Young Writers Society

Chapter two

Raine sat in the car impatiently, glancing at her watch every minute. I’m going to be so late, she thought to herself. Her dad glanced at her while she was looking at her watch and shook his head.

“It’s your fault that we’re running late, Rainey,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

“My fault?! You were the one that couldn’t find your briefcase!” she exclaimed.

“Remind me. Who was the last one in the car?” he asked, smiling.

“Carter,” she said, gesturing at the babbling four year old in the back seat.

“No,” her dad insisted, laughing, “you were.” Raine slouched in her seat, glancing at her watch again. 8:27. They were at least five minutes away from the school. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to get a late pass from the front office. After a little bit of silence in the car, Raine flipped on the radio and scrolled through some of the stations. Finally, she found the station she was looking for and turned the volume up a little. Carter began to bounce up and down a little in his car seat. Raine and her dad laughed and the toddler gave them a toothy grin.

Finally, they arrived at the campus. Raine rushed out of the car and gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek. She waved at Carter and he waved back with another grin on his face.

“Bye, love you!” She yelled running towards the classroom door. Her dad pulled away and began on their drive to Carter’s daycare. Raine zoomed into the classroom, almost ripping the door off its hinges. Everyone turned their heads, staring at Raine while she walked, still panting, to her table. She looked at her watch. Only four minutes late? She shook her head in confusion. She looked at the chair next to her and, to her surprise, she found it was empty. Where is that kid? She asked herself. Normally, Raine was the last one here, not Riva. She looked around the class searching for Caleb. He wasn’t there either. Raine glanced at Noah and he responded with a shrug.

“Miss Granger,” their English teacher said sternly.

“O-oh I’m-I’m sorry M-Mr. W-Wilson, t-there was tr-traffic,” Raine stuttered, quickly getting out her English book.

“Oh, no. It’s fine, you’re not that late. Riva, however, is,” he said softly, “she wasn’t here on her first period either.” Raine nodded uneasily, forgetting that Riva had an extra optional period (art) before English. She rarely skipped the class.

“Neither of the Lopez twins are here,” Noah pointed out. Raine looked out the window worriedly. Everyone seemed to be staring at her. Everyone knew that Riva and Raine were best friends and they expected her to know where they were. Noah looked at Raine again with a slightly distressed expression. She shook her head. The silence that overcame the class left as suddenly as it came and Mr. Wilson continued with his English lesson. She didn’t pay attention. She stared at the wall in front of her worriedly. Where are you, Riva?

A loud ringing sound and a touch to the shoulder awoke her from her trance. “Raine!” he shook her, “Raine! Hellooo?” Raine snapped her head beside her and found Noah looking at her. She stared at him, unable to find what to say.

“D-do you think they’re okay?” she asked hesitantly. Noah sighed heavily and attempted to hide his look of worry from Raine.

“It is kinda weird for them both to not be on time… I don’t know. Maybe they had an emergency or something.” A look of pure panic slid down Raine’s face. “But I’m sure they’re fine,” he added quickly. Her fear didn’t subside. She put her face in her hands. Noah stood there, his hand still on her shoulder. He wasn’t sure what to do. His palm began to feel like it was burning up a little. What was happening to him? He cleared his throat only to let out a small squeaking noise. Raine looked up at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, smiling confusingly.

“U-uh, we’re gonna b-be late for our n-n-next c-class,” he stammered quickly. Raine looked around in confusion and suddenly realized where she was. She got up quickly, Noah’s hand finally sliding off her shoulder. She zipped her jacket up and slid her backpack on. The burning in his palm subsided a bit. Raine blinked a bit, as if trying to get a grain of dirt out of her eye. She snapped her fingers.

“I forgot to put in my contacts today!” she said, as they made their way outside to their next class.

“Don’t you always bring your glasses?” Noah asked.

“You know I hate wearing them,” she replied, groaning. Noah got behind her and unzipped the pocket where she had her glasses. He pulled them out and got in front of her.

“I think they complete your personality. They fit you— I like them,” he smiled, and hesitantly slid them onto her face. She adjusted them a bit and made a face.

“Doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like them,” she said, wrinkling her nose and smiling playfully at him. That smile… He closed his eyes for a moment and looked away from her, his face warming up. Why did these things keep happening to him? And why around her? He shook his head and forced himself to look forward instead of back at Raine. Noah leaned his head back and scrunched his eyes up. He had to stop this. This was beginning to become a problem. He couldn’t stop asking himself “why?” He didn’t want this, of all things, to interfere with his friendship with Raine. He didn’t want to be weird. She was one of his best friends and he didn’t want that to get ruined.

Noah opened the door to their Math classroom with Mrs. Miller and they walked into the warm, slightly stuffy room. He attempted to clear his throat again, but— again— squeaked instead. Raine stared at him amusingly and confused.

“Are you all right?” She asked, almost laughing. Noah nodded uneasily and goofily smiled.

“I’m fine,” he said in a higher voice than he usually spoke. She laughed, pushing him.

