Red Leaves Falling

Chapter Five

I rushed out of class as soon as the bell rang. Back in my old high school, if I wanted to escape the clutches of Lance and his gang, I had to make every second count.

I searched for my locker and found that it was a broken one at the far corner. The locker door was hanging by its hinge and a couple of papers leaked out. It stank of rotten eggs. I stared at the locker in disbelief. My old locker had been just like this, broken and smelly. Lance had once even stuck tampons all over my locker. It had been extremely hard to peel them off.

A group of boys running through the hallways shoved me with a tight force. I knocked a book from the locker down as I slammed against its front. I heard snickers from around me.

It was then that I noticed that every single student in the hallway had their eyes on me. I averted my eyes and reached for the book. The class bell rang. I stuffed the book back into my bag hastily and began my search for the next class.

English class was taught by a lady,Ms.Davis. She looked young and fresh out of college. There was a smile plastered on her face and she held the attention of every male in the class.

I stretched my legs underneath the desk and glanced at the topic of the poem she had assigned us to work on.

Love.

I stared at the sheet of paper blankly and gazed out of the window. This classroom also showed the view of the same maple tree but from a different angle. The puppy was no where to be seen. I was disappointed and shrunk back into my seat.

"You haven't written anything." Ms. Davis stated. I lifted my eyes to her own.

I picked up the pencil and said, "I don't know what to write."

Ms. Davis stared at me for a while, scrunching her eyebrows. She opened her mouth to say something but the lunch bell rang. I was out of the class before she could realize that I had left.

I looked around to spot the library. I had always hated eating at school cafeteria. At New American, people didn't come to the cafeteria to have their lunch but rather to trip, slap and gossip. I had developed the habit of eating in a secluded corner of the library, surrounded by books I never read, unknown to anyone.

Five minutes passed. By now, I was pretty sure that I was going in circles. I leaned against the nearby wall and ran my hands through my hair. Luckily, the hallway was empty and there was no soul around to judge my state.

That was until I heard loud footsteps. I stilled. A tall and muscular boy surrounded by two more hard chiseled boys made their way in my direction. They emitted the same aura that Lance and his gang and every other bully did.

Power. Strength. Arrogance.

Sweat bundled up in my forehead and my hair stood on its end. I pressed my trembling hands against the wall and nearly stopped breathing when they stopped right in front of me.