Finding Me Read Free

detained in line like this? I believe I will express my concerns to my father. This school is indebted to us students. We pay an abundance of money to attend, to have…”
    Trevor was a complainer. He complained about everything. It didn’t help that he had the most grating nasal voice either. And he talked like a Harvard professor and not a normal 12 th grader. I pretended to listen, but I allowed my mind to wander back to the strange events that led to my emotional breakdown and the need to go home early.
    Navigating my relationship with Zack had proved difficult. It was simple: he wanted more romance; I wanted more friendship. He appeared oblivious to this. In fact, his behavior had been odd the past few months. Resigned to remain friends, my mood soured when he tried to kiss me. But we did pretend on occasion – when our parents were around. Unfortunately, all the stress of maintaining a fake romantic relationship had begun to wear on our usually impenetrable friendship.
    He was my rock. The one constant person I could depend on. But lately, all I’d wanted to do was throw knives at him.
    I had begged Matt to drive me to school early today so I could avoid Zack. Matt, the ultimate slacker, charged me a US History paper for his time.
    When we arrived at school, all seemed normal. I rounded the junior corner to my locker but stopped short. Zack stood at his locker, right next to mine, clad in his football uniform. I’d forgotten about morning football practice.
    “Dang it,” I said. “There goes my day.”
    He leaned on his locker and talked to Casey, a mutual friend of ours. I whirled on my heels. I didn’t need my book for my first period class, I’d share with someone else and snag my second period book later.
    When I’d made the decision to forego the locker, I glanced behind me to ensure Zack and Casey hadn’t spotted me. To my surprise, they embraced – a sensual embrace. Zack ran his hands through Casey’s short, spiky blonde hair. Then they closed the gap between them and kissed.
    Baffled, I stopped and stood with my mouth agape and eyes transfixed. It took a moment for what they were doing to register. What does a girl do in a situation like this?
    I laughed. Hysterically. Our relationship had been anything but normal. My reaction was a side effect of it. To regain my composure, I escaped to the small space between the janitor’s closet and the water fountain nearest me. I leaned my head against the gray metal door and continued to giggle lightly.
    He could have told me. I would’ve been relieved. No more pretending.
    I bit my bottom lip to suppress the fit of giggles that still lingered. Then I circled back to see if they were still kissing. They weren’t. They stood directly in front of me. Due to my laughing fit, I hadn’t noticed the two of them walk up. They held hands. Wow, they turned into a couple fast. Startled, Zack dropped Casey’s hand. “Chloe,” he said. His mouth twisted and his uncommonly dark eyes pleaded.
    I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation. I snapped to and spun around to leave. Zack grabbed my hand. He bulldozed me with his large muscular body and yanked me to him.
    “We need to talk. Now.” His voice was shrill and his hands were moist against mine. With one fluid motion, he released my hand and seized me by the waist.
    I tried to pry his hands away, but his grip was too tight. That was when I felt the zap and the nightmare really began.
    A chill ran through me as the image of his bloody body became clearer in my mind. As if I’d taken a photo of the scene and examined it again. Unable to relive another minute, I shut the memory down as a bloodcurdling scream nearly escaped my lips.
    I strained to suppress the memory that didn’t want to stay at bay and shook my head and threw my hands up to rub my forehead. Shamefully, I struck a new student being escorted by Dr. Michaels, the headmaster.
    He carried an armload of papers and books when we collided. It all