Tick

  Tick

  Tick

  Tic-

  Isaac sat in the back of the classroom, waiting for the time to change. The clock on the wall was deafening. Its constant ticking was the only thing Isaac could hear over the chatter of kids around him.

  Isaac just knew that clock was messing with him, hanging on to the last minute, drawing out each second as long as possible. There was just no way that it wasn’t.

  He had been staring at the clock for the last five minutes, watching it loudly tick its way up—each second, another tick.

  Pushing his glasses up his face, Isaac glared at the clock.

  Just one more minute, it was just one minute. Why is it taking so long? Minutes fly by all the time, but the one time he needs it, it takes its sweet time.

  “ Hey, everyone, settle down!” Mr. Rayfield, the school's algebra teacher, tried to get the kids quiet.

  Rapping his fingers against his desk, Isaac tried to ignore the teacher, but his voice was just so loud. Didn’t he know that he was making more noise than they were? Not only that, but he was doing this minutes away from the bell. Who cares if they're talking? They’re about to leave anyway.

  There was no reason for him to be this strict with them, but as always, the teacher was just trying to exert whatever little power he had over the kids.

  Maybe Isaac should say something; it would be fun to see Mr. Rayfield turn red again. No, Isaac thought, focusing back on the clock. This wasn’t the time to have some fun with the teachers.

  Isaac needed to be ready; if he wasn’t ready, then he could miss lunch. Lunch was the most important part of the day, and the further away your class was, the faster you had to be if you wanted to get your food on time.

  Unfortunately, Isaac drew the short end of the stick for his last year. His last class before lunch, and it was all the way on the other side of the school on the second floor; you couldn't get further than that.

  If that didn’t make it hard enough, the teacher stopped anyone from lining up at the door. This meant that twenty kids would get up and head for the door at the sound of the bell. In their need for food, they would all fight to push their way out the door, where they would all pile up, barricading the door with their bodies.

  But not Isaac; Isaac was prepared.

  His bag slung over his shoulder, his butt halfway off the seat, his knees straining from pressure. Isaac was ready to sprint out the door before anyone else got there. Nobody was going to stop him from being first in line.

  All he needed was that last hand to move. Fixing his glasses one last time, Isaac waited for the clock to ring.

  12:15.

  RIIIIIIIINNGG

  The bell rang throughout the school, startling some people who were not paying attention while the rest calmly packed their bags.

  “HA!” Isaac laughed; he was free. With his bags already in his hands, Isaac didn’t need to wait; he was already ready to go.

  Jumping up, Isaac ran out the door, not even giving his classmates a chance to leave their seats. And before they even realized it, Isaac was out of his seat and racing out the door.

  “Cantor Get Back Here!” The teacher tried to call Isaac back, but it was too late; Isaac was already out the door.

  Outside, kids were already filling the hallway, each preparing for their mad lunch rush.

  Every day, it was a race to be first. No one wanted to be stuck in line as the seconds of precious lunchtime ticked away. Standing there, waiting as all of your friends got to sit and talk while you had to wait, hoping that you were lucky enough to taste your food, at least before you were forced to move on to your next period.

  But no matter how fast they were, Isaac was faster.

  Rushing past them, Isacc ran toward the end of the hall. At the end of the hall was a set of stairs leading down to the first floor. It was the only staircase on the second floor and the second hurdle for Isaac. If Isaac let them, the mass of kids would fill up the stairs, doubling his time.

  Slowing down meant giving students on the first floor a chance to be first, but going too fast meant a possible journey to the hospital with no food to show for it. So everyone tried to be careful going down the stairs, as it wasn’t worth the risk.

  But where others might have hesitated, Isaac gunned it. Pumping himself up, Isaac ran faster towards the stairs; everyone around him who had seen this before lept out of the way, and when the first step was under his foot, he jumped.

  It was an eight-foot drop to the first floor, a fall that could break your leg, but that didn't stop Isaac. When his foot touched the ground, he was off again, racing down the hallway.

  Anything he could do to go faster, he was doing. It didn’t matter if he got injured or not. Isaac wasn’t going to let anyone be first in line.

  Even pushing someone down the stairs wasn’t off the table.

  It wouldn’t be the first time either, Isaac thought, smiling. A year before, some girl was purposely clogging up the stairwell so that she could talk to her friends. Like a damn on a lake, she held up the entire second floor stooping everybody on their way to lunch. A quick flight down the stairs took care of that.

  Funny enough, after that, no one wanted to be on the stairs when Isaac was.

