Lucy
stuffed her textbook back into her backpack as class ended. Looking up at the
clock, she estimated that she had a good 5 minutes before the next class
started. So she decided that she could take a minute or two to sneak off to the
bathroom and text back to her friend. Walking out the door, Lucy hurried down
the west hallway to the nearest bathroom.
As Lucy neared the bathroom
door, the ceiling above suddenly exploded and burst like a firework, sending
debris everywhere. And one particularly sharp piece of solid material was
hurtling through the air, straight at Lucy’s face.
Lucy just stood, thinking in her
mind that she really shouldn’t have chosen to go to the bathroom. She just
should’ve followed the rules and gone straight to her next class. Or she
could’ve taken the other hallway, walked to the other bathroom. But no. This
was the decision she had made. And this
was the consequence.
Lucy couldn’t move. Her hands stayed
frozen at her sides, her mouth not moving to scream, but only to widen in
shock.
And just as the piece was about
to blow her brain to bits, someone came and pushed her roughly out of the way.
Like a marathon runner ripping through the ending ribbon to finish the race.
Lucy landed on the ground with a
thud! And winced, instinctively putting her hands
up to her head. Once she was reassured that her skull was still intact, she
looked up to see a particularly cute boy dusting debris off his school uniform.
Her mouth fell open once again as she took in the boy’s stunning beauty.
“I-“ she began, but the boy gave
a slight grin and only put a finger to his lips.
“Shhh,” he said, “Now, I’m quite
sorry for barging into you like that, but it seemed like you were about to get
seriously hurt, and I just couldn’t let a pretty face like yours go to waste.”
Lucy was taken by surprise. Not
only was the boy extremely handsome, he was very well-mannered and had the most
charismatic way of speaking.
“Well-I-thank you,” she
stuttered.
The boy grinned, and held out a
hand to help her up. Lucy reached up to take it and-
“Class dismissed!” Lucy’s head snapped up, her pencil
lead breaking off as she gripped it with surprise. Looking down at her half-written
story, she sighed and folded it up into her pocket. Her classmates filed out of
the room excitedly ahead of her, chatting happily with one another. Lucy
frowned.
It wasn’t that she was against this particular kind
of upbeat environment. It was only that she didn’t see why it mattered. Life
was so boring anyway. Her life, at least. But Lucy was sure there was at least
one other person out there who felt like she did. She just didn’t care to find
out.
Why are people in such a hurry to get
to the next class?
She’d always wonder. This isn’t fun, its
hell. And you’re crazy if you think this is great. Fiction, now you’re talking!
But reality, reality’s a bitch.
The only kind of life Lucy preferred was the life of
the people in the comics and mangas she’d read. She would lose herself
endlessly watching her favorite series of anime or TV show. Or she’d fall into
the pages of a book, drowning in a reality that only existed in the inked words
on a page. Her only lovers were non-existent and invisible to the rest of the
world. She would fall for the pretty boys described in books, or the perfect
looking dudes dancing across her computer screen. Or she’d make one up herself.
Naming him and giving him all the qualities of her ideal guy.
That was how Lucy lived. Always bored, tucked away.
No interest in her real life.
Lucy dragged
out of the room and into her next class, sitting down in her seat and pulling
out the story from before. She took out a pencil and continued to write the
story all during that class, and the next. Making it so that the pretty boy
ends up asking the story Lucy out and they become a happy couple.
She wished she could just melt into the pages of her
story. Sink into the fiction and slip right out of reality. But Lucy knew that
nothing like what she wished was possible.
“Lucy!” the teacher’s voice snapped Lucy back into
attention. “Please, answer the question!” Giggles from the classmates surrounded
the room.
“4,” Lucy said. She didn’t care. The kid behind her
started to snicker.
“What?” the teacher said, “The question was-“
“7, then,” Lucy interrupted. The kid behind her let out a snorting laughter,
tipping back in his chair. The rest of the class chimed in.
The teacher frowned disapprovingly and the class
lapsed into silence. “Come see me after class, Lucy,” he said, turning back to
the board.
Lucy sighed for the third time that day and looked
down at her story. If only. She
thought.
~|*|~
Lucy stayed sitting in her seat as the rest of class
shuffled out. She pretended she didn’t notice the whispers about her that flew
through the room and out the door.
The teacher spoke up, “Please come up to my desk,
Lucy.”
Lucy didn’t move. She instead looked up and gave the
teacher a sarcastic look. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” she smirked.
