Chapter 1: In Which a Light Bulb Explodes, My School Catches Fire, and Everyone Blames Me.

So, for those of you reading this, hearing this, or seeing this, I want to apologize in advance for almost causing doomsday. It was only indirectly my fault, I swear. Anyway, if you are listening to what I have to say, just pretend this is a fiction story. The less you know about these guys, the better off you’ll be.

Anyway, the nightmare began three days before my sixteenth birthday and it was a completely normal day at first. Guys glaring at me, pushing me around. Girls fawning over and falling for me, literally and figuratively. (It’s such a pain in the ass.) Teachers looked at me worriedly as I passed their classrooms in the hallway, ducking back inside as soon as I was within two feet of them. To sum it all up? All the guys hate me, all the girls love me, and all of the teachers fear me.

The main reason for all this is that I am, apparently, “Totes super gorge (Insert Girl Squeals here)” I personally believe I’m not much to look at, but whatever. I don’t really care. So, the guys hate me because the girls love me and they kind of think I’m a freak. Reasons for that will come later. The teachers fear me for a completely different reason. I’m too smart for my own good. I correct them constantly and my test scores are through the roof, so now they’re worried I’m making them look incompetent. (Which they do on a daily basis without my help, but whatever.) Crap, I got off track! Back to the story.

When everything went downhill the hard way, I was sitting in my math class and everything was perfectly normal. Some jackass at a nearby table hit me in the back of the head with a wad of paper, but I gave no response except a sigh. A scattering a snickers came from guys around the classroom as I did my level best to ignore them. I glared at the numbers and equations on my page, trying to focus on the work in front of me. A few problems seemed to swim before my eyes, making me shut my eyes tight and put my hand to my head.

“Not again…” I groaned, my palm against my forehead as a winced. Just to clarify what was happening here, I’d been getting headaches and having fainting spells for a few days now. I don’t have a clue why and the doctors are obviously clueless as well, but they say it’s something with my blood. Again, I don’t really know.

“Uh, Angelo? You okay amigo?” I opened my eyes and rotated my head staring into the minty green eyes of my best, and one of my only friends, Zach Aria. Zach was a scrawny Hispanic boy, who worries. A LOT. Also, yes. My name is Angelo, Angelo LeBronte. Yes, my name means Angel. Also, yes. I’m fairly certain I am not female, thank you very much. Anyway, if you’re done laughing, I’ll continue.

“Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine, Zach. Calm down.” I muttered as the headache and the dizziness passed.

“Are you sure?” Zach pressed, his eyes filled with concern as he stared at me.

“Yeah, just a little tired.” That was even a lie either. I had gotten like zero sleep last night. I had just felt so energized last night, but now I feel like I got hit by a bus.

“If you say so dude.” Zach murmured. That’s Zach for you, because like I said, he’s a worrier. (Panicker to be more honest.) Another paper ball smacked me in the head, bouncing onto the floor. This action induced another round of snickers from the kids around me, once again, mainly guys. This was my daily life, so I was pretty used to it. Unfortunately, today things went another route. As soon as the third paper wad hit me in the head, I was sleep deprived, tired, and in an even crappier mood than usual. So, I snapped my head around angrily, glaring in the direction of which the paper had come.

Then, the lights exploded in a shower of sparks all over the room. Girls shrieked in terror, guys yelled in confusion, and everyone ducked underneath the tables to take cover from the falling shards. The fragments from the light bulbs fell down to the floor, still burning hot from the explosion and the heats of the coils inside them. One shard barely glanced my leg and I could feel the searing heat as I rolled out of the way and under a table with Zach.

“What the Hell just happened there?” I yelled, still shook from the loud bang the explosion had caused when it occurred.

“Don’t know. Maybe a fuse blew? An overload?” Zach speculated, cautiously peering out from under the table, looking a little skittish.

“I don’t think a blown fuse would cause THAT, Zach.” I replied as I slowly clambered out from underneath the table now that glass seemed to have stopped falling.

“That may be true.” Zach murmured, seeming a little calmer than before. He stood up besides me, stepping around the glass carefully so he didn’t burn or stab himself. “But it seems the most likely and logical answer to the situation.”

“You’re probably right Zach.” I shrugged, but something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me. Something about what had just happened felt… unnatural. Before I could put any more thought into everything, my math teacher, Mr. Sheree hurried us out into the hallway.

“Just remain calm, stay here, stay together, and everything will be just fine children!” Mr Sheree instructed us with forced cheerfulness as he rushed off down the hallway to the office. After Mr. Sheree vanished around a corner, I turned to Zach with my eyebrow raised.

“Feel like hitting the teachers lounge with me, dude?” I asked him, not bothering to keep my voice down. No one for some reason ever had the guts to rat me out, much less stop me.

