Maze

2

September 2008, 11:01 AM

"Cassandra!"

"Here!"

"Chloe!"

"Here..."

"Christopher!"

At the mention of a particular name, I snapped out of my lingering drowsiness. Right, he was in this class... or supposed to be, because I didn't hear any response.

"Christopher?" Ms. Jones repeated, glancing up from the attendance list. She adjusted her glasses as she scanned through everyone, but there I noticed... there was obviously not going to be a reply when the bubbly blond boy was not even present.

"Wasn't Christopher here today?"

"Maybe he ditched midway?"

"But I saw him in my math class!"

The murmurs of my classmates didn't hesitate to occupy the room as they shared gazes with each other. The blooming joy of seeing him being finally in my class after all these years, instantly turned into uneasiness that forced its weight against me. Something's not right. What's going on? Ed never once ditched a class before.

Heck, he was present in the morning. I even talked with him before we went to our classes, and that energy he had been carrying from elementary school never died down. For two years, that confidence was one of the many things I hoped to see everyday; it never failed to lift my spirits up. Now, it was as if he vanished into the air.

An unknown force hammered against my chest while I properly checked every corner of the classroom. All I wanted to see was for him to just show up, acting like nothing happened. Maybe he's hiding and trying to prank his teacher again. He likes to do that...

A few minutes had flown by. There were still no signs of him popping out from his hiding place, yelling BOO! and causing the teacher to be unhappy with his antics. Where did he possibly go? Why is here not here...?

Aly.

Perhaps Aly might have a clue. She was in art class alongside Edward before, assuming he was there. Not to mention, Raphy was also with them, so there were more people to ask for. I nodded to myself as I leaned against my chair. Aly's not here right now, but I can just talk to her later-

"Ah yes..." Ms. Jones interrupted through all the murmurs. "There has been a terrible accident and Christopher... was involved. He was sent to the hospital."

Huh... what? Accident...? Hospital?

My heart dropped hard. Those were simple words, but my mind somehow could not process it in one go. Even more questions, rather than clear answers, were attacking my head at once. What happened? What's going on? What does she mean? Was Aly involved? Was she okay? Was Edward and Raphy... okay?

Gasps erupted out from some of the students, and their whispers erupted into full blown conversations. For someone who hated when her classmates could not zip their mouths, Ms. Jones never bothered silencing them. She... was just looking blankly at some space, doing nothing.

Her and my other classmates were not helping with the tension at all; in fact, they helped make it worse. I was just sitting right here... stuck to my chair and staring at Lynn, as if she had some answers. Her blue eyes were wide in circles, addressing me with the same dreaded stare.

"It's fine... Maybe he just..." Lynn paused as she twirled on her long black hair. "Maybe he just had an injury that needs... some medical attention?"

"T-That could be possible, but I just hope he's o-okay..." I muttered, but even with her reasoning and how much I tried agreeing with her, it couldn't stop the bad feeling from growing inside of me. My fingers were shivering like mad, although it was not even cold here. Well, if he's going to the hospital, he's obviously not fine.

She nodded rather stiffly. "Yeah, we gotta ask Aly and Raphy. They must know something."

***

When lunch time arrived, Lynn and I only found Aly. Raphy was nowhere to be seen, not even with my best friend. Maybe he also went to the hospital with Edward?

Rather than from the art class, Aly had been sitting in the infirmary with her head hung low. Thankfully, I didn't notice any injuries or bandages on her, but my ribs clenched tightly at how chalk white her face was. Her gaze-dull and empty-was fixated on the floor, and her mouth dangled like an unopened door. I never saw her this... upset, and it's making me even more worried.

"Aly..." I called out.

"Aly, do you know... what happened during art class?" Lynn asked before I could, stepping forward. "We both didn't see Raphy anywhere, so I was wondering if you..."

She didn't manage to finish her question, because not only was there no response, but she didn't want to look at both of us. To add more, her entire limbs started to tremble uncontrollably as she latched her arms around her chest. I don't want to see her like this... I have to say something.

"A-Aly..." I gulped. "Are y-"

"I... I..." She spoke out, but her voice was extremely unstable. "I saw Raphy... h-he was g-going over to Chrissy to show h-his work, b... but R-Raphy..."

When tears started forming in her eyes and rained down her cheeks, both Lynn and I couldn't move from our spots. We were forced to hear Aly's wails getting louder than ever. The nurse burst out of the next room and sank down next to her, embracing my best friend and caressing her head.

No... Aly had always been the toughest girl I ever met in my life. Seeing her crying like this and for me not being able to comfort her, it seriously stabbed my heart. I couldn't even hold back my own tears from slipping out. Why's Aly crying like this... what happened?

The clinic's door abruptly flung open, and came Seb. He collapsed into pants in front of us, holding his knees with his hands, before he faced us. Total distress was painted all over his face; another feature I have never seen on him before.

"Seb! Do you know C-"

"I know... I know what happened. If I don't... I won't be... looking for you..." Seb said between his heavy breaths. He wiped his chin, holding his other hand up and stopping Lynn from speaking further. His brows twitched and he bit his lips when Aly's sobs continued racking up the area.

"I... I heard from the others..." Seb ruffled his hair. "Apparently, Raphy tripped on his foot while he was holding a pair of scissors, and it..." he swallowed. "It went into Chris' eye..."

And at that moment, the world came crashing down. Aly's piercing cries and Lynn's comments instantly became a blur to my ears. All of those baskets of questions floating in my head... were crushed until there was nothing left. I couldn't even describe all the variety of emotions rushing through me.

No, this is not real.

This was just a stupid nightmare my brain decided to create for no reason, and I have to get myself out of here fast. I wanted to see myself lying on my bed while my younger brother scowled at me for not waking up for school. I wanted to forget that this scene ever existed. I found myself pinching my arm so hard, but instead of what I desperately wished for... I could only feel pain coursing through it.

No, it's real. It's really happening. It's not a dream, nor a nightmare. This is real.

The muscles on my legs suddenly felt all rubbery and weak, and I stumbled upon my position. I really thought I was going to fall into the floor, but a strong grip on my shoulders held me in place. I just don't want to believe this... but...

With tears breaking free out of my control, I let out a short whimper.