Wendy couldn’t help but just stare at the mysterious new kid whose locker was across the hall and diagonal from hers and her friend Abby’s. She was also currently spacing out as Abby went on about her plans for her and Tucker’s two-year anniversary.
“I was thinking about taking him to his favorite restaurant, since last year he took me to mine. What do you think, Wendy?”
“Yeah…”
Abby slammed her locker door shut.
“Wendy!”
“Huh, what? I think it’s a great idea that you go to the restaurant where you had your first date!”
Abby stared at her. “That’s not what I said, but that’s a good idea.”
“Glad I could help. So what do you know about the new kid?”
Abby glanced over at him and cringed. He was just standing there, staring into his empty locker. He must have felt two pairs of eyes on him because he slowly turned to look at the girls. He had on pasty white foundation, messy black eyeliner, and red lipstick that went up the corners of his mouth giving him a creepy grin. Although Abby turned away, Wendy continued to stare into those coal black eyes through his messy black fringe.
“He’s so interesting…”
“He’s also a killer.”
Wendy whirled around and looked at her friend.
“At least that’s what I heard around town. Apparently he’s on the run because he’s suspected of murdering his entire family. Now he’s living with some rich distant relative across town.”
“You don’t believe that do you? I bet it’s just a rumor. I mean, come on.”
Abby once again glanced over at the boy, who was still staring at Wendy.
“He creeps me out. I’d stay away from him if I were you.”
“Oh, come on! Give him a chance. I bet he was ostracized at his last school just because he was different.”
“I still have a bad feeling about him, Wen. Maybe those kids at his last school were on to something.”
Wendy rolled her eyes as Tucker strode up to them.
“Hey ladies, what’s going on?”
“Hey babe!” Abby said, kissing him.
Tucker looked expectantly at Wendy, who had returned the strangers gaze. Finally, Tucker tapped her on the shoulder.
“Ahem.”
“Oh, hi Tuck! Happy two-year anniversary.”
“Thanks Wen, I was—”
“What do you know about the new kid?”
Tucker shared a worried glance with his girlfriend.
“You mean the Joker wannabe? I heard he’s a serial killer and that this town his just the latest in a long string of towns he’s terrorized.”
“Are you serious!?” Abby gasped.
“Nah, I’m bullshittin ya. But I have heard that he’s dangerous.” He took Wendy by the shoulders and turned her around to look at him.
“I know you like weirdoes, Wen. But he’s bad news. So Stay. Away.”
“Ugh.” Abby rolled her eyes and stepped out of his grasp.
“Whatever, Tuck. Why don’t you guys go make googly eyes at each other or something?”
Abby smiled.
“Not a bad idea. It is our anniversary after all, and this is our last year in high school. Why don’t we have a little fun?”
She took his arm and pulled him towards a janitor’s closet just as the bell rang.
Wendy turned and pretended to rummage through her locker. She would never admit that she was jealous of her best friend’s relationship, since Wendy had so much rotten luck with them. But at the same time she was happy for her, and knew that she was in good hands because the three of them had been best friends for a long time. All of her own relationships never lasted long, but maybe she just hadn’t found the right guy yet.
Wendy turned around to see that the hallway was just about empty. The boy was still there, staring into his locker once again. Wendy started to head to class, but turned again to look at him. He would probably be teased and avoided by everyone else in school. She remembered how no one would talk to her because she was different, until Abby, and later Tucker, came around. Wendy took a deep breath, and marched over to him.
Although she knew he heard her approaching, he didn’t immediately turn around. Knowing that it would probably be rude, she craned her neck to see what he was looking at. It was a picture, taped to the back of his locker, of what looked like a happy family. There were the parents and two smiling little boys, one with black hair and one with brown. Wendy guessed that the black-haired one was him. As she squinted at the picture, she thought she saw that someone had scribbled large smiles on their faces in red pen. Just as she was trying to get a better look, he turned around.
“Oh, um, hi!”
The boy cocked his head at her. Wendy had to admit that up close, he looked a little scarier. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept in months, and his pasty white make-up made him look like a ghost.
“My name is Wendy. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need anyone to show you around, I’m just across the hall. I know it’s not easy being the new kid.”
He turned to close his locker and then faced her again. Wendy shuffled her feet.
“So um, what’s your name?”
“Jeff."
Wendy winced at the sound of his voice. It sounded dry, like he needed to drink a glass of water.
“Well, Jeff, how about I show you to your first class?”
As Wendy gently took the crumpled up schedule from him, an image flashed through her mind as their fingers touched. It was of herself, covered in blood, and pointing an accusatory finger at her. “Wha…” Wendy felt woozy for a moment. She leaned against the locker for support.
“Are you alright… Wendy?” Jeff asked, amused.
“Yeah.” She straightened up. “Let’s go, shall we?”
Wendy wondered what it meant as they walked down the hall. Could it be an omen? Did it have something to do with Jeff? No, that’s impossible. Jeff seemed like a nice guy, and it’s not like she actually saw a vision or anything. It was probably nothing, nothing at all.
~END~