A long narrow hall lined with lockers on both sides stretched out before him. Evil laughter sounded from behind him, Greg and Tyler’s laughter. Eric, his arms full delicate crystal turned away from them and began running down the endless hall.

The long rows of lockers were interrupted by windowed classroom doors. He ran to the first door. He shifted the breakables to his other hand and tried to turn the knob. Locked. The laughter sounded again from behind him. He turned and ran to the next door. It too was locked. Thump thump. . . . thump thump. . . thump thump.

They were starting to get closer. Other people’s laughter joined Greg and Tyler’s. Some deep and throaty, other’s high pitched cackles. The hair on the back of his neck stood up He had to get away from them, he had to leave before they found him, he had to hide.

Holding the crystal objects tight to his chest, he sprinted down the hall. His heart hammered at his chest, thump thump. . . . thump thump. . . .

He had to hide somewhere. He slid to a stop at another door and pulled on it. Locked. He shifted the fragile crystal to one hand and elbowed the glass window as hard as he could, hoping he could break it. The horrible laugh of a Hyena echoed down the hall. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Thump thump. . . .thump thump. . . thump thump, his heart slammed at his ribs like a mad dog leaping at the bars of a kennel.

Eric turned and started sprinting. Something shot out from the locker at his shin. Eric leaped and hoped that he wouldn’t drop the precious items in his grasp. He looked over his shoulder and saw a leg sticking out of the locker.

Something hard hit him in his shin. He stumbled forward, barely catching his balance and continued on; another leg trying to trip him. The laughter intensified and sounded right behind him. Legs started shooting out of lockers on both sides of the hall bent on causing him to drop the crystal.

“Get him.” Greg’s voice echoed all around him.

Locker doors began flying open all around him as legs thrust out at his shins. He barely had time to find his footing before leaping to avoid more legs. Books began to fly from the opening and closing lockers. They flew at his head, his arms, his fragile cargo.

Thump thump. . . thump thump. . .

Eric ran, twisting and turning protecting the breakables in his arms as best as he could as books pounded against his back. He stumbled more than once only to regain his balance and continue down the hall as his hidden pursuers laughed at his expense.

Large spit wads, trailing stringy, slimy saliva joined the flying books. The wet wads of paper smacked him in the face and the back of the head.

“Why are you doing this?” he screamed. “What did I ever do to you?”

Eric lowered his head, and raised his shoulders to try and block things from hitting him in the face. Determined to get away, he charged down the hall. He began busting through the obstacles, his breathing becoming more and more labored.

Thump thump. . . thump thump. . . . thump thump.

An extra long, extra large leg shot out catching him unaware. He felt his shin smack into it, the pain shooting up his spine. He fell forward. He planted his other leg to gain his balance but the momentum propelled him forward. A dictionary hit his arm hard loosening a piece of crystal from his protective hold. A large spit wad smacked him in the side of the face, causing him the loss of vision in that eye.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he fell forward, trying to protect the crystal in his arms as well as trying to regain the possession of the one flying before him just out of reach. Weightless, out of control he fell as the laughing grew louder, Greg’s loudest of all.

“No!”

“No!” Erika sat up in bed in a cold sweat.

“No?” her mother asked from her doorway. “You’ve been begging me to allow you back to school all week. The morning I get you up to go back, is the morning you tell me no?”

Erika shook her head, trying to shake the sleep from her mind as well as from her eyes. “Nightmare.” She explained.

“Oh. Well, it’s time to get up. I thought you’d be excited to go to school today.”

Erika sat in her bed, her covers rumpled and kicked into a pile near the foot of her bed. She looked up at her mom and took a deep breath. “Sorry, mom. I am excited. I was just having a horrible dream.”

“Well, get a move on it, or you won’t be ready when Samantha gets here.” Her mother turned and went down stairs.

Erika took a deep breath and padded into her bathroom to take a shower. She hated waking up drenched in sweat.

Listening to make sure her mother was down stairs, Erika reached under her pile of clean towels and pulled out the bottle of herbals that Aunt Carrie had bought for her. She popped one in her mouth and swallowed it as she climbed into her shower.

- - -

“You’re wearing that to school?” her mother eyed her outfit.

“Yes. What’s wrong with it?” Erika asked looking down over her carefully chosen clothes. She picked out a white button down blouse which she wore tucked into a soft pink pencil skirt, nylons and pink heels. Her curly hair was pulled back from her face with a pink ribbon showing off delicate silver earrings.

“Nothing is wrong with it. It’s just a bit much for school, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think it is. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice.” Erika argued.

Her mother shrugged and went back to her coffee.

Erika peeled a banana and gulped it down before slipping into her dress coat and picking up her book bag.

The horn in the driveway honked signaling her escape. Erika called a goodbye from the door and hurried out to her friend’s car, taking smaller strides in her heels and skirt.

“Feeling a bit feminine today?” Samantha greeted as Erika slipped into the car and pulled on her safety belt.

“Is there something wrong with it?” Erika asked.

“No.” Samantha backed out of the drive. “Nothing wrong with it.”

“Wow, don’t you look nice.” Tricia greeted as she slipped into the back seat.

“Thank you.” Erika smiled.

“You wear pink almost as well as I do.” Tricia gave Erika’s shoulder a squeeze.