She half expected the teacher to repeat his sentence again, but instead; he got
up with a grunt and walked over to her desk.
“I know you heard me the first time,” he said,
standing over her.
Lucy stayed silent, staring straight ahead, as if
looking at something that wasn’t there. The teacher knelt down in front of her
and spoke: “Lucy, look at me.”
Lucy looked down and started drawing doodles on the
back of her paper.
“I know that you’re going through hard times.”
She looked up, shooting a glare; and looked back
down. Her hand traced random circles on the paper.
“I know about your dad, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
He said. When he didn’t get a response, he sighed. “I lost my dad when I was
little too, I know how it feels.”
Lucy huffed and finally spoke: “Don’t,” she said,
“Think that you can empathize with me just because you lost your father.”
“Lucy…” the teacher said, and stood. “I just want you
to know that I’m concerned. Not just about you, but also your grades. Your
participation in class has been dreadful lately and your homework grades are
still dragging.”
“I don’t care…” Lucy muttered and stood, picking her
backpack up and slinging it over her shoulder. And with another glare at the
teacher, she walked out the door.
~|*|~
In the hallway, most of the students were gone;
leaving Lucy alone for the most part. She took her time, walking slowly through
the halls and past the posters on the walls. “Welcome to Rocky High School!”
one of them said, depicting smiling students passing though the hallways.
As Lucy finally reached her locker, the lights
suddenly went out, leaving the school pitch-black. Lucy froze; her hand still
on the lock, fingers poised to turn the number dials to the correct combination.
3-1-0 was her lock code. Lucy thought they were suitable numbers; since when
read backwards or upside-down, they spelled: DIE.
Silence echoed throughout the vast space and off in
the distance, Lucy thought she heard a girl’s scream. So there were still a few
people left in the building. This was starting to get interesting.
She grinned in the darkness and took a step forward
into the vast emptiness, only to bump into something. Lucy gasped and stepped
back, smacking into the lockers behind her. Laughter resounded from the space
in front of her.
“Oh, isn’t this exciting?” It was clearly a male
voice.
“No,” Lucy whispered before she could stop herself.
“No?” the voice chided, “Not even a little?”
“Nope,” Lucy said firmly, frowning in the darkness.
The voice laughed again. It was a cute laugh. Lucy surprised
herself by silently smiling to herself.
“That isn’t very nice of you,” The voice complained,
“Still, if it’s not exciting, and totally normal to you; may I ask about how
you plan to get out?”
Lucy laughed out loud. “How do I plan to get out? I don’t need a plan to get out! I’ll simply find
my way out and that’s all there is to it. Life goes on.”
A hand reached out from the darkness to grab hers,
and Lucy tried to twist away; but the boy’s grip was firm.
“Let go!”
“No,” he said in a mocking tone. He started running
through the darkness and all Lucy could do was try her best to keep up.
After awhile, the lights still hadn’t turned back on.
The boy’s running pace had slowed down to barely more than a relaxed walk. But
there was stiffness to the boy’s pace that made Lucy think that he was lost.
She smiled in the darkness and gave a snicker.
“You’re lost, aren’t you?” she asked spitefully. The
boy stopped walking. “We’re lost.” She spoke more firmly. This time it wasn’t a
question.
“Y-yeah,” the boy stuttered, letting go of her hand.
“I’m sorry. I just-“
“Just?” she asked pointedly.
“Thought that just this once, I could do something
right this time. Do something by myself,” he finished, sighing.
Lucy said nothing, subconsciously feeling for his
hand in the darkness. She found it and held it tight, only noticing her actions
when the boy squeezed her hand back in response.
“What’s your name?” she whispered. Anything to break
the silence seeping into her head.
“Lucas,” he said softly, “Lucas Starring. You?”
“Lucy Lampruthe.”
There was a sudden clicking sound, and the lights
came back on. Lucy blinked her eyes in surprise, her vision not quite adjusting
to the light. She let go of Lucas’s hand to rub her eyes, but when she finally
opened them again, he was gone.
~|*|~
Lucy lay on her bed, thinking about Lucas. What a stupid and mysterious boy, she
thought. Sighing, she sat up and looked out her window. Cars drove past on the
busy roads below her apartment room. Since her dad had passed away, her mom had
sold the house and move to their current apartment because “they didn’t really
need a big room.” As her mother put it.
Lucy looked up through the window at the night sky
and smiled. Because there, shining brightly, through all the light pollution of
the city, was a single solitary star. She lay back down contentedly and closed
her eyes, falling asleep.
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