Riley, the boy who changed my life. Before I met Riley, my life was boring. I didn't really have a view on life and I did a lot of idiotic things. After I met Riley, all of that changed.
It started at the beginning of 12th grade, during a university fair. I was at a booth, inquiring about the programs at a place when Riley first approached me.
"I can't believe we're graduating this year!" He exclaimed quietly. His voice sounded quite girlish, but I didn't question it.
"Mmm, yeah..." I said as I was preoccupied with one of the little handouts with the info on the place I was checking out.
"Do you know what you wanna do after school?" He asked.
I looked up at him.
Riley was lanky. His hair was short and black. His eyes were gray. He was short for a guy his age and his face was round and soft. His smile was bright. He smelled like freshly baked bread.
"I'm thinking about doing law," I replied. "What about you? Any ideas of what you wanna do?"
He sighed and looked at the floor for a second.
"I don't really know what I'll do. I might just try to get a job and figure things out from there."
"That seems reasonable." I nodded.
Riley's smile became shy, which made me confused. At first, he seemed so confident. Perhaps I'd struck a soft spot without realizing it.
I hadn't seen Riley around much. I might've said hello every now and then, but other than that we wouldn't talk much.
Until then.
"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.
"I'm Riley," he replied. "What's your name?"
"My name is Frans. You may know me as the genius in this school."
"Ah yes, you're on the debate team right?"
"That would be correct."
"Cool!"
An announcement came on the P.A.
"All students may now return to their classes," said Barb, the school secretary, and announcement lady.
I waved to Riley and we said our goodbyes, then I exited the fair.
As I walked back to class, a group of guys approached me.
"Ey! Smart kid! You gonna join the team again this year?" Tom asked.
The thing about me is; I got along with everyone. I was on sports teams, I was on the debate team and not to mention, I was an all-around "nice guy." Everyone in school knew and liked me. However, it wasn't easy keeping my reputation. I had to work hard for it, though it paid off in the end.
I had muscle. Not the stereotypical 6-pack that girls look for, but the kind that helps you fight a bear if need be.
I had naturally blond, which I had dyed purple. I also had glasses and lip piercings. Some people said I looked like a delinquent, but I didn't care. I was happy and that's all that mattered.
Tom, the I was talking to before I rudely interrupted myself, was a friend of mine. In fact, everyone in that group was my friend.
Tom was really laid back. He was Asian, something he got bullied about. He shut people up, though when he turned out to be the best rugby player on the team. He had the stereotypical black hair and dark eyes. His sense of humor was just as dark. He had his eyebrows pierced.
Another guy in the group was Lee. He was the oldest of our little group and looked it. He has a buzz cut and multiple facial piercings. He's a little shorter than Tom and has a very hard, square face. We're talking about cheekbones for days.
The shortest guy, Lary, was a dwarf. Literally. He had achondroplasia. He also happened to be black. He had no piercings, joined no teams, and had quite a friendly looking face. Though his sense of humor was as dark as Tom's.
"I'm afraid I can't. The debate team's got me busy and I need to focus on my homework," I replied.
"Oh, that's too bad," he said. "We'll see you at lunch, though, right?"
"Yes, of course!" I smiled.
We walked back to class, I got stopped by a few people on the way. Usually, they were inquiring about homework and debate team meeting times.
When I walked into my law class, I got pulled aside by my teacher.
We talked about my grades and how I was doing very well. He recommended one of the universities from the fair. He said it was the same school that my father went to, and that it was a very good school.
I thanked him for the suggestion and sat at my desk.
The hour ticked by slowly. I knew most of the curriculum since my father was a lawyer, so I found the class rather boring. I needed it, though since I wanted to study law.
So there I sat; top of my class, yet hardly paying attention.
The bell rang. I gathered my things and left to get my lunch. It was packed in one of those classic, brown paper bags and consisted of a sandwich and an apple.
I met up with Tom, Lee, and Lary and we sat at our usual place in the school, which we called "The Spot." It was at the top of a stairwell and closed off from the hallway by heavy double doors. Everyone knew it was our territory and nobody cared to fight us for it.
When we arrived at The Spot, we were surprised to find Riley sitting on the sill of the small window there.
"What are you doing here?" Tom asked.
Riley looked quite startled at his tone. He fell off the sill in his attempt to escape and scrambled to regain his balance.
"S-sorry! I'll leave..." He said.
I stopped him before he could get away.
"It's fine, you can hang out with us!" I smiled.
"Frans, what are you doing?" Larry asked.
"I know this guy. He's cool, trust me." I said.
Riley smiled and mouthed a "thank you" to me.
We spent that lunch getting to know Riley.
He was new. He grew up in Seattle like the rest of us but was homeschooled for most of his life. His parents owned a small drugstore on the other side of town and he was usually too busy helping them out to join and school sports or extracurriculars. He was an only child and was loved dearly.
When lunch was over, we went to our next classes. I was silent as I walked, wrapped up in the day's events. It wasn't often that we let new people into our little group. We also didn't realize that Riley would be the most important addition.
The rest of the school day was boring. A lot of notes were taken, some projects were assigned, but aside from that, not much happened.
There was a debate team meeting after school, which was quite boring as well. We mostly discussed the topic for the next competition.
After the meeting, I walked home. It was strangely silent when I arrived.
"I'm home," I called.
No reply.
This was unusual for my family. Usually, my mother or younger brother would be home by now, but nobody was there. I supposed they were all busy with something.
My father liked to work late and didn't usually come home until 10:00. My mother was a teacher and came home as soon as she could.
My family was a very happy one. My parents let my brother and I do whatever we pleased, so long as it didn't cause us harm and we kept up with our schoolwork. Both were very loving, though my father was a little more strict than my mother.
I flopped onto the couch and pulled out my laptop and homework.
I worked later than I intended and managed to finish the project that night. It wasn't due until next week. More time to myself I suppose.
My family still wasn't home, despite the late time. I got up and made a sandwich.
It was around midnight when I went to bed, which was normal for me. I slept quite restlessly that night.
When I woke up that morning, I knew something was wrong...