The only sound in the office was the ticking of the clock. The walls muffled the sounds of students passing through the halls enough that the ticking clock was all I could hear. Usually it didn't bother me, but my anxiety was bouncing off the walls, making it annoy me. I didn't dare look back at the monitor. I didn't want to look at the face of my stalker. 

"Patrick?" Hearing my name snapped me out of my little daze. I turned, seeing Ms. Johnson was back and standing next to me. She sat back in her chair, glancing at the computer before fully facing me, her eyes full of concern. "I talked to the principal, and she suggested that you talk to the police. We can start with talking to the school officer and see what he says, okay? Are you okay with that?"

I didn't really know what else to say besides yes, so I nodded my head, feeling my heart start to pound in my chest more than it already was. Ms. Johnson nodded back, then stood up once again.

"I'm going to go get him then. I'll be right back." With those words, she walked out of the office, leaving me on my own once again.

I grabbed the water she had brought me earlier, downing the small amount that was in the cup. This was nerve wracking. So many questions were running through my head, the main one being why. What was the reason? Who was this boy? Every time I thought of a different question, it made me want to know the answer more and more.

Ms. Johnson didn't take long to come back with the school officer following close behind her. The officer was a tall, muscular man with black hair, and eyes that looked like he was constantly glaring. It made me more terrified than I already was.

I probably should've gone out from behind the desk, but the thought of moving was one of the last things on my mind. The officer sat on the other side of the desk, looking me in the eyes. I hugged my backpack closer to my chest, trying to give myself some kind of closure.

"Patrick, right?" he asked in a deep voice. I nodded. "Ms. Johnson informed me of what's going on on our way back here. There's a boy seemingly following you, and you don't know him. Correct?" 

I nodded again, too afraid to speak. The officer looked at me curiously, which suddenly made me wonder if he was judging me for being so . . . nervous. I swallowed hard, silently hoping he wasn't. 

"Do your parents work?"

"Y-Yes."

"If you feel threatened, which I'm assuming you do judging by how you're acting, it might be best for you to go home for the day and ride this out over the weekend. If one of your parents can pick you up, that would probably be best. I see how concerned you are about this Patrick, and we will do what we can to figure this out, okay?" the officer said. I took a few seconds to process what he said, before giving a confirming nod. I was sure my mom had off today, so I hoped it would be fine. The officer bowed his head, then stood up, turning to Ms. Johnson.

"I would call his parents and see if they can pick him up. Let me know if there are any issues, I can always give him a ride home if need be," he said, before exiting the office. I looked over at Ms. Johnson, who was already dialing a number on the phone. She put it up to her ear, and I listened as she began to talk to one of my parents.

"Yes, is this Mrs. Harper? Well, everything isn't exactly alright . . ." She went into explaining what happened and what I had told her, which made me nervous. I knew my mom would make a huge deal out of it. It was a big deal, but I honestly didn't want to think about it.

"Yes, he's safe, he's right next to me in the office. We're wondering if you could come pick him up? It's best for him if he goes home supervised so he's safe. Yes, he can meet you out front. Alright, goodbye." I watched as she hung up the phone, then turned to me. 

"Your mom is on her way, go up to the front desk and sign out, then you're good to go," Ms. Johnson instructed me. I gave a tiny nod as I stood up, putting my jacket on and gathering my things.

"Thanks, Ms. Johnson," I said quietly. I headed out of the main office quickly, making my way to the front desk. Once I was there, I signed my name on the little sheet, then went outside to wait for my mom.

I only had to wait a few minutes before she pulled into the parking lot of the school. Making my way over to her car, I put my stuff in the backseat, then slid into the passenger seat in the front.

As soon as I was in the car, Mom grabbed my face and frantically checked me over, a worried look on her face. "Patrick, are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. I promise. Right now I don't really wanna think about it, okay? I'll talk to you and dad about it later," I said with a sigh. She frowned, sitting back in her seat.

"Alright, honey. As long as you're okay." Mom didn't say anything else as she backed out of the stall, then started the drive home. 

The radio was on, and it sounded like a news station. Not really knowing what to focus on, I focused on that. It was talking about something weird, I heard the word scandal thrown around a few times. 

"What's the radio talking about?" I asked, trying to make conversation so it wasn't awkward. I knew Mom more than likely didn't care, but it felt awkward to me.

She glanced at the radio, letting out a sigh of her own. "The Anders Investigation. Apparently, they finally found Decodah Anders's remains. You remember that? You were around eleven I think. The old governor of Illinois, the multi-millionaire, Decodah Anders mysteriously disappeared. No one knows where he went, he just disappeared one day," she explained. "Apparently, they found his remains a couple days ago, so they're reopening the case."

I nodded along, having a faint memory of what happened. Mom kept on going with her knowledge about it. "That whole family is one giant mystery. First, Decodah's wife goes missing right after their son is born. She just disappears. Then, four years later, his son disappears! And now he disappears and is found dead four years later. They're saying it looks like a suicide."

Her last words had me taken aback, and I had to process it. It did sound like the family was a mystery. I didn't remember hearing anything about the wife or son, but I did remember the initial disappearance of the prior governor. 

"Wasn't there some other people that went missing too?"

"Yeah, the Solis's boy. The Solis's are that big political family; Vanessa Solis was the vice president before Garcia put in the Monarch Amendments. He went missing last year. Gosh, what was his name again? David? Dallas? Dallon! That's his name. I don't know if they're still investigating that or not," Mom explained to me. We pulled into the driveway, but I didn't get out yet.

"Yeah, that's what I was remembering," I said softly, before climbing out of the car. I grabbed my things out of the backseat, heading into the house. Mom followed behind me, watching as I took my shoes off and plopped my things by the door.

"Do you need anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure Mom," I said, managing a weak smile. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap."

"Okay hun, I'll call you when dinner's ready." She gave me a kiss on the forehead, then headed off into the kitchen. I made my way upstairs, trying to clear my mind of what happened today. If I wanted a chance at actually sleeping, I would somehow need to do that.

At least I had the weekend to figure things out, if this was as big of a deal as I was thinking it was. Or maybe I was just overreacting. I couldn't tell one bit.