  Isaac laughed, thinking about the sound she made going over the railing. He got in a bit of trouble the next day, but it was still one of the funniest things that Isaac had ever done. He didn’t feel sorry for her either.

  And now, whenever they saw him coming, people knew to stay off the stairs during lunch. Isaac wasn’t afraid to send someone down a flight or two if they got in his way. The race to the cafeteria was a ritual for Isaac; if something tried to get in the way of it happening, then he wouldn’t be happy.

  It was the only thing that made his day worth it.

  Well, that and the food- nothing beats having a good meal when you're bored.

  By now, the first floor had started getting crowded. As each second passed, more and more people came out of their classes, filling the hallway—a wall of flesh with his goal on the other side.

  Isaac felt like he was getting slower. Last month, he had made it to the cafeteria without trouble, but now he was forced to squeeze past the flood of bodies.

  Of course, he thought, smiling as he ran. The challenge is half the fun.

  Diving into the sea of bodies, Isaac pushed and squeezed his way past. Startled yelps came up behind him, but Isaac didn’t give them a second thought. Faster, faster, he tried to push himself.

  Finally, he was shot out of the mass of students right in front of his prize, the cafeteria.

  Like every other place in this school, the cafeteria was a plain square room. The walls were a boring beige, with a faded yellow border of paint being the only splash of color. Large windows going halfway up the wall filled the right side of the cafeteria, where outside, you could see the school's football field.

  Four doors led into the kitchen toward the back. Inside, lunch ladies would be waiting, ready to hand out food to hungry kids. Picnic-style tables filled the room, and slow-moving fans hung right above them.

  The lunch ladies had barely opened the kitchen doors when Isaac came running in. Looking around, Isaac saw that no one else was there.

  “ Yes!” He shouted he was the first one here.

  Nobody looked up at the noise Isaac was making; they were already used to Isaac and had come to see his unique energy as a fact of life.

  But that didn’t matter to Isaac; the only thing that mattered to Isaac was the food. When you came to get lunch, you had four choices. Door one was the Lunch lane. Generally, they carried the lunch specials: spaghetti, hamburgers, or nuggets, whichever happened to be there that day.

  Door three was the pizza line, where you were given day-old pizza by the slice, one per person. Door four was the dessert line, where kids with extra change could get frozen treats before having to brave the rest of the day with sugar low.

  But Door Two was his favorite. Door Two was the sandwich line, with a chicken patty between two buns and a side of fries; what was not to love? They even had spicy patties for the daring.

  Those were the four doors of the lunch room, each one practically the same with one glaring difference. The Lunch lane was free; it was the only lunch line given to the students that, as required by law, was meant to be provided in schools nationwide. Paid for with taxpayer money, and it showed.

  The food in the Lunch line was horrid. It was one of the only things that the school had control over, and they used that control to make themselves richer. They gave children the cheapest, barely edible food possible and pocketed the rest.

  The other food lines came after a heated PTA meeting many years ago, during which parents of children came forward to fight against this tyranny. After many grueling hours and bloody shouting matches, the mothers and fathers realized that the evil dictators of the lunch would never give up their ill-gotten gains.

  So, instead, a compromise was made: two more lunch lines were added, and a third line for dessert was added. The food would be of better quality, with the only caveat being that they would have to be paid for collectively by the parents.

  These were the only choices they gave them, so if you wanted a good lunch, you had to choose wisely.

  Most people would choose the pizza line, but those people needed to understand his brilliance.

  Why pick the pizza when you only get one, maybe two slices max? The sandwich line sells spicy chicken patties, which you can get two of.

  Two spicy sandwiches for the price of one—you won’t get a better deal anywhere else.

  That's what was so great about middle school. In elementary school, the only lunch options were to pick something off the menu or bring it yourself. Here, you had choices.

  Sadly, the idiots always seemed to choose wrong.

  As he walked through the kitchen doors, Isaac smiled to himself. Then he saw who was behind the counter. Mrs. Mayde was serving the sandwiches today.

  Mrs. Mayde was an older lady with graying black hair. She was kind and gentle, sometimes acting like other kids' grandma. Her face was set in a permanent grin. In fact, Isaac couldn't think of a single time when she failed to greet the students with a smile. She was always so happy to see everyone walking through the cafeteria doors.

  Sighing under his breath, Isaac stepped behind the counter. The best thing to do was just grin and bear. The faster he got his food, the faster he could return to enjoying himself.

