Average Joe (2018)

14

May 28th

"Yeah, but who was it?"

"Darwin, I told you, I haven't seen him before."

Darwin and I sat in the school's large cafeteria, students rushing around us.

"I know, but all I'm saying is if you gave Detective Mann a description..."

"Look, Darwin, it was dark and raining, and I'm just glad I lived to tell you about it."

"Alright. But I'm worried. Over the past couple of months, you've been so weird."

I shook my head. Darwin was right. I have been weird. But that's just because after that night, everything went back to normal if you can call my life that. I haven't had another... incident, but I was still worried. The day after I got out of the hospital, I never went to the place the mystery girl told me to go. I was too scared.

I haven't seen Bryan in a while. According to Tori, he's on vacation, but I have my doubts. Over the past two months, he's tried to call me, but I never answered. He's also tried to talk to me in school, get Tori to talk to me, follow me around, and stalk my parents, but whatever Bryan wanted to say to me, I didn't want to hear it.

I lost sleep drastically. Usually, I would sleep like a log every night, but now I've been too weirded out, and too terrified. I now got maybe two hours of sleep a night, and it showed. I was always late to class, my grades started to steadily decline. My parents have talked to me about this many times, but I'm not sure what to do. Maybe talking about it will help, but I'm too scared.

I've tried to use my powers since then, but I'm starting to wonder if I had powers at all. I can't seem to use them, whatever they are. My parents could probably help me with that, but for obvious reasons, I never told them. My father never suspected anything was wrong with me, but my Mom knew me better. She was always pushing. Trying to figure out what happened to me.

"Norman," Darwin pried. "Talk to me. You know I hate touchy-feely crap. But you've been so distant."

"It's just..." I rubbed my eyes. "I'm freaking out man..."

"Why?"

"I just... that night... It messed me up. I barely eat or sleep. All I see now are threats."

"Man, you're safe now. If anyone comes after you, we've got your back."

I chuckled. I wasn't sure about my parents or Tori, but if anyone had my back, it was Darwin.

"You're right. Thank you."

I started to relax a little.

Tori walked up to us, a smile plastered on her beautiful face.

"Hey, guys!"

Tori sat next to me.

"What are you so excited about?" I asked, taking a sip of my milk.

"Bryan's back in town!"

I swallowed.

Oh boy, I thought.

"That's cool," Darwin replied, simply.

"Where was he in the first place?" I asked her.

"Ohio, I think. Visiting his cousin."

I nodded.

"Hey, Tor, has Bryan been acting strange recently?"

"Why do you ask?"

I bit my cheek and shrugged.

"It's nothing."

"I... guess he has been a little weird, but I didn't think about it."

"What do you mean by that?" Darwin asked her.

"He's just in this new writer's club. It's for teenagers who enjoy literature, or something like that. But the thing is, the club takes place in that abandoned clock tower off of Braddock Street."

"Braddock Street?" Darwin questioned. "in Yonkers?"

"Yeah."

"No wonder Bryan's so weird. I just thought it was because he's Canadian." Tori smiled and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Did you say Braddock Street?"

"Yeah. Why?"

I pulled the dirty, crumpled, paper that I'd kept for the past two months from my pocket. 175 Braddock Street. The location that crazy-knife-chick left me!

"I gotta go!" I said jumping up.

"What?" Darwin shouted after me. "Dude, class is about to start!"

"Tell them I'm sick!"

"Norman!" Tori called.

I burst out into the hall and rushed past the kids toward the front entrance.

I didn't care that I was skipping class. I didn't care one bit, because I had questions, and Bryan was going to answer them.