“Angelo, no. Don’t do it, think about what you’re doing!” Zach warned me, shaking his head slowly. “Do you even remember what happened last time to pulled a stunt like this? Trying to sneak into a employees only area? Please tell me you aren’t going to prank anyone this time...” Pfft, who didn’t remember what happened last time? (Long story short, I got suspended for three days, grounded for a week, and the incident involved a frog, the fire suppressors, and several pounds Barbie heads.) But that’s another story for another time.

“I’ll be more careful this time and I’m not going to prank anyone! I promise. Also. I already apologized for catching your hair on fire.” Zach gave me a look. “Okay, fine. Twice.” Zach still glared at me. “ OKAY, GEEZ! Three times, but the third time wasn’t my fault! Louise knocked the match out of my hand and onto her nail polish remover!” I whined, trying to make him relax.

“Why did you have a lit match in the first-place, Angelo? Also, I had a bald spot for the longest time!”

“First of all, it was all for the sake of science and it was only a month! So, get over yourself.”

“But my glorious, glorious hair Angelo!”

“It’s JUST HAIR, DUDE!” I cried, throwing my hands in the hair as I started to walk in the direction of the lounge. “Since you’re not coming, if you need me, I’ll be eating Mrs. MacFluers cheetos.”

“IF YOU GET SUSPENDED AGAIN, DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU!” Zach yelled after me. I turned, walking backwards and cheerfully flipped him off with a grin on my face. Then, I pivoted on my heel and turned a corner towards the land of Cheetos and recliners.

⛈

A few minutes later, I was doing exactly what I told Zach I would be when he found me. I was relaxing in one of the teachers Laz-E-Boy recliners as I ate Mrs. MacFluers Cheetos from a jumbo bag. Zach groaned and rushed in when he saw what I was doing.

“I didn’t think you were actually serious about this, Angelo! You can’t just be eating someone else Cheetos, let alone Mrs. MacFluers!” My friend hissed, ripping the bag out of my hands angrily.

“So? Why not?” I asked Zach serenely, licking the cheesy Cheeto powder from my fingers, “I’m technically doing her a favor if you ask me. Mrs. MacFluers the one always complaining how she can never stick to a diet or routine. So, by eating all of her junk food, I’m helping her and getting rid of temptation.” I shrugged and Zach put his head in his hands, shaking his head.

“Just come on. We need to hurry back to the class now, Mr. Sheree will coming back soon.” Zach snapped, as he tried and failed to unsuccessfully pull me out of my very comfortable seat.

“Calm down, dude. We’ll be just fine!” I assured him with a wave of my hand, brushing him off. “You always worry too much man, try to live a little!” I let myself sink a little further into the recliner.

“Seriously, Angelo. We need to get out of here NOW!” Zach was getting angry, which was unusual, but not unheard of. His mint green eyes look like pieces of stained glass as he half-glared, half-stared at me. “So, stop acting like a stubborn, spoiled, ridiculous child and get out of that chair!”

“Zach, if you want to be a good little boy and sit in classes for the rest of the day, be my guest. I won’t stop you, but I’m fine right where I am.” Now should be the time to tell you I am just a wee bit temperamental. “Or, here’s my favorite option! Why don’t you just go to Hell instead?” I said, my voice filled with fake cheer, and a cheesy grin plastered on my face. An emotion flashed across Zach’s face for a split second. It had looked like terror, but why would he be afraid? Then Zach’s face set in a stony glare, which unsettled me.

“Oh, don’t you worry Angelo. I think I’m going there real soon.” Zach replied, his voice suddenly stripped of practically all emotion. Turning, his scrawny arms tense and shaking, Zach prepared to stalk out the door when we heard the screams of students and then the shrill, piercing sound of the fire alarm. These were both followed by the sound of running feet and the next thing we knew, a hoard of students sprinted by the room, not noticing the two teenage boys who stared in confusion.

“What’s happening around here today?” I yelled, finally rising to my feet, my hands over my ears, and quickly walked across the lounge to the door. I opened the door wide and was blindsided by the intense smell of smoke which began to sting my now watering eyes. “Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire…”

“Angelo, what did you DO?” Zach wheeled on me, his face showing that he was done with me today.

“I didn’t do anything! It wasn’t me this time, I swear!” I yelped, making the quick X over my heart, and then throwing my hands up like I was surrounded by cops. Zach turned his head away, staring out the door with a far-off look on his face as he muttered indistinctly. “What what was that Zach? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

“Oh,I just said that you’re right. There’s no way way you could’ve done it.” Zach clarified as he snapped back to reality. However, I could’ve sworn he’d actually said, “You don’t think you did.” My ears had to playing tricks on me, still ringing from the sound of the alarm. Zach wouldn’t have said that, a comment like that made no sense.

“Let’s just get our asses out of here. I don’t particularly feel like dying a fiery death today or anytime soon.” I murmured, still a little wary as well as spooked from the days events. Together, Zach and I sprinted out the door of the lounge, down the hall, until we joined the throng of students, and pushed into the daylight.