Ante | ONC2021 Round II Qualifier

III. Lights Out

The Gemma pin on my shirt glinted in the sun as I walked through the halls. It worked magic on the people around me — one glance at the silver, diamond-shaped 'G' was all it took for them to give me a wide berth. It was like one of those ancient tales about a man who parted the sea, except this sea was a high school hallway filled with teenagers, and I was a Gemma who had just turned fourteen.

An arm slung roughly around my shoulder and a quick glance up told me it was Kel. I relaxed, rolling my eyes. He grinned, his dark curls falling over his face. His own silver Gemma pin winked at me as the empty space around us widened, whispers and narrowed gazes surrounding us. We ignored them all, the both of us used to being avoided.

I suppose Kel and I made a strange pair. Gemma tended to be isolated and as a result, were rarely seen in a group. For two Gemma to be friends in the same school and the same grade was unusual.

"What's your schedule like?" he asked, making a motion to tap my Cyband. I let him and he pulled up my timetable. He brought up his own schedule and set the displays side by side, comparing the two. "Looks like we have different teachers for social studies and chemistry."

We gazed at the schedules in pensive silence. Kel and I had been in the same classes for eight years — to suddenly be separated was unsettling. After a moment, Kel patted my shoulder and stood straight. He'd recently hit a growth spurt and was an enviable couple inches taller than I, and he made a point of it whenever he could.

"Well, the material should still be the same," Kel said, giving a shrug. "We can still study together." He appeared nonchalant and relaxed, but there was a forced edge to it that told me he was also nervous about the change. I gave a slow nod of agreement.

A loud, three-part chime rang through the school, each note a descending third that did nothing to quiet the hubbub in the halls. If anything, the noise grew louder as teenagers yelled at each other and began making their way to the gymnasium for the orientation assembly. Kel took a step forward, but I tapped his arm as I turned around.

"I'm going to the washroom first," I said, "I'll meet you there." Kel nodded and we split ways.

I had seen the washroom sign earlier in the day and I traced my way back towards it from what I could remember. I was part of the way there when I heard a voice call out in the emptied hallway.

"Hey, Gemma," it said.

I turned around to see a boy my age. He frowned at having my attention on him, even though he'd been the one to call out to me.

"Teacher's asking for you." He made a motion for me to follow. I trailed behind him as he led me down a separate hallway and to a set of double doors that looked suspiciously different from the rest of the school's classroom doors. They opened from the inside, revealing three other boys, all of them taller and a couple years older than I was. None of their gazes were friendly.

Too late, I realized what was happening. Panic flared in my gut. I scrambled back but the boy I'd followed planted his hands on my shoulders and shoved me forward. The others grabbed my sleeves, dragging me in.

"Nothing personal," he said as the doors closed, leaving him outside and myself trapped with the other three boys.

The room was a large storage closet, though most of its shelves were empty. A stack of chairs filled one corner, and there were several rugs rolled up and propped against a wall. The entire room was filled with a distinct, musty smell. Overhead, the light hummed and flickered. I tried to shake off the boys holding my arms, but they held fast.

"Can't believe they let Gemma scum in our school," one boy said. He had a rather narrow, rat-like face. The others — one with big ears and the other with a bad haircut — grunted in agreement. Rat Face glared and I could feel the heat of his hatred in his stare. He growled, "You Gemma killed my mother."