The Monster & Her Many Forms

Part Three: Chapter Seven

On a normal day—a normal day being any day before all of this happened—I would wait outside the art room for Sky. Both our fourth block classes were on the same floor in the same building you see. But given the circumstances, I tore out of that class like a bat out of Hell. And there was one thing worth noting. Both Wolf and Dough Ball had a class on that floor as well. Either that or they walked in the same direction as Sky and me to get to the buses. And of course, they were both friends with Sky. I tucked my tail and plugged in my earbuds. I caught up with a different friend of mine who walked the same route to get to their bus.

We chatted for all of two minutes and then parted ways to our respectful bus. Just as I was about to put my music back on, I looked behind me. Wolf, Dough Ball, and Sky had formed their own makeshift pack and were cackling loudly. I turned away from them and kept walking. Then I heard a loud scream come from behind me. Again, I whipped around and saw them. My hackles raised instantly. They were far enough behind me that I couldn't make out their features, so I couldn't tell if they were laughing. But I had the feeling that scream was meant for me. I quickened my step and boarded the bus as fast as I could. I wasn't scared, I was just startled.

I took out my phone and started up my music again. The bus engine rumbled to life and it began bouncing its way out of the school parking lot. I got a text. It was from Sky. It was a long one that I can't recall in its entirety. But it touched all of the following points:

-I'm sick of being the nice guy

-I gave you plenty of chances to apologize

-I feel stupid for having even been friends with you in the first place

-I should have listened to Wolf when she warned me about you

-I really thought we were gonna be friends forever

-You wasted my tenth-grade year

-Now I have to find a new Tik Tok friend

-I look back on all the times that you held me and comforted me when I was sad and feel like you saw me as pathetic

-I bought you tickets to Anime Weekend Atlanta as a surprise but now I'll have to give them to someone else

-I'll find someone else to be on the panel with me

The texts continued to flow in even as I got off the bus and walked up the block. More came as I got in the house and after I had taken my evening shower. I was in the kitchen making pancakes for dinner when another one rolled in. I had just finished reading all the other ones that she sent me. There were at least 27 at that point.

Sky: I'll give you one more chance to talk. I still wanna hear your side of things. You have until 10:30 tonight to respond to this. After that you don't get any more chances.

I flipped the pancake in the skillet and scrambled to pick up my phone. I typed a quick message. I checked for spelling errors, added a few emojis and sent it out. I told her that I would be waiting for her outside tomorrow on one of the benches. I apologized for the delayed time and explained I was making pancakes. She sent back a short, curt response and that was all. I went to bed that night full of anxiety.