Where We Stand

2 | Where We Stand

Chapter 2

Twenty minutes later, we're crowded on the far end of the corridor. There are two other classes on the second floor apart from ours. The students are still in there, supervised by teachers who hope to maintain some semblance of peace. I can hear the soft murmur of voices, gossip circulating, conspiracies being tossed around. By lunch time, everyone in school will know what really happened.

The door to our infested class is locked. I don't think it will do much good considering the rats are pros at fleeing. I should tell everyone I saw at least two of them slipping out into the hallway but that will just result in another round of mass hysteria.

"Who do you think did it?" Megan asks me, eyeing the two boys peering through the glass pane on the door as if they're on the lookout. One of them, Derek, shakes his head, mouth pressed in a thin line.

"Ninja rats," I say. Megan gives me a weird look so I shrug and add, "Carlos."

She makes an unladylike snort. "Why would he do that without Aiden around? They always pull pranks together. The Monster Duo. Wait" —she shakes her head—"I'm glad Aiden isn't here."

I know she'd say the same thing if Aiden was in my place and I was the one staying at home, sick.

I'm glad Naomi isn't here. What if she gets in trouble?

She has always been like this. Protective. Fierce. Loyal. It's why I love her like I would my sister. I grasp her hand, squeeze it. 

I remember when I'd just moved in as her neighbor, that day I'd been painting the fence. I'd tried to fix some loose nails and ended up with a nasty scratch on my hand. Megan, who had been taking out the trash in her backyard, had heard me muttering a string of expletives.

"You have to get tetanus shots," those are the first words she ever said to me. She proceeded to tell me in great detail the symptoms of tetanus and how life-threatening they could be if left untreated. Muscle spasms, fever, high blood pressure, breathing difficulties and drooling.

"I'll be fine," I told her.

She shook her head, locks of dark curls bouncing on her shoulders. "Come. I'll get you patched up."

She invited me to her house, cleaned my wound, bandaged my hand and made sure Dad gave me the tetanus shots. We've been friends since then.

"I hope no one finds out it's Carlos," Megan says, drawing my attention back to the present.

"Yeah." I am astounded by the note of sadness in my voice.

Carlos had been sitting next to the cabinet, a convenient place to hide the rats and I saw him laughing while everyone else was escaping from the class. That's enough to raise suspicion but still, I could be thinking too much into it. Maybe I am wrong about him.  

Standing on my toes, I sift my gaze through the crowd until I spot him leaning next to a fire extinguisher. Tora is talking to him but he's watching the two boys at the door, dark eyes glinting with amusement. He tilts his head towards me and our eyes meet. His, bold and sly. Mine, hard and suspicious. Then his mouth pulls into a slow smile.

Oh, he totally did it.

I drop my gaze to the floor, following a black rat with a smear of red paint on its fur. It maps a path towards a maintenance closet, staying in the shadows while dodging feet.

"What are you looking at?" Megan tugs my sleeve.

"Nothing," I say.

When I glance at the rat, it's gone. The door had been ajar. It must be in the maintenance closet now, hiding behind dusty brooms or empty buckets. I swallow the hysterical laugh bubbling in my throat. I can't let anyone know. The situation would only get worse.