybe I had too much of an active imagination. Maybe he was looking at the beautiful view, from the edge of a building, looking like he was ready to leap to his death.

Yeah, that didn't make me feel any better. The more I thought about it, the more I was certain what I saw was him about to leap to his death.

I was thankful that Calvin didn't try to hunt me down and demand to tell him what I think I saw. I was also thankful that Starbucks wasn't so busy today so I could get lost in my thought. It was two hours before closing, and the time seemed to be going too slow for my liking today.

A whistling next to me jolted me back to reality as I looked over at Abby, my manager. She gave me a small apologetic smile when she saw that I jumped by the sudden sound. "Tonight, looks like it wants to pour, doesn't it Reina? Since it's not that busy, why don't you leave first, Reina."

I gave her a tired smile as I played with the hem of my uniform. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm sorry for always asking last minute if I could leave earlier."

She flicked her wrist, dismissing my apology. "I get it, it's your senior year and you're busy. I've been there and done that."

I said goodbye to everyone after I was done changing back to my normal clothes and shoved the apron into my bag and slowly started to walk home. Now that I finally have time for myself, I can't help but think about Calvin.

It seemed like I wasn't ever able to catch my breathe fully lately before life decided I needed a new thing to stress about.

Calvin seemed content at school, for the most part. Given, I wouldn't know for sure, since I didn't talk to him. He looked tired always and was quiet, but it wasn't like he was miserable. I didn't know much about his life outside of school. Joshua had been to his place before and as he put it; it was like a mansion. He was well off, and smart.

So why?

I suddenly heard a sound, almost like footsteps coming from behind me. My heartbeat sped up quickly and immediately cocked my head to see who the person was. I looked to my left and then to my right, but it is too dark to see anything much. But I knew someone was behind me. I could feel the stare. The fight or flight was pinging, and I felt the need to run. I took a deep breath before I continued to walk, at a faster pace this time.

The feeling of being followed didn't stop and I felt like I was about to have a panic attack, something that I haven't had for three weeks now. I quickly entered the nearest drug store, only a block away from my home as I tried to slow down my breathing. Willing myself to count to ten, I decided to look around, but making sure to check the door and see if the person was going to come in as well. The bright light of the store as well as the people in the store give me the relief of being away from the dark. I glanced outside but saw no one.