Interlude: Back Home
Rachel’s POV
“I’m so sorry for you Rachel! I know that Derek was very close to you!” My friend Devon said.
My heart was hurting and tears were welling up in my eyes. I leaned against Devon’s shoulder, tears came flowing out. I could feel her hand stroke my back gently.
“Shh, it will be okay.” She pushed me up, staring into my eyes, “You’ll find him, I know it.”
“I hope so.”
“Don’t forget to about our track practice!” Devon ran off to her first class, leaving me alone.
The first period bell rang and shuffling to classes began. I slung my bright blue backpack onto my shoulder. I turned towards the 500’s building. I shuffled my feet, my head hung low.
The hallways were busy. People slamming their lockers, shuffling to their classes, yelling to each other. Numbness and depression crept over my head like a dark storm cloud. Sights and sounds blurred as I made my way to math class. I maneuvered numbly past the pushing and shoving and into my class.
I looked in on the room before me. Derek and I shared this class every morning; it felt depressing to walk into this room without him. The clean white walls and motivational academic posters did nothing to brighten up my mood as the morning ticked by.
I sat down, looking down on my desk. I glanced over to the empty seat across the room, Derek’s seat. It sat lonely and alienated from its surroundings. I could do nothing but look away before an coldness rushed over me.
The teacher, Mr. McHenry, looked up at the clock and back down at his papers. Class was beginning to start and he turned on the projector.
“Okay class, take out your homework and get ready for today’s lesson. I hope you brought your calculators, you’re gonna need them.” He said.
I did nothing as Mr McHenry walked by.
“Nothing again, Rachel? I know that Derek is missing, but you should try to keep up in school.”
A silence grew and he shrugged before walking away. I felt something on my back so I shrugged it off, but it started again so I turned around and looked at an annoying kid. HIs name is Josh, he is, by far, the most annoying kid in school.
“Hey, so since Derek is gone, does that mean you’re available?”
“Are you kidding right now? Do you think this is the time to be asking that?” Andrea, another friend of mine, snapped before I could speak.
“Hey, I was just joking.”
“Yeah, what’s joking to you? Making people feel even worse? ‘Cause that seems like real fun, doesn’t it?” Andrea ranted.
I turned back to my desk, fading into my memories. I kept trying to remember his face. The hardest part was that it kept drifting away from me.The more and more I tried to picture him, the more I can’t.
I was secluding myself from the rest of the world until I was jarred back when the bell rang. I got up and left to the next class, which was Latin. The only reason I took such a ridiculous language is because my Devon suckered me into it.
I was leaving the 500’s building and glanced out of the school gate. A purple mist hung in the air. I turned around then did a double take as I try to understand what I just saw. I turned back to see it producing an eerie aura. I looked around to find everybody walked past it, like they didn’t notice it.
Curious, I walked up to it. The mist shimmered back a couple feet. I took another step closer and the mist moved back. I don’t know why, but I felt drawn to it. I couldn’t place why, but it felt like I needed to get closer, to touch it.
I turned back to the school campus and back to the mist, I heard the late bell ring in the background. I dropped my backpack and ran at the mist.
As I ran after it, the mist started turning. I continued to follow it when it dawned on me that the mist was leading me. The purple thing had brought me onto Derek’s street. I standing right in front of his house, or his lawn to be more precise.
The lawn was half cut and his parents had not gotten around to cutting it after his disappearance. They were still disturbed about him being missing. I kinda felt sorry for his little brothers, I feel like they think they don’t matter, everyone’s focus was on Derek. I couldn’t imagine everyone turning away from like that.
The purple mist hung in the air above a patch of dirt that seemed to like the grass was removed from the land. I came closer to it, but this time it stayed in its place. I studied the dirt spot area, it seemed weird that it was in one specific spot. There wasn’t even burnt edges or signs of digging. It was just was one pothole in the ground, smooth and even all the way around.
I looked back up at the mist. The purple cloud shifted and swirled about in the air. I outstretched my hand, curious about the anomaly before me. As soon as my finger skimmed the inviting mist, there was nothing. Only blackness invited me.