Second Period
857 Words
The hum of fluorescent lights buzzed above the classroom. Riley’s pencil tapped restlessly against her half-finished worksheet. Beside her, Lena sat stiffly, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
"You okay?" Riley whispered. Lena’s skin was pale, her eyes glazed over.
"Yeah," she mumbled, flashing a shaky smile. "Probably just the AC. I didn’t sleep much last night."
Riley wasn’t convinced. Lena was sweating.
A few minutes passed. Lena suddenly flinched, gripping the edge of her desk. A thin line of blood slid from her nose.
"Jesus, Lena," Riley whispered.
Lena blinked like she was waking up from a dream. “I—I think I should go to the nurse.”
They rose quietly, trying not to draw attention. As they passed a row of desks, Lena let out a deep, rattling cough. A kid slumped asleep at their desk stirred slightly but didn’t wake.
The hallway was quiet, just the hum of distant voices and the clack of Riley’s shoes. Lena leaned on her, trembling, wheezing softly.
Ahead, a group of boys loitered in front of some lockers. A nerdy boy crouched to collect his scattered books as one of them smacked a folder out of his hand.
“Oops. My bad, nerd.”
“Maybe he’s from a different planet.”
"Yeah, Geektron."
“HEY!”
The shout came from further down the hall. The class president stood tall, arms crossed, blazer sharp. Her voice froze the group in place.
The boys muttered and wandered off. Riley and Lena slipped past the shaken boy, who offered a soft, grateful glance.
They turned the corner toward the nurse’s office. Just as they reached the entrance, the restroom door opened, and a tall new boy stepped out. His eyes flicked from Lena’s pale face to the red-stained tissue in her hand.
He didn’t say much. “Watch it,” he muttered, brushing past them.
“S-sorry,” Riley stammered.
As the door to the nurse’s office creaked open, Lena let out another cough—lower this time, sticky-sounding.
“He’s cute,” she whispered, settling into the bed as Riley helped her sit. “What’s his name?”
“Zayden,” Riley answered, trying not to sound too worried.
Lena shivered harder. “Zayden. Cool name.”
A pause. The lights buzzed faintly above them.
Lena’s eyes drifted shut for a second too long. Riley sat in the chair beside her, quietly watching as another drop of blood traced the corner of Lena’s eye.
The nurse's office was quiet.
Riley sat in a hard plastic chair beside the narrow bed, arms crossed over her notebook. Lena lay on her side, curled up beneath a paper-thin blanket, shivering.
“You don’t have to stay,” Lena whispered. “I’m fine. Really.”
“I know,” Riley said softly, though her voice betrayed her doubt.
Lena gave a weak smile. Her skin was pale—too pale—and there was a strange stiffness in her voice. Still, Riley sat beside her, chin on her fist, listening to the clock tick…
…and tick…
…and tick…
Until her eyes drifted shut.
The click of the door and the soft scuff of footsteps stirred the silence. Riley didn’t wake.
The nurse entered, clipboard in hand, coffee sloshing in a paper cup. She glanced toward the curtained bed without pulling it back.
“You alright, sweetheart?” she asked, distracted.
Lena groaned faintly behind the curtain.
The nurse didn’t blink. “You want me to call your mom to come get you?”
Another moan. Slurred, low.
“Got it.” The nurse scribbled something down. “I’ll let the front desk know.”
Her walkie crackled suddenly, a voice cutting through the fuzz: “We’ve got a possible sprain out on the track. Need a medic.”
The nurse sighed. “Every day,” she muttered, already turning away. “Be back soon, just rest.”
The door closed behind her.
Lena lay still for a moment—until her body jerked violently beneath the thin blanket.
Her back arched.
A thin stream of blood dripped from her nose. Then her eyes. Then her mouth.
She convulsed silently, limbs twitching as her breath quickened… then stopped.
For a long second, there was only stillness.
Riley stirred, blinking awake. She rubbed her eyes, confused.
“Lena?” she mumbled, glancing at the curtain. No answer. Just a shape beneath the blanket.
“You must be asleep. I’ll go get the nurse.”
She stood slowly, still half-dreaming, brushing sleep from her face.
As she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her—
BAM!
Two boys slammed into her.
She hit the floor hard, landing on her backpack.
“HEY—!”
The boys didn’t even look at her. They were locked in a brutal tangle—fists swinging wildly, blood on one of their sleeves. But something was wrong.
One boy had his mouth open too wide. His body lurched unnaturally. He wasn’t punching—he was biting.
Riley’s breath caught in her throat.
Inside the nurse’s office, behind the closed door, something shifted under the sheet.
- Writer
