It's morning. I feel sore and tired. All my muscles ache. This has been a reoccurring trait. I don't remember when it started, and I don't want to know the end either. Staring at the ceiling while standing on the borderline between going to school or calling in sick, the latter is perfect for my given the circumstance of my fragile body. But I love torturing myself. I hop off the bed and head to the kitchen. My head is. Ringing, pain… Stop, why are you? Doing this, it's all futile, just come—.

Huh?, I found myself in the kitchen close to the counter sitting next to me Cizct stuffing himself with something I couldn't comprehend

“I have to get out of here! “He said, grabbing me on my shoulder with so much force. It hurts, desperation in his eyes.

“Please, listen to me. I need to —”

Huh?, I sat on the counter. Mom was cooking something. Cizct was eating beacon and eggs. What's going on?

“Ain't you eating? It's going to get cold,”

“Oh sorry,”

I ate like a machine being implemented with a command. I turned, facing Cizct. He didn't seem, paranoid, no expression of whatever I saw minutes ago. He kept a cool expression while eating. Noticing my stare, he shrugged.

“What?”

“Nothing,”

“Hmm,”

“What's on your mind, Natalie?”

“I don't know,”

“You know it's futile,”

“I don't Care,”

“This is just sad,”

“What do you want, Natasha?”

“I don't know,”

“Na, you can tell me what's on your mind.”

My eyes filled with tears with a horse voice. I replied,

“I don't I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know!!!!”

The kitchen falls silent. Maybe it's because I am. Alone, the kitchen is empty, the only breathing organism is me staring at my plate with tears dropping on it.

“I hate this,”

“Me too,”

“Don't worry, you can come home.”

“Ok,”

The sky is clear, the air is warm, the smell of summer. Walking to school is always fun. I don't understand why I didn't try it earlier. It's pretty late, but I don't care. With a hush, it stopped at the front of me, mechanical sounds bumming, the air distorted from the smoke followed by a heat wave that ravaged me, removing his helmet. He turned and faced me

"Yo"

"Hey,”

“You're late,” “So are you”

“Want a lift,”

“Yeah.”

Sweet air moving with a vroom blow over me. I like this. We were moving. Fast, everything was just blur or. wrapped. That's how I perceived, at least my hands wrapped around his stomach. Hmm, warm, I felt safe. I could fall asleep here. I relaxed myself, blending in the wind, becoming one with it. My head hurts, I don't care. I want to savor it, is feels nostalgic, Maybe I've done this before. Noticing me pressed to his back, he turned facing me, smiling. What are you doing? We're going to get killed? But that smile is reassuring. I closed my eyes, felt like I was floating on the sea. The water is cold, it's quiet.

“Nora,”

“Yeah,”

I don't know how I was able to hear him, but I did his voice saint like. Hey, why don't you talk more?

“How does it feel?”

“What?”

He fell silent. We were moving fast. Fast. The sky blurs, moving in a straight line making. Me dizzy. My hands tightened around him, I relaxed on his back, aligned with the chilly breeze on my face. I closed my eyes.

“Moving forward is perfect, isn't?..”

He asked a question that needed no answer

“..... Accepting whatever fate lies ahead of you, the good bad and everything in between, and they accept you in their cruelness kindness. You see what we are doing right now is moving forward. 'how does it feel?' won't you try it and stop moving in circles…."

Everything went quiet, and I opened my eyes found myself in the classroom with the teacher marking the board with a white chalk. What just happened? I was on a bike, and it went all blank…. I felt a stare, but wasn't intense or soul crushing. It was mild and kind, made me feel at ease without turning me around new who it was, but I still turned facing her on the verge of tears. She looked at with a sorrowful expression, unspoken words but already knew what she wanted to say.

“I'm sorry I failed you,”

The teacher rounded up and left the class. It's lunchtime, I still don't have an appetite. With nothing left to do, l left class to my clubroom hoping to find what … I know what I'm looking for.

I opened the door, which lead to a noisy room, but it all fell silent when I came in, eyes eight eyeballs staring at me. Looking at me with curiosity… attention.

I hate it. Desmond and his friends, who are also my club members, were looking at me.

“Hmm hey.hello” I said with an awkward smile.

“Hey Nora” Desmond said.

“Yeah” it was quiet and awkward if I let it stay like this. It's going to be like this from now on.

“MMM so. I see these are the other members of the club, right?”

“Oh, right!” Desmond, realizing what he ought to do.

“Everyone, this is Nora, She's the new girl — member I've been telling you about,”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Nice to meet you,” I said, waving my hands in their direction.

