Deadly Hallows [Complete]

Chapter 5: Savior

The halls were cluttered with people, scattered papers, and sports equipment. All of the sports teams were still active, looking to lean on their teammates and camaraderie to make it through such a tragic time for our town. The football players were tossing a ball in the hall, which almost hit a teacher in the back of the head. A couple of field hockey players were twirling their sticks in the air to show off a few tricks they made up before their coach ordered them to stop 'lolly-gagging' and get to the field. The cheerleaders were heading to the gym to practice their tumbling exercises with their bows and ponytails high on their heads. They passed a couple of swimmers who were mingling with a few friends who were in the process of trying to get the school to allow them to start a water polo team. Walking passed them, the head cheerleader said a friendly hello to the captain of the swim team before following the throng of her teammates down the hall. It was a gesture that would have gone unnoticed by most, the captain's slight head nod in her friend's direction, and the cheerleader's twirl of her fingers as a curt wave. Standing on the edge of the crowd, I noticed.

The cliques in high school weren't as big of a deal here as they were in books and movies. We were able to mingle with almost everyone, with an exception to the few people who chose to ignore the loose borders between groups and try to seem like they were more important than those around them, and as an excuse to start drama. Some members of certain groups chose to cause a friendly stir between teams. Field hockey players had shirts that said 'If field hockey was easy, they would call it football'. The cheerleaders would pull a few pranks on the swimmers every now and then for being open about their thoughts on whether cheerleading was a sport or not by hiding a few of their swim bags before they could head out to our local recreation center for practice. Shady Rec held a pool, a small gym with equipment that nearly everyone in town used, even the football players, and an indoor basketball court.

I enjoyed the loose borders that formed our small groups, it allowed me to flow freely between people. Even though I was typically alone, I had an easy time transitioning between one conversation to another with a different person. Everyone was widely accepting, except to new people. Even if we didn't have anything in common, we had all grown up together, and we knew everything about each other. For the most part, we were a part of each other's family drama. In towns as small as Shady Hallows, nothing stayed secret for long, especially not scandalous tidbits, and marital issues.

There had been a student in a relationship with one of our teachers, but once the news had gotten out the girl's family relocated out of state, and the teacher was promptly fired. He left town not long after. I think his reputation around town was starting to get to him, and he couldn't handle the sideways glances that he got. Other than that, the other main juicy tidbits that went around were relationship information. When there were affairs, the word spread like wildfire. It was almost as bad as having our mayor paint a scarlet A onto their backs while they were distracted and sending them on a walk down Main Street. Everyone knew about their infidelity, but we all pretended that we had no knowledge on the topic.

I walked passed a few of the straggling cheerleaders who hadn't made their way to the gym yet. A few smiled at me while others ignored me; the fluidity of social groups showing within each group. I waved as I passed, and headed for the main entrance to the school just as the football players began to clamor for the ball that someone had just sent flying through the air. Judging from the yelling that I heard, the ball had come into contact with the principal. I left through the main doors as soon as the threat of being pulled from the homecoming game sent the players into silence. That was the one thing our town really looked forward to during the year. Well, that and the Fourth of July. Anything they could make a big party out of was celebrated. The homecoming game was a huge event for the football players because whoever played in the game was not only cheered for but showered with attention and affection from every member in town. No one missed the homecoming games. There was a huge cookout before, and a bonfire afterwards to celebrate our win since we typically played a team that we knew we could beat for that game.