  There was nothing wrong with Mrs. Mayde; she was always happy, always waiting to serve with a smile. But she was just so hard to deal with.

  “ You got here quick, Isaac. I hope you didn’t run over anybody.” She said, smiling at Isaac.

  “ Not today, Mrs. Mayde.” Even though Isaac was dying to start eating, it never hurt to be nice.

  “ Well, make sure that you follow the rules, alright? We don’t need you falling down the stairs just because you wanted to be a few seconds early.” It was the same every day. She’d say hi, and he’d say hi back. She’d talk about “ running someone over,” and then he’d say he hasn’t.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  It's been the same since sixth grade.

  “ I’ll be careful, Mrs. Mayde. Can I have two spicy chicken, please?” Isaac grinned, trying to move along.

  This was torture.

  “Ok, sweetie, here you go.” Handing Isaac his food, Mrs. Mayde waved her hand as she started serving the next kid in line.

  With his food in hand, Isaac hurried to the register, hoping to leave the line before anyone else tried to start a conversation. Small talk had always been his weakness.

  Walking out of the kitchen, Isaac looked for a place to sit. The problem with the cafeteria chairs was that they were all just one long table. If you didn’t have people filling the spaces for you, you ran the risk of sitting with people you didn’t want to be around.

  Fortunately for Isaac, most people didn’t want to be around him. Hell, if he knew why. Some people just couldn’t get past his personality.

  Scanning the room, Isaac looked for a particular spot to sit. He wasn’t looking for any particular space, just the person sitting there.

  Finding her was never a problem for Isaac. She was the kind of person that stood out in a crowd, even if she would rather be invisible. She had tried once to understand why so many people paid attention to her; Isaac told her it was because she shined.

  She said it was her hair.

  Either way, it didn’t take him long to find her tucked away off in a corner, quietly eating her lunch by herself.

  She always brought her own lunch, so she never had to wait in line and got to pick the tables for them. Today, she was tucked back away in the corner all by herself.

  Luciana, or Luci as everyone called her, was pretty much his only friend in the whole school. He first met her during the sixth-graders open house after his mom forced him to go, hoping he would make friends.

  Like that was going to happen, most of those kids were the same ones that he went to elementary with; none of them were ever going to want to be his friend.

  So there he was, standing off to the side, back against the wall, wondering when they would leave, when he noticed that he wasn’t the only person standing there.

  A girl was standing a few doors down from him. He couldn’t see her face, but she looked around the same height as him, so he assumed she would be in his grade.

  The first thing that caught his eye about her was her hair. It was long and frizzy, like a black bush on her head. She was wearing an all-black outfit that stood out against the beige walls of the school.

  Already feeling bored out of his mind Isaac thought that he might talk to her, at least have something to do before his mom decided that they could leave.

  So he went up to her and tried talking to her. Tried being the main word, she never even once opened her mouth the entire time he was there. She just stood there, hiding behind her hair like it was a shield against the world.

  Starting to feel bored again, he decided to change his strategy. If she wouldn’t open up with words, maybe she would with actions.

  So he poked her shoulder again and again and again. For almost five minutes, he poked her shoulder, never saying anything to her; he just kept poking her shoulder. He even did it in beats, hoping that the different rhythm would get to her.

  But nothing. Finally, when he was about to give up, she did something.

  She punched.

  She punched him right in the mouth.

  It took him completely by surprise to, he wasn’t even looking at her when he did it. He was looking out in the hallway wondering when his mom was going to come back, finger still poking her should when all of a sudden she turned and hit him, full fist against the cheek.

  Dazed from the punch, the only thing that he could do was sit there on the ground and look at her as she glared down at him. Her hazel eyes standing out against her pale skin as she finally opened her mouth for the first time.

  “ Stop it.”

  And when she felt like he got her message, she walked away.

  Sitting there, Isaac was too confused to stop her. He didn't know what to do. So he did the only thing that seemed right: he laughed.

  To him, it was the funniest thing that had happened. No one had ever hit him like that before; usually, they would just complain to an adult.

  From that point, he knew that she was going to be a fun person to be around.

  And since that day Isaac stuck with her like glue, following her around everywhere. Never once leaving her side.

  Walking towards her, Isaac began chuckling to himself. It was hard getting her to be his friend, he thought, and his usual go-to social interaction, talking her ear off, did not work like he thought it would.

  Or, really, it was working precisely as he thought it would, just not in any way that would help him.

  At first, she couldn’t stand him. She was always ignoring him or hitting him. But he never gave up. Every second of the day, he tried to stay close to her.