“Alright, this is Dave” Desmond said, pointing to the boy with no hair on his head, emerald black skin, broad chest intimidating.

“Next to him is Nelson” the boy with glasses and a bob of hair, He looks frail… Looking like he's going to break any moment.

“And Patrick” he looks so improper here, feels like he fell, hit his face and became handsome.

They all gave me an approving look. And where's the last piece?

“Hmm, where is —”

“I haven't seen her since yesterday. I hope it stays like that” Desmond said meekly. He's afraid of her, What's there to be afraid of? Haha, I'm such a hypocrite.

“Ok, well with or without her, we have to move as we work to do,”

“Work!?” Nelson said, as if he's startled by the word.

“Yeah, work Desmond told me the main reason hey found this club, but eventually, we're going to get caught.” we? Hmm.

“This is the journalist club, right"

“Yeah,” Dave replied in a thick and menacing voice."

"And yes Desmond, since you're the club leader, you've registered the club, right?”

“Huh er em mm” speaking a language I don't understand and breathing like I have caught him from a grave crime.

“UMM, I told the club supervisor about it” he said.

Of course, you'll do that, sigh.

“Ok here's the plan Desmond, you register the club and since this is the journalist club, we got some journaling to do. I heard from Tessa that the track team is going to the nationals Dave you and Nelson get information about their training, how they're coping with the pressure, stuff like.that”

do not know what I'm doing, but it feels good.

“Okay” Dave replied

“You'll report the info you gather to me, Desmond and I will do the necessity with it”

“And Patrick, the archery team, I head there some drama going on their girls problems. Check it out,” A smile appeared on his face,

“Girl's problems he-he,” he said, grimming.

“Alright chop chop, we go work to move out people,”

They all left me alone. Peace and tranquility. I sighed and sank into the chair I'm sitting on.

“Why don't you become club leader, you seem perfect at it”

“Oh shut up,” I replied, feeling her stare on my back. It's burning and hurts.

I turned to face her. She's sitting in her usual spot, no difference from yesterday.

"Why are you even here? What do even do?”.

" You know why I'm here. You liked it, didn't you”

Ha stop saying that, I tried to control the blush appearing on my face. I stood up and walked across the room to the shady, dark corner of her residence sat next to her.

“Yeah, obviously,”

“So why complain,”

“I will not end this quick. It seems fun,”

“Well, I'm not afraid of you, you're the least of my problems right now,”

“Hmm, so who do you fear?”

“Stop acting dumb, you know”

Of course I'll play the fool, you don't know how refreshing you are to this boring course.

“I don't know what you're planning to achieve with this, but I'm looking forward to it" I said smiling, staring into space.

“You don't know the amount of effort that's been put into this… Oh, I guess you know, so why let them suffer? “

“I didn't ask for it, but it's good that they're here, makes the job easier,”

“They didn't ask for it either, so why are you forcing them into this? Don't you think you're contradicting yourself right now,” she said with an empty voice?

“They — they don't know what's good for them,”

“So you get to decide what's good for them?”

“humans are incapable of decisions….”

“I think what humans are really good at is decision-making. They have freewill born with it. Why are you trying to take that away?”

“I —” words refused to come out of my mouth. Why am I doing this again?

“That same decision-making lead to their destruction, and we're trying to save,” Hahaha, she laughed

“ ‘We’ you're not one of them stop pretending“ Stop

“why are even doing this? They're suffering to bring you back. For them to do something that'll cause them so much pain, you know how important you're to them — to us. “

“I'm trying to help them!!. Save—” *You're not saving anyone. They're using you. Why is that hard for you to get”

Stop

“you're suffering, ain't you?”

I turned my face to look at her, still dead inexpressive face.

” you know nothing about me!!!”

“Oh I do, we're the same after all,”

” you're suffering, and they're going through the same thing to save you. Why don't you stop this game of yours” Nora stood empty minded with her mask lay shattered on the floor. Trying to hide the monstrosity from the girl. She walked across the room, with every will of hers on that task. She stopped at the entrance of the door, without looking back. she said, " It was fun I let you do this to me, but next time we meet you better be planning on an attack because the next time we meet ” she tilts her head.

“I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU,”

I woke up, found myself on my bed feeling battered. My head hurt I closed my eyes. It placed its flesh on my neck, it parted and bones came out, tearing into my skin. It wasn't, painful it was sweet, it ran its flesh across my hair. Hot air spreading across my face. It placed its flesh on my forehead and I felt a warm sensation accepting my defeat. as I fell asleep.