Page 10 of Voices

I make my way to the hidden spot I found during my freshman year when I was wandering around trying to clear my head of demons. Ducking my head under a low branch, I spot the huge tree that seems to be the center of the woods. I’ve cleared out some dead foliage over the last few days to sit comfortably for hours without being stabbed in the ass by pointy twigs.

I look all around the tree.

No, no, no.

It’s not here!

I drop to my knees and start swiping at the few leaves that have fallen since yesterday.

Nothing.

My breathing picks up and my hands start to sweat.

Standing up, I turn in a slow circle, scanning the dirt-covered ground. But there’s nothing here except for the small tin pencil case I keep hidden under a decaying log.

“FUCK!”

I quickly retrace my steps back out of the woods, keeping my head on a swivel. I even look up at the trees, like some animal took off with it and is keeping it hostage.

Shit, I’m losing my damn mind.

As I clear the last of the trees, someone runs into me hard enough for my bag to fall off my shoulder.

“Watch it, asshole.”

Looking up through a curtain of hair, a big-ass bald jock is walking away, laughing with his friends. I wish I could say it wasn’t done on purpose but I’m just a low man on the totem pole here. I’m invisible to everyone but Lily and Noah. Even Benji has pulled away from me since freshman year.

Picking up my bag, I start for class but stop when a thought hits me.

The quad.

That guy with the backwards hat that ran into me.

I remember carrying a few books for class…along with my sketchbook! I didn’t have time to stop at my house before my class to drop it off. But why wasn’t it in my bag?

I start for the quad while wracking my brain for what I did before being knocked over. I remember starting to get anxious in class when the professor mentioned partner work and reaching for my smaller book but not finding it.

I must have pulled out my big sketchbook and zoned out for a few minutes. But it was right at the end of class, and I remember wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.

I have no memory of leaving class. One second, I was at my desk and the next I was colliding with a hard body.

My pace picks up as the quad comes into view, forgetting all about class. Stopping at the edge, I look around for the spot I fell. But everything looks the same.

Walking across the grass, something glints in the sunlight. I quicken my steps but slow when I realize it’s just a pencil. Bending down, I picked it up and easily recognized it as one of mine. It’s a dark green Faber-Castell 9000 that’s only about six inches longwith bite marks all over it.

Just like the rest of my pencils.

Tucking it behind my ear, I look for the backwards hat guy one more time. When it’s clear he’s not walking around, I give up and head towards class, hoping to sneak in unnoticed.

I hate this café. It’s loud, there are too many smells fighting with each other, and there’s always someone playing obnoxious music on their phone. Why Lily insists on eating here instead of at my townhouse, is beyond me.

I walk past the food line to where Noah is sitting at our usual table in the back. He has a plate overflowing with spaghetti and a mountain of rolls on a napkin.

“Sup,” he says with an up nod.

“Hey.” I sit across from him and glance towards the line.

“Where’s Lily?”

---