Stranded Pixels of Us

Hey, Wait up!

"So, about that project that I gave you, I think the both of you should pair up. You know, come up with something and work on it together", Mr Mount said.

    Could Drake have been any more relieved? He was totally happy that what had troubled him all day had finally been settled. He now had the luxury of another partner, one who he was in awe of.

    After the end of the APP class, Drake packed his bag and left quite speedily.

    "Hey! Drake! Wait up!", Alessia said as she walked towards him.

    Drake halted as soon as he heard his name. He couldn't remember the last time he heard someone who wasn't a teacher call his name. He turned to look behind and saw Alessia. He was speechless, maybe it was wiser to tie his tongue than spit out a thousand irrelevant words that were on the edge of his throat. 

    "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in the class", Alessia said with a look of sincerity.

    "Uncomfortable?", Drake replied looking puzzled.

    "About the project, I am sure you already had something planned and I just ruined that.", Alessia explained.

    "No, you didn't ruin anything. As a matter of fact, I really had nothing planned, so technically, you did save me, and I'm grateful", Drake said with a lighter countenance.

    Alessia smiled as he spoke and they walked through the hallway together, heading out of school. After some seconds of awkward silence, Drake summoned the courage to pick up a conversation.

    "So, why APP?", Drake asked rather shyly as he didn't want to pry.

    "I love physics and APP was offering something that the others weren't ready to give", Alessia exhaled and replied.

    Before Drake could come up with something else to say, they were at the entrance already and a woman who looked like Alessia's mum was waving.

    "I gotta go. See you tomorrow?", Alessia said as she left his side.

    "Yeah, see you tomorrow", Drake replied slowly as she had already left his side. He smiled inside his body as he trekked away from school.

    "zzzz zzzz", Drake's phone vibrates in his jean pocket during Mrs Anna's class. He brings out the phone stealthily and sees a notification of a new message.

"A message?", Drake thought to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had one, and was expecting his regular notification to the media outlet he'd subscribed to.

Yet cautiously, he unlocked his phone and checked the message which read,

"The class is a drag. Meet me in the hallway in 5. From Alessia."

Each of these words he read made his heart leap in something that could be described as happiness, as he suddenly had a broad grin on his cheeks and maybe a blush, surely not on his face but in his brain.

In a couple minutes of anxiety, happiness and newness, he asked for permission to leave the class and headed to the hallway. He was nervous as he was trying to do away with the sweat showering from his head like he had a fever.

Unintentionally, he was pacing the hallway and muttering some inaudible words to himself. He was there endlessly, and when he felt like it had been long enough, he went to the toilet.

He opened the toilet door and after he took a few steps in, he saw a writing in red paint on the mirror which said, "When an orphan boy forgets his place, it's our job to help him find it."

He suddenly started hyperventilating and imagined the world was collapsing right on top of him. He knew whose work this was and that fear triggered the quick arousal of all of the hair on his body.

He opened the tap hoping to calm down and almost immediately, the toilet doors flung open violently. They were here, all of them this time. Nathan, the tallest of them all had a chin so sharp it could cut a ply wood wide open. Then there was James, moderately tall, slightly shorter than Drake, but heavily built. It was no surprise that he was the school's quarter back. And there was Hakim; black and with a blank expression that always read, "Don't mess with me".

    This time around, Hakim had already clenched his fists and they were all advancing towards the entirely frightened Drake whose only sound was his shaky breath.

    James threw the first punch and hit Drake right in the face and faster than you could imagine, blood was already finding its path from the side of his face and nostrils.

    Drake couldn't think of anything to do, he surrendered to his helplessness and just stood there, stiff and in pain.

    "So a new girl finds her way into our class and you somehow believe that you stand a chance because you're the most worthy, right?", Nathan shouted in a terrifying voice as he pushed Drake into one of the empty toilets.