• Fairy Dust
    Chapter Two



    The next morning I walked with Kat to school almost completely forgetting about the events that occurred the day before. With each random battering Kat and I fired at each other, the easier I felt about the day ahead of me. I almost felt completely better, until I saw a dark figure up ahead.

    It was Erik. He was sitting on the school’s bench playing a guitar. His outfit was more inviting today, and his jeans and orange graphic tee didn’t cover up his face so I could finally examine what he looked like.

    His hair was a light, wavy brown that covered the top of his forehead, and seemed to blend in well with the golden tones in his hazel eyes. His right ear had approximately 4 piercings from what I could notice, and I could see the edges of what appeared to be a tattoo peaking out from the sleeve of his shirt.

    He looked up from his guitar and his eyes met mine, and I knew that he caught me staring at him. “Do you want to stop?” Kat asked, following my eyes to Erik.

    “Uhm, no, let’s just get going. I don’t want to be late for class,” I said, as I snapped my attention back to Kat.

    “Rose - we’re a half hour early, remember?” Kat said, raising an eyebrow.

    “Oh yeah, totally knew that,” I said, mentally smacking myself. I tried to come up with a quick save, “I was just testing you.”

    I saw Kat shake her head and sigh as we entered the half-empty school. Nobody was here this early except a couple of teachers, and a small handful of students. The hallway our lockers were was completely deserted. “It’s kinda creepy here this early,” I said, shivering.

    “Have I ever told ya the story of the two freshmen who were murdered in these halls?” Kat said, jokingly.

    “Hilarious,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at her. Yet, when we heard a door slam we both jumped out of our skins. And you’ll never guess who it was.

    Erik.

    He was carrying his guitar in a case and it appeared he was heading straight toward us, but in reality he was headed towards his locker, which was three down from mine. “He’s everywhere,” I thought out loud, groaning agitatedly.

    Kat and I watched in amusement as he tried to fit his guitar, case and all, into the school’s cramped locker. We didn’t hold in our laughter. He didn’t seem to notice though, he barely seemed to notice our presence. “C’mon, sweetie, a little more, I know you can fit, I know it,” I listened to him mutter encouragingly to his… guitar.

    “Did you just call your guitar.. Sweetie?!” Kat shouted to Erik, roaring with laughter. I started to laugh too.

    “Maybe, we should help him,” I said, wiping the tears of laughter from my cheek.

    “Oh, no, this is much more entertaining!” Kat said, starting up another fit of laughter.

    Ignoring Kat’s objection, I went to help him. “Here, let me..” I reached out to help him push his guitar into the locker when he slapped my hand away and glared at me. I watched his eyes go dark, “…help..?”

    “Do you have ANY idea what this is?!?!?!” He shouted angrily.

    I flinched. “Uhm, a guitar..?” I answered quietly.

    “Not just any guitar, a Fender Stratocaster. FENDER STRATOCASTER!” He shouted once more, shaking me with his one free hand. I could hear Kat laughing in the background, clearly she wasn’t going to come to my rescue as for this was way too entertaining for her. “And now your fingerprints are all over it,” Erik bowed his head, and I could hear the grief pouring through his words.

    What a drama queen. “Uhm sorry,” I watched as he shook his head, and went back to trying to force it in his locker. I began to walk away, when I turned to him and said, “Y’know, they have places to store your instruments in the band room. Your ‘sweetie’ would be under lock and key if you decided to keep it there, instead of trying to force it into your locker,” and with that I walked off to the bathroom, dragging Kat behind me.

    I could still hear her laughing as we entered the girl’s bathroom. “Try talking to him again’ yeah right,” I said, mocking her advice she gave me last night. “That worked real well, thanks a lot Kat.” I said, glaring at her.

    I watched her light a cigarette as she still shook with laughter. “I told you I liked him, you need someone to put ya in your place,” I glared at her again. “But yeah, I guess he is a ‘lil nutty with the whole guitar ‘sweetie’ thing..”

    “A little?” I said, lowering my eyes. If you call your guitar “sweetie” you have more than just a little issues. “And you know I don’t like you smoking, especially at school. It’s bad for you!” I said, attempting to whack it out of her hands.