  He would pick a seat right beside her in classes, and in the hallways he always made sure that he was right next to her. The only times he wasn’t around her were when they had separate classes, or she ran to the restroom to escape.

  He tried following her in one time, but that didn’t go so well. He had just planned to stand in the corner facing the wall, waiting for her to finish, but apparently, some other girls in the restroom didn’t like that.

  Thinking back on it, their reactions were pretty funny. Then the teachers got involved, which was fun, but when his parents were called in, it was less fun. Then, he got to meet Luci’s parents, which was fun.

  Then, all the adults spent hours nagging him about what was right and wrong and “ what was he thinking? Didn’t he know better?” He just felt like none of it was worth the hassle so he never did it again.

  Isaac just didn’t know what was wrong. He tried to be friendly; he tried talking to her, tried giving her his homework, he even brought food over to her house one time. But nothing worked. She still hated him.

  It got so bad that at the end of their first year of middle school, her parents wanted to pull her out of school.

  Thankfully, Luci decided that letting Isaac do whatever he wanted was just the lesser of two evils and told them to drop it. After that, they just started to get closer together. Isaac got less intense, and Luci learned to tolerate his presence.

  Now, after three years of middle school, they had become a sort of friends.

  Sitting down next to Luci, Isaac put his tray down. “ Good morning, Luci; how’s your day been?”

  Ignoring Isaac, Luci continued eating her lunch, not even lifting her head to look at him. But that was fine; by now, Luci knew he wasn’t looking for any answer anyway; it was just his way of saying hello.

  Sitting next to her, Isaac couldn't help but notice how much she had changed since sixth grade. Back then, she had longer hair reaching down below her shoulders. But now she kept it short, barely growing it past her ears.

  She never said why she cut it, but he saw one time how she got it stuck in a door. The next day, it was scalp-level short.

  Looking at her, with her poofy hair and black aesthetic, she reminded him of an 80s goth band chick who had just stepped off the stage.

  They were so different, him and Luci. Luci stood out in crowds, her looks drawing attention everywhere she went. But Isaac was kind of normal. He was like every other Hispanic kid in this school: curly hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a pair of square glasses over his face.

  It was kind of funny, thinking about it, because even though they were both from Hispanic families, Luci had the palest skin color that he had ever seen

  Taking a bite out of his sandwich, Isaac pulled a book out of his bag. He had already finished it, but he didn't mind reading it again. Books were important to Isaac. They were the only things that helped him get through the day.

  Looking up from her food, Luci pushed a loc of curly hair out of her face. “ Are you still reading that old book? How many times has it been?”

  “ Why, what's wrong with it?” Isaac asked.

  “ Nothing really, but you always seem to be caring around.” Frowning, Luci went back to her food. “I was just wondering what was so special about it.”

  Isaac smiled. This book, Emotional, was an older book from when his great-grandfather was a kid. It was the first book that Isaac had ever read, and even now, it remains one of his favorite books.

  “ Nothing, really.” Repeating her words back to her, Isaac thought about what he was going to say. “I guess it just stuck with me, you know.”

  Flipping through the pages, Isaac imagined the world between the pages.

  “ The books about a kid traveling the world and having fun.” As Isaac talked about the book, he started getting excited. “ The story isn’t all that great; it's the same: the good guy wins, and the bad guy loses, but the words flow together and pull you in.”

  Standing up, Isaac moved over closer to Luci. “ Look right here, where the author describes the dark temple as the hero steps in. Look how the words leave enough for your imagination to push you to turn the next page.”

  “ ‘And as he stepped into the dark, John felt as if he was leaving something behind. Here, he knew that there would be no turning back.’ Can’t you feel that? How do you feel about the character?”

  Luci just rolls her eyes at him. “ Yeah, it's great. Sorry for asking.”

  Isaac chuckled. “ It’s Ok. I know it's not for everyone.”

  Going back to his book, Isaac ate his food in silence. It was nice; this type of calm never

  bothered Isaac. It wasn’t perfect. He needed the book to distract him, but having a nice meal with his friend was nice.

  It didn’t last long, though.

  A few guys came over to sit at their table, which was not strange, as the lunch room wasn’t large enough for everyone to have their table. The only thing you could do was ignore the strangers and talk to your friends.

  When more of them started showing up, they realized there was going to be a problem.

  “ Hey, can you guys move our friends? They're trying to sit down,” someone asked.

  Luci looked up from her food. Already, more of them had showed up and were awkwardly standing around the table, needing a place to sit.