“You’d better not get sick, because if you do, then I’m gonna be sad that I’ve got no one to annoy at school.” He gulped and smiled uneasily again. She gave him a confused sideways glance. Raine walked towards her table and sat down in her seat. He stood there at the door, staring at her for a couple moments. A cold breeze blew into the classroom.

“Mr. Peters, are you coming in?” Mrs. Miller asked. A couple of the kids in the classroom snickered. He couldn’t imagine what Caleb would’ve done if he were here. Caleb, he thought, walking towards his own table. Worry smacked him right in the face. He hadn’t thought about Caleb. He stared at the white, plastic table, completely zoning out. What had happened to them? Were they okay? One of his table mates kicked him on his foot. It was Miles. He flicked his head towards the teacher. “Today, we are going to assign your seats for the rest of the semester,” she said, looking at each table,“Everybody up!” She instructed. Everyone shuffled about, standing up. “Miles, Evan, Ms. Sitton, Amelia, table five. As well as David and Rose.” The old people at table five shuffled around, moving their things out of the way. The new people assigned picked up their backpacks and walked towards their new table and sat down. Table four, three, and two were assigned. Noah still hadn’t been assigned. Neither had Raine. Or Cleo. He gasped, slightly alarmed. We had been assigned together. “Ms. Granger, Riva, Cleo, Caleb, Mr. Peters, and Luke,” she paused, looking at us all. “Table one. Take the next couple minutes to review this week’s homework please.”

Luke? Noah asked himself. Everyone thought he had left the school. He had been absent for the past two weeks. Table one’s new inhabitants settled into it uncomfortably. Cleo glared at Raine. Raine looked down, looking as if she was about to cry. She raised her hand and crossed her fingers— the sign to ask to go to the bathroom— and the teacher nodded. Raine rushed out the door, her head still down. Noah took out Raine’s packet for her and put it beside his seat where he had sat down. Suddenly, Cleo moved all of Raine’s things to the opposite side of the table and put her things where they were. Noah blinked in confusion. Cleo sat down next to him and beamed.

“Wh-“ he had no words. He inhaled sharply, “That’s where Raine is sitting,” he murmured. Cleo blinked innocently.

“Oh, well I thought she’d enjoy it better way over there, where the sun doesn’t get in her eyes,” she said sweetly. Noah nodded slowly and began to pick up his own things to move next to Raine. Who did she think she was? He asked himself. The nerve of some people really got to him sometimes. Cleo’s look of innocence disappeared completely and turned into a murderous glare at Raine’s math packet. Noah shook his head and took out his own packet and began uneasily working on it. This was going to be a rough semester.

…

Two years prior

Cleo glared at her phone, not sure whether or not to send the message. She smiled tightly and tapped the small light blue arrow. She sighed. But then, she blinked. Her burden— it was still there. She felt like she should’ve felt better. Why didn’t she? She glanced at the text again. It was too late. It had already been sent. Quickly, she deleted the conversation and erased the phone number she was texting from. She sighed again, her heart beginning to beat faster and faster. What had she done? Frantically, she tried to think of what to do. She frowned distressingly. Instant regret and grief swept over her. Suddenly her phone dinged.

Unknown Number: Who is this?

You: I can’t tell you, she typed nervously. She blocked the number and deleted the messages once again. Why did I do this? She asked herself. Was it really that necessary? She put her face in her hands and sat down on her bed. Why did I think this was such a good idea? What she had done was irreversible. There was nothing she could do now except wait until she would have to face the music.

Present day

Raine stood up over the sink as a million different feelings overwhelmed her between each sob. Flashbacks of the past years rolled through her mind. She breathed in shakily. She couldn’t stay in here forever, even though she so desperately wanted to. She attempted to make herself look like she hadn’t been sobbing her eyes out for the past five minutes. To her despair, she began crying again. Footsteps could be heard outside. She didn’t notice. She couldn’t wait until she could tell Riva everything. Riva. She rubbed her temples. Just when she thought everything was going to be okay again, the tide comes back in and tosses her around.

Why did these things always happen to her? She resisted the urge to scream. Gulping back more tears, she rubbed her eyes and washed her face off with cold water. Grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser, she dried off her face and looked into the mirror. She looked into the mirror and attempted at a small smile. She sighed. I need a couple more minutes to myself, she thought, sitting on a small bench.

Noah glanced at the door anxiously and back at Raine’s things. He glanced up to find Cleo staring at him with an odd distant look on her face. He shuffled around uneasily. He jumped when he felt Mrs. Miller’s touch on his back.

“Can you go check on Raine?” She asked in a low voice. Noah nodded and jumped at the chance to leave the awkward environment— especially to go check on Raine. He was worried about her. He glided out the door, not even stopping to put his jacket back on and made his way to the bathrooms. Finally, he came to a small building split in half— one side for girls, the other for the boys. He walked through the hallway and stopped at the private bathroom that everyone always liked to use. Unlike the rest, this one didn’t have several stalls, it was just a normal bathroom.

