3 Chapter 3: Something Watching Me

In a matter of weeks, Felix, the new kid, became the center of my classes. He was liked instantly by all students in my classes. Ever since he came, I already predicted that Felix Griffin was going to be the new stud to Gardner's elite showoffs. He's from the suburbs of Indianapolis, who just moved here because his mother was offered a teaching post at a university here in the city.

By the middle of September, I was already involved in extracurricular activities, such as French club. The teacher, Mrs. Jeanette, looked like an aged Marylin Monroe (if she were still alive). The club took place after school on Tuesdays & Thursdays, making me take the 5:00 bus after school. This left me with Monday, Wednesday, & Friday as my free time days.

My classes have been going smooth & boring. We've now entered the American Revolutionary War in history, talking about the battles & the comparisons between the British and American forces in the combat, as well as people that lead it. We talked about the battles that ended the war with American Independence & the government's formation with its political parties. Half of the class was bored to the max. At the cafeteria, I got the inspiration to write something up. Since last year, I've kept a notebook filled with drawings & poems titled "ENLIGHTEN ME". It featured poems & drawings about my pursuits of nature & my own self expressions. For example:

I walked across the woods,

Watching birds as they flew,

All nostalgic, nothing anew,

Yet so calm with life that grew,

Here within the forest's view.

The bell then rang & I was off to my next class: Spanish with Mr. Aguirre. Zach was up to another of his annoying antics. This time, he placed a whoopee cushion on one Wilbur "Big Willy" Dempsey's chair. Everyone laughed as it happened.

"Man, don't these idiots ever stop" I heard someone comment.

It was Darius Williams, one of the few classmates that actually do their work.

"Hey Elle, you got a pencil I can borrow?" He asks.

"Sure".

Unlike the rest of the boys I've meet, Darius comes off to me as probably the nicest of all them, if not the only nice boy on my list. He's the kind of guy that would never say things behind your back. Even thought I only have him is in Spanish, Darius had more class than the bozos in there. He wasn't troublesome like Billy Hogarth or snobby like Trent Sawyer, he was just.... Darius. I guess the one think I can relate with him is the fact that we were plebes. At Gardner, the alumni is divided between the Elites and the Plebes. The Plebes are students from poor/middle class family backgrounds who got accepted here through a scholarship or payments. The Elites, on the other hand, are the ones who come from a rich background full of money, their parents pay the school so that they learn there.

English started off with a movie adaptation of one of O. Henry's short stories. Ashley & the other girls were off gossiping while Billy Hogarth was off sleeping on his desk. Trent & Lawson attempted to shoot spitballs at some of the classmates while the teacher didn't look. It was only me & Felix who were watching the movie. Sensing a bit of creativity, I started working on my sketchbook. I drew the amulet I found in the park, the dark alley from my dream, & some roses. The film was an adaptation of A Retrieved Reformation, the story of an safe cracker named Jimmy Valentine. It was a good adaptation for short story, especially since they don't change the plot much.

The class ended with Ms. Winfrey giving us another assignment to work on at home, a Brief summary of the story & the themes it demonstrated. I walked down the stairs to the second floor, my art classroom was located there & it was way far from where I was.

"Elena! Hey Elena!" I heard someone call out.

I turned around & see Felix Griffin carrying what appeared to be my Journal.

"I believe this is yours" he tells me while handing it over to me.

How could I have forgotten my journal? I could have sworn I put it in my backpack.

"Thanks".

"You have really nice drawings inside there" he comments. "& I think your poems are pretty fly".

He looked into my work.

Felix is the first one to ever take a look into my journal, & he thinks its fly. All the sudden, I get a strange feeling inside of me as I heard him say those words. I don't know why, but it feels like having butterflies in your stomach.

"T-thank you".

"You're welcome" He responds back.

He leaves to his next class while I leave to mine, with that weird feeling is still hanging onto me. Why did this occur? Why is it affecting? But yet again, why should I care about it?! All he did was pick up my notebook & returned it to me, but no one had ever done that for me though. The last time I forgot something was my folder from 6th grade. It got ripped to shreds when I found it. For me, this felt...new.

The rest of the day went smoothly. I finished my homework, ate dinner with my aunt, & started working on a new drawing. At night, however, I started having a nightmare.

I was all alone in the woods, It was covered in fog. The whole setting just looked like it came from a horror film, a Stephen King adaptation to say even further. All I could hear was the howling of the wolves and the hoots of a nearby owl. As I looked around, I came to the attention of 2 glowing eyes. I felt frightened at the very moment I saw them, leaving me with no other option but to run. I ran as fast as I could from the glowing eyes of the unknown creature. As I looked back, the eyes came closer & closer. Without realizing it, I tripped over a stupid rock.

"Damn it! it just had to be like one of those stupid horror movie cliches!".

As the creature lunged at me, I was awakened by my alarm clock.

"Great, its over" I said to myself as I woke up.

The weather has been getting colder by the minute, so it was a good thing I brought my denim jacket with me. I could feel the winds howling with a strong breeze & notice the leaves fall down to the ground one by one, all in different colors However, the cold has become the least of my worries now that I hear more police sirens wailing throughout the city. It has gotten dangerous these past weeks, with neighborhoods getting blown up & demolished in sight. The last reported demolition occurred near mine neighborhood, in Renaissance Avenue.

Renaissance Avenue was an old area of the city that was labeled for reconstruction and remodeling. It's one of the only areas that's never been remodeled or fixed in years. It was where the Riot of '19 took place, where an anarchist made a manifestation on the streets, causing mass hysteria. According to the articles, 5 cops ended up dead & 12 of those anarchists were arrested. It coincided with the Palmer Raids conducted by the US Attorney General, when the 1st Red Scare was a thing.

Looking for potential shortcuts, Renaissance Avenue became my choice of destination. It wasn't too far from the park, but sure felt like a totally different place. As I rode in the area, I couldn't tell if the place was already damaged or worn out. The whole place was a mess, with broken glass and cracked walls found in every building. It felt and looked as empty as a ghost town; there wasn't a single person in sight. Yet, there's something out here. I began to hear loud stomps on the ground, with the streets getting colder & colder. I was getting the chills just by standing there. This was all strange to me, what is there to fear out here? there's nothing.

"God, it's getting cold".

That's when I realized that there was something here.The ground cracked near me, leaving some sort of footprints. Footprints that lead to me.

"No way".

Without thinking twice, I get on my bike & run away from it. The stomps got louder and faster, chasing me through the alleys.

"What the hell's chasing me?!".

judging from the wreckage & damage it left, this thing was an animal, a rabid animal. Trying to dodge this monster was hard, since the only thing I can see is its shadow.

the walls around the alley began cracking, dust started covering me from behind like a whirlwind. Its presence was so large that I tripped over & fell down towards the wet ground. Looking back, the invisible monster disappeared without a trace.

"How?" I began to ponder as I looked around the grey skies.

Nobody would believe me if I told them about this.

As I stand up, I see that my uniform has gotten dirty.

"Wonderful".

Once I got home, I changed clothes and took the dirty ones straight to the laundromats in the apartment complex's basement. Every complex has one for every tenant. After that, I went to the apartment & began doing my homework. Most of it was easy, but the math homework was always getting up on me. Out of curiosity, I pull out the sphere. I don't know why, but I feel that there's something behind it. The closer I looked into it, I began to see some strange marks engraved in it; strange symbols of some sort. Even the amulet had some weird things on it.

"What is this thing?" I started to wonder. "What's its purpose? its meaning?".