Trying to live

Chapter 12 (Edited)

Why was he making me feel so secure and something else I couldn't describe? I had never felt these emotions when I was with him. And now, they were the only feelings I had, alongside my annoyance, irritation, and anger towards him. I nodded at him, and together we crawled towards... well, I wasn't sure. But I had to find Rose, who had vanished into the food-laden chaos.

She technically started it, but she hadn't attacked random people—just Henry and Juliette. Someone else had instigated the entire food war. My thoughts were interrupted when a mix of pie, pasta, and salad landed in front of Cam and me.

Ugh, gross! They had really mixed everything together to create a food bomb. Cam motioned me to hide under a table. We split up, and I ended up under a table with someone who smiled at me strangely.

He smiled at me like I would when I wanted to escape a bad situation. After a few seconds, I realized it was Danny Lawson, who everyone claimed was crazy and had weird tendencies. I had heard about him, but he gave me creepy vibes. I shook my head and started to crawl out but didn't get far with his hand on my arm.

I turned around to see it was Danny. Duh, stupid girl, I thought. He was the only one with me under the table. "Don't go. It's dangerous out there," he said.

Why was he saying it like we were in an apocalypse and I would die if I crawled out? But he was trying to be nice, so I smiled at him. The smile faded when I felt someone getting too close to my hair a few seconds later. "Are you sniffing my hair?" I asked, disbelief in my voice.

"Noo," Danny drawled out. "I'm just close to you."

"You sure are," I said, creeped out, and slid away until I hit the leg of the table we were under. "Why are you making sniffing sounds?" I asked a few minutes later.

"Don't you find it intriguing when someone sniffs your hair? It turns me on," Danny said.

That was it for me. I stared at him sideways and saw him grinning at me. Danny still sniffed at my hair, so I kicked him in the shin and crawled out from under the table as fast as I could.

"Wait, Em!" I heard him groan after me, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be far away from him.

You know what's good? At least my glasses were intact and not dirty with food. I could see the cafeteria had turned into a chaotic mess—food was strewn across the ground, the tables, the walls, and mostly on the students. All of this had started because of a Chicken Caesar salad. I guess people will do weird stuff for the things they desire.

Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed Rose, who was now at the spot where we always stood in line for our trays. I crawled toward her quicker than I ever crawled as a baby. Yes, I had been that baby who refused to learn how to crawl or walk. I was a lazy baby, and I was proud of it.

When I reached Rose, I saw that she was on top of Henry. Of course, she would go after him. After all, he had stolen her salad. I stood up and glanced at my ruined school uniform. Not to worry; school uniform No.2 would replace No.1 just fine. For the rest of the day, I would wear my P.E. clothes—an ugly white t-shirt, even uglier jogging pants, and a hideous hoodie.

As I neared them, I heard Henry's voice. "Get off me, you psycho!"

Rose gave a short, defiant laugh. "If I'm a psycho, what does that make you?"

"Maybe a normal human being," Henry retorted, trying to pry her wrists free.

Rose clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Nuh-uh, you're a thief."

"You do realize you started a food war over a salad?" Henry asked, his voice a mixture of disbelief and frustration.

I glanced around, hoping to spot Henry's friends or his annoyingly smug girlfriend, but they were nowhere in sight. Perhaps that was why Rose seemed to have the upper hand. It was peculiar to see Henry pinned under her like this. As I scanned the cafeteria, I caught sight of my brother leaving alone. He didn't even attempt to help Henry. What was wrong with him?