Suspense by Lacey Kral

My hot pink high top chuck taylors hit the pavement hard with every measured footfall. My breaths were coming shorter and shorter together and it seemed like the sprint across campus would last forever. I felt like a tiny army of belligerent rodents were trying to escape from lungs- directly through my rib cage. There was no way tell how far behind my assailants were, or how much they had deciphered about me.
I knew they had my cell phone number, I had been receiving somewhat alarming text messages from untraceable numbers, presumably some internet text message site. I was worried, but disregarded them.
I kind of expected things to get weird when I left my fancy prep school for my hometown high school. I didn’t want to leave- I was forced out. After the investigation of the plagiarism epidemic in our AP English classes, it was revealed there was not only a tendency towards cheating, but also a tendency towards heavy drug usage. The whole class was very politely “asked to withdraw” to keep the publicity to a minimum.
I switched to the public school in my mid size farm town. It was October, the October of senior year of high school. I had always been a straight shooter, no funny business. I didn’t do the drugs, and I definitely wrote my own papers!
Restarting my life at a new school already part way through the school year was not awesome. I hardly knew anyone. I’ve always been the studious, awkward, shy type. I didn’t eat at school generally, I was totally spoiled by gourmet “prep school” food. Usually, I would pick a quiet table in the corner of the poorly stocked, poorly lit, poorly managed library and study.
It was on one of those lunch times, in fact, that was the very reason I found myself awkwardly sprinting across campus for my very life. It was one of those very lunch times, when I was pouring over my AP Chemistry book, furiously memorizing all the properties of the first 28 elements that I met the catalyst of all my problems. Jose.
I hadn’t noticed him when I walked in. I suppose I had failed to notice anything, but I liked it that way. At this school, you were held responsible for what you witnessed. At my old school, people took all their extra curricular activities off campus in their fancy cars. I put on my proverbial blinders and made beeline for my table.
I didn’t hear him approach. Actually, I saw his brown work boots first...
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you, Miss, but is that AP Chem?”
I inclined my head slightly and he continued, “Well, I see you in here every day and, actually I’m in your Chem class next period. I- I’m really struggling understanding all these atom things. I mean I take notes... but well, I sit behind you and I’ve seen the grades you get. I know this is weird but... Could I, uh, study with you once or twice a week?”
I looked up at the young man who had addressed me. I tried to hide my surprise but I was stunned by the sun tanned skin, the muscles hardened by working in fields, and look on his face, like it would crush him to have me decline.
I mumbled something incoherent and motioned to the chair across from me. He sat down, opened his book, smiled and that is how all my problems started. We met at first twice a week, but then it turned into daly study meeting. We traded lessons. I explained the Chemistry principles, in more layman’s terms, and he tutored me in spanish, eventually including bringing traditional food from home that his aunt had prepared the night before.
Not long after that, I started getting the sidelong glances, odd text messages. “Stay with your own kind grenga” A girl in my English class asked me if i couldn’t find “real” company at lunch. It progressed from there. My parents had always taught me to rise above, and I didn’t think anything was too serious.
Every Friday was quiz day in Chemistry, and this was the last quiz before the Midterm, in exactly a week. This meant that every Thursday was a Chemistry day in the library. I had gotten an even larger barrage of hateful and warning text messages. Usually I would get two- maybe three- a week, but I had gotten five, all between eleven and two in the morning the night before. the last one was most ominous reading “open ur eyes white ***** wut dont u see?”
Today was thursday morning and I arrived at school a little late, which always made me a little flustered. After fourth period, I dodged off to the library. I was alarmed to see three large, dark haired males sitting at my table. White shirts, dark glasses, baggy dark jeans and- blue bandanas? I started to change directions and head for another table. Where was Jose? He was like me, didn’t really run with any crowd. Those guys may look like him, but they didn’t seem like the kind of guys he would spend his kick back time with.
I was a little nervous but I tried to keep my cool. Then one called out, “Hey, grenga!” I ignored him and started to sit down at a table across the room but the verbal assault continued. "Why don’t you come on over and study with us?" I glanced over and noticed the librarian was definitely not at her desk, definitely not seeing thing, and could definitely not protect me. "So, Jose isn't going to be joining us today… He got a little caught up at home. We wanted to party at his house last night, but he was too busy studying. Too busy trying to be a grengo, getting ready la universidad. He thinks he's so much better than us." The biggest one sat down at the table with me and started to tap his fingers wildly. "But, white girl, you got another thing coming. Notice there weren't any Mexi-White couples around here? That's because it isn't done. So we just wanted to give you a little reminder…" The other two started digging in their pockets- and I bolted.
I had no clue if I could out run them, or where I would go. I just had to get out of there. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and read a text from Jose, "STAY AWAY FROM LIBRARY" I kept running. I had no idea where I was going. I passed the history and English building complexes. I was just rounding the corner of the foreign language building when I realized there was always a cop in the parking lot. I turned around and took a convoluted path back to the parking lot.
Luckily, the cop was at my end of the lot and I slowed to a jog. I glanced at my car, parked three rows down and a good three hundred feet away. Sauntering around near by, were two more crazy looking large boys, both bearing the blue bandana. I ran up to the cop and begged him to save me. He looked at me funny and I cocked my head toward the two scary looking boys. He squinted at me, then nodded his head. I climbed into the front seat of his car and hunkered down. He asked me what was going on, and I began at the beginning of the story.
He said he would call my parents to come get me, and that I might have to change schools again. I laughed and told him I could handle it.