By KhrizKoolKatz

Wednesday, September 16 – Thaddeus Goodwin

Zane had been a great friend to me for as long as I could remember. He and I are like brothers (and no, I am not quoting that stupid old book). When things at home became unbearable, which happens often, I’d stay at Zane’s place or his cousin’s for days at a time. My parents never cared. 

That’s why I cherished moments with Zane and Claire. But now, I sensed that something was up with Zane. Zane had been acting strange since Saturday. He seemed to be enjoying church and school, though most of the time he was zoned out. And yesterday I saw him stalking Hannah and Dee-Kay…surely he can’t be…

Sigh.

I know him like the back of my hand. And I’m not dumb. So, I figured he was crushing on D.K. And because of that, I’m skipping school so I don’t have to see him acting awkward or something. Besides, he would tell me, so I won’t have to confront him. I think.

I wasn’t sure if he was skipping school too, so I decided to check his house, Ronin’s house (gonna need a car), and then school at lunch. Maybe. But first, I was gonna set up the gift I got for him at the mall.

I ran to the grocery store, looking for my next victim. I was methodical. I only selected a car in a specific part of the parking lot where no one saw them. There were only a handful of cars scattered everywhere on the parking lot, but I found one Toyota in that particular area. And on top of that, it was unlocked. With little difficulty, I got the car started and drove onto the road. To avoid being suspected, I restrained myself to follow those traffic laws. Why all those rules? Speed limits, traffic limits, pssh, who needs ’em? I drove into Zane’s neighborhood and up to his house. The driveway was empty. Oh well then. I headed back onto the road to go to Ronin’s place. The roads were empty, so I figured noon was approaching. I checked my watch just to be sure. 11:34 A.M.

Heh. “Maybe I could go a little faster…” 50 km/h. “A little more.” 55 km/h. Then 59. Then 63. 68. 75. 80 km/h. The speedometer climbed. I nearly forgot that there was a turn, but I managed to slow down enough. Despite that, I continued to treat the road as a race track. And right on cue, sirens flared behind me. Gulp.

I had to get out. I sped up to put more distance between me and my pursuers. It worked, but there were several turns ahead of me. I glanced at the rearview mirror to see if they were still in sight. Once they were out of sight, I planned to jump out. And I did. I flew through the air and then rolled through the forest until I was stopped by a tree. “Aaugghh, my back,” I groaned as I stood up. I felt some pain in my right shoulder, but I could manage it. I could have had worse, but thankfully the leaves cushioned the fall. I hadn’t travelled as far as I wanted because I could still see the road through the rows of trees. So, to avoid detection, I climbed that unfriendly tree and hid in the leaves. Not long after, I watched four police cars drive past me. Phew. I had never been caught by the police, and never intended to. I climbed down and checked my watch out of curiosity. 11:53. That episode happened in less than twenty minutes. Well, you only live once, anyways. I noticed a hat on the ground a couple feet in front of me. Yup, it was mine. I put it on and ran deeper into the forest.

I walked for about 30 minutes; could be more, could be less. I saw a building up ahead. “Oh no. School?! How did I–” I was confused, but I guessed it was lunch time. I looked around to be safe. Nothing. I crouched to avoid being seen through the windows. “Since I’m here, I might as well check if Zane is here,” I muttered to myself. I was still dazed so I didn’t know how to do that. So, I peeked through a window.

Big mistake. Someone saw me, and in a matter of moments, I would be facing what seemed like an eternity in my version of prison. I could run off before school law enforcement could arrest and incarcerate me in my desk, and then do what? They already know that I’m perfectly able to come to school and can’t make a legitimate excuse for not coming, so they’ll notify my parents. And then…I don’t wanna think about it. If only I hadn’t ran into that cursed school!

As I stood there, waiting for my imminent doom, I formulated a plan. By the time I heard someone coming, I figured it would be best to go in. I was already in a heap of trouble, so things probably couldn’t get worse.

“Thaddeus.”

Yep, that was the principal.