Tricia held Erika’s hand as the threesome walked into the school. As she walked to her locker, she was inundated with “Hey, welcome back.” “You’re looking good” “We missed you, welcome back.” “You don’t look very sick to me.” “Don’t you look nice.” “How are you feeling? It’s good to see you.”

Warmth washed through her body at the heartfelt welcomes and good wishes. Erika hung her coat in her locker and got her things together for her first period class.

“I have to get going, see you at lunch.” Tricia stood on her toes to press her lips against Erika’s. “You do look fantastic today.”

Erika smiled, a slight blush painted her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?” Krystal asked as she joined Erika on the way to class. “You look very cute by the way.”

“Thanks. I’m fine.”

“It’s good to have you back. Tricia was going nuts without you.”

“What’s the occasion?” Victoria asked as she approached.

“Just felt feminine today.” Erika used Samantha’s verbiage. “Victoria, could you do me a big favor while you’re working in the office today?”

“Don’t you think you need to attend school before I score you some hall passes?”

“No, that’s not it.” Erika pulled Victoria to the side of the hall. “I want copies of Greg’s and Tyler’s files.”

“What?” Victoria looked shocked.

“You heard.” Erika looked hard at Victoria. “I want to see their files.”

“What ever for?”

“My own reasons.” Erika had to keep from growling.

“I’ll get kicked out of school if I get caught.” Victoria complained.

“You did it with my file, you can do it with theirs.”

“I don’t know, Erika.” Victoria shook her dark locks.

“Please, Victoria? For me? We are Lavender girls, remember?”

Victoria sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. No promises.”

Erika smiled and gave Victoria a quick peck on the cheek. “You are a sweetheart.”

“Sweet or not, you are going to get us in trouble.”

“I have faith in you.” Erika smiled. She rejoined Krystal who was waiting not too patiently.

“What was that about?” Krystal asked.

“Just asking a favor; Nothing big.” The two friends just made it to their class before the bell rang.

“I’m a little disappointed, Erika.” Jacob smiled over his shoulder as the two girls took their seats.

Erika looked quizzically at him.

“I thought they would be bigger.”

“What are you talking about.” Erika inquired.

“Your breast implants, I expected them to be larger. I’d get my money back if I were you.”

Krystal slapped him across the back of the head. “She had brain surgery stupid.”

“That’s what they all say.” Jacob chuckled. “Hannah Grier said she had her tonsils taken out and came back to school with a new nose.”

“Erika really did have brain surgery.”

“I did get a nose job in the deal.” Erika added. “See, they took this long probe and stuck it up my nose.” Erika went on to describe the general surgery to the guy.

“As fascinating as that was, Ms. Summers, I’d like to start class.” The instructor put forth.

Erika blushed as she realized that the whole class had heard her explanation. “Sorry.” She murmured.

Half way through class her bladder began to beg for some relief. She looked at the clock and sighed, there was no way she was going to be able to hold it until the end of class.

Erika got up and took the girls bathroom pass from next to the door and nodded to her teacher before exiting the class room.

The clicking of her heels echoed down the long hall. The hall seemed to go on for ever. Long rows of lockers interrupted by the occasional classroom door lined each side of the corridor. Laughter erupted from a classroom behind her, causing Erika’s heart to jump around in her chest.

The sound of her clicking foot steps quickened. She cast a glance over her shoulder to see if anyone was behind her. The hall was empty. She stepped faster down the hall.

The girl’s bathroom would be safe. She hoped. She was almost jogging down the hall now. Laughter again exploded from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder again.

She smacked hard into something in front of her. Caught off balance in her heels, she began to stumble.

“No!” she cried out.

Large, strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and steadied her, before placing her squarely back on her feet.

Erika looked up into Julian’s concerned face.

“Are you alright?” he asked, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Erika’s heart was pounding a strong cadence in her chest. She swallowed a large lump, and took a deep breath. “I’m fine, thank you.” Her voice shook a little.

Julian’s large hands still held her. The two just looked into one another’s eyes for a long moment, transfixed by the closeness and beauty of one another.

‘He is a good looking guy’ Erika thought to herself. ‘he smells nice too’.

“You look very pretty today.” Julian smiled. “Welcome back to school. Sorry I didn’t come by the hospital.”

“It’s okay, I know you don’t like them.” Erika smiled.

Julian paused for a moment. “How did you know? Did Stan tell you?”

“Uh, no.” Erika’s mind raced. How did she know? “It stands to figure that was why you didn’t come by.” She made an awkward excuse.

‘Man he had great shoulders. And his eyes, his eyes were amazing.’

Julian released Erika from his hold. “You gotta go, I see.” He indicated the bathroom pass.

“Yes.” She couldn’t take her eyes from his.

“Now that you are better, will you be rejoining the rally squad?”

“I won’t know for another week or two. Doctors.”

“I gotta get back to class.” Julian broke eye contact and looked down the hall. “It was good bumping into you, Erika.” He smiled.

“Thanks for catching me.”

“Any time.”

Erika let out a long, large breath, she didn’t know she was holding. She watched Julian walk down the hall for a moment enjoying the shape of his shoulders and how the tight t-shirt clung to his back.

Erika’s bladder cried out again, reminding her of her reason for being out of class.

To be continued. . .