    “Who are ya, my mum? I know this guy who lived to be over a hundred and smoked - the media is all just a bunch of rubbish. Ya learn the real truth on the streets.”

    I shook my head at how idiotic, and stubborn Kat was being. There was no changing her, and even if it killed her, she wouldn’t admit that she was wrong.





    By the time we left the bathroom, the halls were already swarming with students. It never ceased to amaze me how loud some people could be, especially in the morning. Yet, as we headed down the hall towards our lockers, it became dead silent.

    We watched as everyone went up against their lockers, clearing the path for the 3 ‘mafia’ chicks. “Well that’s new,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

    “I’ve got a couple classes with ‘em, and they never even do anything. Just do their work, answer some questions, and leave. Never another peep out of ‘em,” Kat gawked at them as if she admired them. “I don’t know why, but there is something about them that’s.. a ‘lil frightening.” The adoration in her voice worried me.

    “Kat, EARTH to Kat! That isn’t exactly a good thing!” I said, shaking her. Had she completely lost her mind?

    “Huh, look they are coming our way,” She said, staring at them in fascination. I tried pulling her out of the middle of the hall, but she wouldn’t budge.

    The blond one stopped abruptly just a few feet from Kat and I. The two others, the red head and black haired one, quickly followed the blonde’s lead. I saw them glance at each other, and then they split up and walked around us. Their expressions fathomless the whole time.

    “They’re nuttier than that dude,” Kat said, furrowing her eyebrow.

    “And that’s a huge accomplishment,” I said, nodding my head in agreement.

    After the bell rang, I offered to walk with Kat down to her first period class, but she simply denied saying that she had some stuff to do down in the library. It didn’t bother me any, it was normal for her to skip a class to go down to the library or computer lab - she loved to read. In fact, if my parents weren’t so gung-ho about my going to a decent college, I would be right down there with her.

    It seemed as though the more I dreaded on going to my physics class during third period, the faster my first two periods went by. By the time it did come to enter Mr. Krotzer’s classroom and take my seat next to the most-likely still fuming Erik, I debated running away to Canada. Of course, I didn’t have any money on hand nor a passport, so I was stuck with physics class.

    I entered the room slowly and took a quick glance at Erik before sitting down. His eyes were a lighter, softer color, but his mouth was shut. He looked the same way he did any other day, which was a good sign.

    “I finished grading the labs and I must admit, I was a tad bit disappointed with you all. Do you not remember anything from your other science classes? However, two people, not to mention the two lowest grade members in this class did the best.” I watched Mr. Krotzer wink in my direction and I grinned triumphantly.

    “Take that Erik - I don’t need your help to get an A,”     I thought to myself as Mr. Krotzer passed out the labs. The room filled with oh no’s, and my folk’s are gonna kill me’s. When he slapped my A+ lab onto my desk, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself.

    “I’m very impressed Mr. Collins. Coming from an all music school without any scientific experience it is outstanding to see someone such as yourself do so highly. And, you are a sophomore?” Mr. Krotzer’s voice snapped me out of my bubble as I swung my head around just in time to see Erik nod.

    After our teacher walked off, I glanced at his paper. It said he had an A+ as well. “How did you…” My voice trailed off, I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t even do anything the whole period, but sing!

    “I’m good at science,” Erik said quietly looking down.

    I stared at him at disbelief, my eyes widening motioning for him to go on, to give me a better explanation. He didn’t.



    I couldn’t wait to share this news with Kat during lunch, but she never showed up to our usual spot to meet up and go to lunch. I waited, and waited, and waited, I even asked a girl nearby if she saw Kat, but they said no. They hadn’t seen her all day.

    Worried, I tried to make up some sort of excuse for her absence in my mind, “Maybe she just got too carried away into one of her mangas, or had some sort of doctors appointment…” Then, I just gave up and walked to my locker to retrieve my lunch money. I turned my lock to the correct combination and it swung open. A piece of paper fell out.

    I hunched over and picked it up, it was a note in Kat’s handwriting:

    “Rosa, meet me tonight by our secret place at 11. I think… I know, I just know that something bad is going to happen soon. Please come. Kat.”