I looked up to see my apprehenders.

Pastor Macdonald and the principal.

“Nggh…”

“Thaddeus, come in–.” the pastor warmly “invited” before I interrupted with a blunt “Sure.”

I headed toward the door.

“Excuse me?!” I heard the principal yell.

The pastor shook his head.

“Tch. Meet me in my office, young man.” The principal sternly ordered as they followed me inside.

As I trudged to the principal’s office, I saw Zane eating by himself. He didn’t see me, ’cause he was busy looking at the table with D.K. and her friends.

“Wait in the office,” she barked.

I sat down in the chair facing the principal’s desk. I looked around. The same things were in the same places.

“Hmm…I wonder…”

I had been in here several times, so I knew where to look. As the pastor and principal were talking outside, I opened the cabinet (Ha. It didn’t even have a lock. Stupid principal.), took out the jar filled with money for school stuff, and made a withdrawal of about 20%. After I shoved the money in my inner jacket pocket, I put back everything and then sat down. Less than a minute later, the principal and pastor entered.

It was the same routine. The principal would get angry, due to my anti-cooperation and reticence, leave the room; the pastor would ask questions calmly until he’d finally understand that my silence wasn’t helping him get anywhere, then dismiss me, and calm the principal down. Sometimes he got mad, but I guess that’s just normal when a Christian starts preaching to me.

I left the office, hands shoved in my pockets. Apparently class had resumed, and I figured that I’d have no choice but to give my “friends” an unpleasant surprise. I did, and the teacher gave me a hollow welcome. As the teacher continued teaching, Zane tapped my shoulder.

“Dude, where were you? I thought you were coming to school,” he whispered.

Trying to restrain myself from dying from hysteria, I whispered, “Looking for you..Pwwffhh….I thought you hated school.”

Zane gave me a confused look.

“Anyways, I’m gonna stay at your place tonight. I got a little surprise for ya, bro,” I whispered.

“Alright, but I was going to Ronin’s to play video games.”

“Don’t need to do that no more,” I winked.

Zane made that confused face again.

“What do you–“

“Shh, teacher’s talking,” I whispered.

School was soon finished, and I got out to relish my freedom for the next 16 hours (including sleep). I went back to my house, got in, and grabbed a snack and that thing for Zane. I skateboarded to Zane’s house. The driveway was empty, except for a kid loitering there. Typical Zane.

“Yo! Zane!,” I called out.

“Finally you got here, man.”

We went inside.

“Whaddya mean?”

“Nevermind. You said you got something for me?”

“Yeah. Why you sound like you in a rush, man? Gonna miss another chance to stalk another girl?” I smirked.

“What put that idea in your head?”

“Dude, it’s obvious. Anyways, is your lil’ bro home?”

“Yeah, and as annoying as you are.”

We went into Zane’s room, just as Ira was “stalking” us.

“Ira! Stop following us!”

“Why? You gonna do anything bad?”

“No, of cou–“

I cut him off. “He can come. It’ll make your mom less mad when she first sees it.”

Ira jumped on the bed, as Zane ripped open the box.

“Dude, what the–…Where did you get this?” He stammered as he held up the XBOX One.

“I bought it at the mall on Sunday.” I smiled.

“This…this is ours?!” Ira’s eyes widened.

“Yup, I got two controllers, one for you and Ira, and I already have one for myself, so you guys should be set. I also got a two-year guarantee, so if anything happens to it, let me know. Oh, and when your mom comes home, tell her a classmate gave you a console, though Ira should be able to do that no problem.” I winked at him.

“Dude…thanks.”

“No problem. Well, I gotta be going to pick up Claire.” I said as I walked for the door.

“Later, man,” Zane called out.

“Seeya. Oh, and Zane,” I said.

“Yeah?”

“No more stalking. Don’t want what happened last time to happen again.”

“Of course, man.” He laughed.

I had completely forgotten about the consequences that would befall me later that day. But of course, when that time came, my life would turn upside-down as it has for the past two years.