Friends

...one of the few stories I wrote that made me feel soooooo happy...though i need to work on the dialogue...too cheesy..enjoy.=)

The cafeteria was loud and noisy, choked with bodies and heat. It was then I realized how large and overpopulated this school was, and how alone and foreign I was in that world.

At a corner stood Cedric, standing as he ate. I gave him a shy smile. Cedric was the only one who tried to make friends with me, who knew that I exist. We met in the strangest way, but it was perhaps the best way to realize how similar we were. We were victims of bullying, and we shared the same pain.

Cedric hesitated, and then slowly maneuvered his way to me. But even as he did so, Kevin stuck out his leg. They call Kevin a “jock”, though I never understood that term.

Fries, milk, and all the other food on Cedric’s tray flew in slow motion as he fell to the floor, as I watched with a sense of dread. Not again, I prayed to all the gods I knew. Please, not again. Jeers and laughter filled the room as I stood up, unsure of what to do.

“Like that, kid?” Kevin sneered as he kicked Cedric down into the mess on the floor.

Anger surged through my veins. Without realizing it, I marched across the room. “You…..stop!” I cried, wishing I could know more of this strange English language to call him some choice names.

I felt a painful grip on my arm as a boy’s face drew close to mine, reeking of tobacco and yesterday’s dinner. I struggled to find a word. “Free me…now!” I finally said, hoping that my voice wouldn’t sound as foolish as I felt.

His girlfriend leered at me over his shoulder, “They really make a pair, don’t they? One can hardly string two words together, the other can barely walk.” My face burned even as I tried to comprehend the words she spoke.

Across the cafeteria, Kevin and some other boys had grabbed hold of Cedric. “Let’s get them together, shall we? Maybe they’ll kiss!” Everybody laughed.

Kiss? I shook my head in bewilderment as I was dragged closer to Cedric, who was struggling to no avail. Everyone started pursing their lips and making sucking noises, jeering and chanting words too fast for me to grasp. But I now understood what was going to happen.

“No!” I screamed, trying to twist myself free, but the result was only a harder, tighter grip on my arm. I swung my free arm in a powerful punch, hitting my captor square in the jaw. His hand released me as he jerked a few paces back.

The laughter faded. My captor regained his balance and shoved me hard to the floor. Stars fielded my vision as I felt my head collide with a bench. I tasted blood in my mouth. My ears ceased to function and for a moment there was a sudden silence.

A warm liquid was seeping into my jeans. I opened my eyes and a mirage of colors flew by. Blinking slowly, I lifted my hand to my face. It was drenched in blood. Terror froze my heart. Was it my blood? Was I dying?

Suddenly, Cedric’s face loomed over me, eyes full of concern. He pulled at my arm and carried me to a chair.

“Are you alright?” he asked. I took a few deep breaths and nodded dumbly. That’s when I saw what he held in his hands. A gun. My vision cleared rapidly and I turned to stare back at him, a growing horror rising from within me. Did he…..?

His sweaty cold hand reached up to my face. “Wait here…I’ll be right back.” He turned and ran out of the cafeteria

I scanned what remained of the cafeteria. Overturned tables, trampled food and blood were everywhere. My ears began to work again and like a radio with the volume turned full blast, terrified screams, haunting moans and gunshots suddenly shattered the silence.

The lumps on the floor, I realized, were bodies. Dead bodies. My captor lay in a pool of blood; I could no longer see his face. It was his blood that drenched my clothes. Slowly I stood up and saw Kevin and the other boy who had held Cedric, also dead. A few others I could no longer recognize lay on the floor as well, soaked in their own blood.

Nausea rose in my throat as I turned away, heaving gasps of shock. My mind was screaming the Chinese phrase “Save life! Save life!”, but I could see that there was no one I could save in this place.My mind reeling, I tried to make sense of the unthinkable. Did Cedric do this? Why? I couldn’t understand. I wanted to run away, far away from this place, but I remained rooted to where I was. Cedric told me to wait. He would explain this. He was the only one I could trust. Maybe it wasn’t him at all, I thought to myself. And so I sat and waited.

How long I waited, I would never know. But finally he returned, the gun still in his hand, drenched in sweat.

I stumbled back a few paces, slipping in the blood. Was he going to kill me? Have I foolishly waited for my death?

“You…kill me?” I finally asked, barely able to breathe.

He looked shocked at what I had said.

“Why? You’re my friend, I wouldn’t do that.” He answered. “You’re the only one who had ever cared for me in this hellhole. Remember the first time we met? You were the only one who stood up to Kevin and his bullies for me. I’m never going to let you go.”

Slowly, I tried to make sense of his words, but only one registered with me. Friend. It had been a long time since I have heard that English word. But I remembered what it meant.

“We’re…friends?” I asked, tears flooding my eyes.

“Yes,” he whispered and took my hand as sorrow suddenly overcame us both.

Amidst the screams, the police sirens, the blood and the dead bodies, two friends sat down and cried.