  “ No,” Luci sneered at them. “We’re already sitting here. So you guys can go and find somewhere else to sit.”

  “ Hey, there’s only two of you guys. Move. We have more guys coming, and we need the space.” Someone else came from behind, supporting his friends.

  Studying the crowd surrounding their table, Isaac noticed that a few were starting to get heated. They stood around the table, glaring at the two people stopping them from enjoying their lunch.

  They were tired from standing in the long lunch line, waiting their turn to get food. And now they just wanted to sit down and enjoy their lunch.

  Most of them were pretty big guys, probably thinking that they could force them to leave their table.

  Looking around the room there were plenty of places to sit, but every single one had most of the tables filled in. Apparently, by the time these guys had gotten their lunch, the rest of the cafeteria had filled up, leaving no place for their group of friends to all sit together.

  So, if these guys wanted to sit with their friends, they needed Isaac and Luci’s table.

  Too bad both Isaac and Luci loved being difficult. It just warmed them right up.

  Laughing to himself, Isaac began thinking that this was perfect. Today was getting a little too stale for his taste.

  Isaac closed his book. “ Come on, Luci. Don't you feel bad for these guys? Their strays, they need a home, and we can provide it for them.”

  Taking off his glasses, Isaac stood up. Grabbing a couple of guys by the shoulders, Isaac swung them around and presented them to the slowly-forming audience of the cafeteria. Pulling them closer towards him, Isaac began shouting as if he was presenting them at a charity auction.

  “ These poor, homeless strays need a home, and we can give it to them!” Swinging the guys in his arms around, Isaac tried his best not to laugh. “ And for just five dollars, you too can help unwanted strays like these and give them the home they dese-oof, hehehe.”

  One of the guys had elbowed Isaac hard in the side, forcing him to let both of them go. But he didn’t care. He just laughed it off. If you were going to play the clown, you had to be prepared to take a few hits.

  “ What the Hell!” One of the guys screamed. “ You don't touch another man like that.” You know, it might just be Isaac's imagination, but he thinks they might be a little upset with him.

  Also, man?

  Someone thought highly of himself; everyone here, including him, was still a child. There might also be a little bit of insecurity there. He was going to poke at it; that would be fun.

  But before he could go any further, Luci interrupted him. “You sure you want to do this, Isaac? It's our last week.”

  Luci tried to sound disinterested, but Isaac knew what she was like. Even if she never acted like it, Isaac was still the only person she was close to. So even if she tried to act like she didn’t care, she still worried about him sometimes.

  At least, he hoped so. She could also just be asking for the sake of saying that she tried when she eventually got called down to the principal's office.

  But either way, she already knew his answer. He liked doing what he liked, and what he liked most was making problems.

  That’s why he was constantly getting into trouble. He just couldn’t keep still. Every time he got too bored, he would do something that ultimately led him to sit in the principal's office. This past month was the longest he had gone without being sent to the principal's office.

  He had one more month of school left, and he would be free to do whatever he wanted. He had told his dad that he would try to be on his best behavior.

  But this was just too fun to pass up.

  “What's your problem, Isaac.” Someone came up and shoved Isaac backward.

  Looking at him, Isaac stared at him in confusion. “ Sorry, what's your name.”

  “ Are you serious? I’ve known you since 3rd grade!” he yelled. “ It’s Tanner.”

  Looking at him, Isaac tried to remember who he was. But his face was just so typical that he was drawing a blank, and his blonde hair and blue eyes weren't unique either. He was coming up with nothing.

  “ If you’ve known me this long, you should know how this works now. I don't know people; people know me. I'm supposed to remember everyone I pass in the hall. Come on.” Isaac complained.

  Turning around so he faced Luci, Isaac threw his hands up into the air as if remembering someone was such a hard thing to do. Luci just rolled her eyes. She knew he was just messing with them, trying to get them angry—it's what he always did.

  “ You know what, Isaac,” Tanner muttered as Isaac smiled at Luci. Sighing, Luci just put her head down, waiting for the teacher to come and clean up the mess about to happen.

  Isaac did this to pass the time. He got so bored that he decided that messing with people was the best way to have fun. Most people are always trying to be on “their best behavior” and to “always be kind.” But that's not how they feel.

  People get angry, and sometimes they want to hit other people. There's nothing wrong with that. It's good to get those things off your chest. Isaac just wants to help them express what they're feeling.

  Isaac did not even care what Tanner was doing. He kept on smiling even as Tanner's fist slammed into the back of his head.