...
When Ethan lifted his head and heard the crying he wasn't sure who it was coming from. He looked over to the chair, but there wasn't anyone sitting there. It must have been coming from the top bunk.
Ethan got up and flipped the light on. He looked up at the top bunk and saw Johnny laying there with his clothes still on. His white dress shirt and pants were all wrinkled. Ethan thought to himself, "Did he not even notice that I turned the light on?"
"Johnny, what the hell happened?"
He choked back some tears and wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "I went to the classroom and waited outside. At first I stayed outside underneath the window, then I went inside and waited in the hallway for you. But you never came. I was angry at you, but figured it didn't matter so I went in without you."
"Yeah, so what did you do?"
"When I went in the room I started tearing everything off the walls and turning over the desks. I was going to go over to the professor's desk and start messing with his gradebooks, but when I got up close I saw someone sitting there. So I ran out into the hallway. I didn't want to run outside, because I was certain whoever it was would catch me out in the open. I ran down the hallway, but whoever was in the room followed me."
Ethan went over to the chair and sat listening intently with his hands together and his elbows on his knees. He got up briefly to go to the armoir to get his smokes from his school blazer, but as he was reaching into his pockets he realized he gave his smokes to Johnny. Johnny stopped his story waiting for Ethan. A tear ran down his face and he pointed saying, "They're over there."
"Thanks." Ethan went over to Johnny's desk where he pointed and grabbed a smoke and the matches from the desk drawer. Ethan went back towards the chair, cracked open the window, then sat back down in the chair striking a match and take in a drag. He waved the match putting it out and put the burnt match on the window sill. Before starting again Johnny asked Ethan for a cigarette. Ethan got up and went back to the desk and handed Johnny a cigarette and the matches. Johnny sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
Ethan grabbed an empty pop bottle and gave it to Johnny to ash in. When Johnny grabbed the bottle he spit a sticky, dangly hocker into it. Ethan sat back down in the chair and flicked an ash out the window.
"So when I ran down the hallway and turned the corner I went into the bathroom. I figured the person would pass by and I would have plenty of time to get out of the building while they were searching the rest of the building. I wasn't sure if I could get out of the window in the bathroom. As I was trying to figure that out I heard the footsteps coming closer. Then I heard the door handle turn and the footsteps coming in. I froze not knowing if I was going to have to fight my way out or if I should go into one of the stalls and hope for the best."
Johnny took a deep hit off of the cigarette and ashed into the bottle exhaling a big cloud of smoke. Ethan started waving his hands at the cloud trying to get what he could out of the window. "Sorry," Johnny said and put the cigarette into the bottle extinguishing it with some more spit. Ethan grabbed the bottle and put it by the window so that whatever smoke left in the bottle could go out the window. "Thanks."
"I stood there thinking I was going to die. I was so scared, finally I ran into the stall. I heard the door slam shut. I didn't hear anything so I kept as still as I could on top of the toilet. Gosh, I thought I was going to piss myself. It was only a few seconds, but I tell you it felt like forever. Then there was a huge bang on the side of the stalls. I was in the middle stall and heard the footsteps moving towards me. I slid underneath to the first stall."
Johnny paused with a horrifying look on his face. "It was so dark in there that it was hard to see. Then I slid out from underneath the first stall and ran to the door. I felt a hand grab my arm. My heart stopped. I grabbed the door and starting shutting banging it against the hand. Finally it let go and I ran through the hallways. While I was running I took my shoes off. I put them in the garbage and ran to the second floor. I paused in between floors on the stairs and I heard the footsteps go to the front of the building, then the doors open. I finished going up the stairs and went into the science lab. I hid behind the stacked stools. I stayed there for about a half hour, then went to look out in the hallway. I didn't hear anything, but didn't want to risk going back down so I went to the windows and climbed down the side of the building because there is a gutter and pipe right there."
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. But it couldn't have been any later than 11 at that point. When did you get back here?"
"About 20 minutes before you got up."
"So what took you so long. Weren't you listening idiot?! I was terrified!"
"Sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. Anyways, once I climbed down the side I ran across the field. I had to cut over becuase I was afraid whoever was in the building may have gone to the administration building, and I didn't want to be caught out there. So I ran back towards the mess hall. Along the way I had to stop because I was breathing so heavy."
"Or because you smoke too much."
"Well that isn't our concern right now is it? So I hid in some bushes along the way and that took me forever. I heard someone but couldn't see and didn't want to expose myself. Whoever it was kept going. I wanted to go into town, but I figured it wouldn't look so good seeing a kid out this late without any shoes on. I tried getting in the mess hall to grab some stuff but couldn't get in there and didn't want to screw around with that so finally I made my way back here."
"Man, you sure lucked out."
"Yeah," Johnny hopped down from the bunk and walked over to his dresser. He started undressing and Ethan got back into bed. "Johnny, you better get some sleep so you don't look like shit tomorrow. Crap, you're bleeding."
"I am?! Where?!"
"There's a hole on your back right side! You're bleeding bad!"
"What the hell are we going to do?!"
"Let me take a closer look. I don't know what made that, but it's not that bad. Looks worse than it actually is. Must have struck a vein. You should be ok, let me get the first aid kit."
Ethan got some gauze and tape out and put it on the chair and took out a cloth and some iodine. He cleaned up the blood and threw the cloth into the trash and put the gauze on his back.
"Thanks for cleaning me up man. Sorry I put you through all this, and even asked you to be a part of it. Well this is definitely something we'll remember long after we graduate."
"Yeah, if you graduate." Johnny turned around and shot Ethan another look. "I'm just joking. We'll get out of this place."
"I know."