As he neared the door Noah could hear muffled sobbing noises. He sighed, leaning against the door. How was he going to do this? Suddenly, a tear streaked down his own face. He felt pity for her. All the stupid things she had to deal with the past three years. Riva, Caleb, and Noah all thought that she had gotten over it. He sighed. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Lopezs either. Another tear dripped down his cheek. It was strange for them to be late, but even stranger not to show up after that. What if something bad had happened to them?

He heard running water. And the ripping of a paper towel. Raine sighed as Noah heard the creaking of the bench inside the bathroom. Noah wiped his face off with the sleeve of his shirt. He stood up straight and smoothed his shirt down. He knocked on the door softly.

“Raine?” He croaked, “are you okay?” Raine got up in alarm, inhaling sharply. Noah knocked again, “Raine?” He said a bit louder. Raine sighed, recognizing the voice.

“J-just a little shaken up,” she croaked back. They both sighed wearily and waited in silence for a moment.

“We should probably get back to class,” Noah mumbled.

“I don’t really want to,” Raine replied, her voice beginning to crack again.

“Me neither. But we both know we have to. We only have a couple periods left until our free one.” Raine nodded, walking slowly towards the bathroom door. Noah stepped back. The lock on the door clicked and the door opened with a creak. They both stared at each other, both of them with slightly red eyes and noses. They looked down with frowns on their faces.

“High school sucks,” Raine whimpered.

“Y-yeah,” Noah replied, nodding. They both stepped forward and stopped. A small drop wet the concrete they were standing on. He put his hand on her shoulder again awkwardly. She looked at him and smiled sadly. To both their shock, she embraced him and began crying quietly. Noah stood there, not quite sure about what to do. He bit his lip, resisting the tears that welled up in his own eyes. Raine stopped and unwrapped her arms from around him.

“T-thank y-you, Noah,” she said, “for b-being there.” He nodded uneasily, still biting his lip. They both walked back to math class in complete silence. So much for trying not to make this a problem, Noah thought, his shirt a little damp from Raine’s tears. He tightened his lips and stole a glance at Raine. She looked completely fine. He sighed. The fact that she learned how to hide everything so well made him sad.

They sat down at their table to find that Cleo had moved their things again. Raine sighed exasperatedly and sat down at the end of the table. Noah grabbed his stuff with a small glare and Cleo and scooted them to the end as well.

“She’s really got some nerve,” Noah whispered angrily. Raine nodded, wishing that Riva and Caleb were here. Mrs. Miller watched their glum faces with a concerned look on her face. She wondered if they knew what had happened. Closing her eyes for a moment she thought. Finally, she nodded, walking over to their table.

“How far ahead are you in the packet?” She whispered.

“I did next week’s homework,” they both mumbled back in unison. Mrs. Millers nodded and sighed.

“Why don’t you take this period as a free one. When you have your real free one you come back to Math and we can review it,” Raine beamed up at the Math teacher and looked at Noah happily. He smiled back at her uneasily.

“Thank you so much Mrs. Millers,” she said, beginning to pick up her things. Cleo looked at them in confusion and jealousy as they both got up to walk out of the class. Noah felt odd. They were being excused? It’s not that he wasn’t grateful for that. Something was up.

“What are we gonna do now?” Noah asked her nervously, realizing that he and Raine were alone now.

“We are going to find out where the heck the Lopezs are,” Raine said strongly.

“R-right…”

“What’s up with you today?” she asked, smiling, “you’re acting weird.”

“Nothing, just a headache from all the… stress,” he mumbled. Raine nodded, frowning again.

“Let’s go to the student lounge,” she said, pointing at a small circular building in the middle of the campus. Noah nodded. Raine pulled her phone out of her backpack when they went inside the lounge. Sofas and chairs were everywhere, as well as a small library and some computers for the student’s to study, or just, well, lounge. They sat down around a small table. She nervously pulled up her text messages and a group chat labeled Best Buds.

You: Hey twins, why aren’t you guys at school today? She asked as casually as she could. Raine and Noah sat there for a couple minutes waiting for a reply. Their phones were silent. No answer. Raine began to panic again. For them to be absent from school was one thing, but for them to not answer their texts was another. Noah stared at his shoes trying to think of something to say.

“They’re probably… busy right now,” he said quietly.

“We both know they’re not,” she replied, a bit harshly. She scrolled through the past messages of the group depressingly, wondering what had happened to them. She sighed for the millionth time that day and looked up at Noah. “Where could they be?” she asked, mostly to herself.

“I don’t know…” he did have an idea, but he wasn’t sure that was what Raine wanted to hear at the moment. If they were really okay, they would answer their texts. He tapped his knee with his fingers, unsure of what to do now. Raine leaned back in her chair and squeezed her eyes shut. She looked… horrible. He wondered if he looked the same too. His phone buzzed quietly in his jacket. He glanced at Raine, wondering if she had heard. She seemed to be sleeping. Carefully, he took it out and opened the message.

Caleb: Heyyy… so I’m guessing you’re both having a freakout attack…

It was Caleb. Finally.