User: infinitywordlover

We trickle into the gym, talking and glaring around angrily. Disgruntled mutters sound all around me coloured with a fear and worry that is hidden behind a mask of sarcasm and complaint.

"Don't they realize I have a project due in three days?"

"Ugh, like the murderer would actually try something so soon after the 'Theatre Incident'."

"I'm so bored!!!"

"This is stupid. They aren't going to find a murderer like this."

I shift my backpack against my shoulders and scan the room for an open space. They may not plan on doing homework, but that doesn't mean I won't. I already have a mountain load of work to do, and there is no time to be wasted.

Finding a small gap in the already crowded gym, I sit down and begin to work.

It isn't long however before I my vision swirls with chaos as the noise around me knocks against me, heavy, loud, and unescapable. I shake my head angrily at it taking a deep breath trying to calm myself, but still I can't concentrate.

The letters twist and turn on the page, and my mind refuses to process any of them.

Finally, as I find myself reading the same line over and over again for the third time, I give up. The book slams shut and I stuff it back into my bag huffing in frustration. Glancing to my right, a group of art geeks pour over sheets of paper, their pencils gliding over them in perfect control forming flawless shapes and colors. I sigh heavily, and turn away a pang of envy tugging at my stomach.

Usually, when I am forced to draw, it ends in piles of crumpled paper, tears, and broken pencils, and at the moment I'm not interested in going through all of that right now.

A couple people have started playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, but with each round, their faces become straighter and straighter with boredom until they could have been mistaken for statues.

I sigh once more, and spread out on the floor deciding that my only option is to sleep, but a few minutes later, it becomes clear that the noise level scratches that one out that too.

Boredom trickles through me achingly numb and torturous. My fingers drum against the ground beating out a random, pointless pattern. My nerves jangle nervously, and my muscles scream out at me craving action. I've never been one to sit still and do nothing, and now I stare around desperately searching my surroundings for something, anything to do.

Suddenly, loud, quick footsteps sound behind me, and I jerk around, a scream lying hot on the tip of my tongue as an image of a psychopathic murderer holding a jagged blade aimed towards my heart leaps into my mind, but instead as my eyes take in the true scene, my mouth widens into a beaming grin.

"Dani!!" I shriek happily launching myself towards my cousin.

"Ari!" she cries in return and sweeps me up into a giant hug. Her arms circle around me chokingly tight as if I was the last person alive, and I return her grip, desperately clutching her in relief that she's alive, yet also with the fear that she will not remain so.

I sink into her embrace and let myself get absorbed into her warmth, concentrating on the familiarity of her arms and the scent of her hair which smells of citrus and strawberries. She and I had always been close and at times she had been like sister that I had never had.

I can't even bear to imagine what it would be like if she was gone. Tears tingle in my eyes once more threatening to spill over, and at last, as I stand in the comforting presence of my cousin, I allow them to fall hidden away from the rest of the school.

"Hey, it's ok," she murmurs gently patting me on the back.

I shake my head. "People are getting killed Dani! And I...well, I'm scared!," I admit. "I'm scared that I'm going to get killed, or someone who I care about is going to get killed."

"It's ok to be afraid. I'm scared too. Everyone is," she says quietly. "Now, come on, dry up those tears and you can come sit by me."

I nod thickly into her shoulder, and slowly the surge of tears begin to stem. I blink thickly, swiping away the salty liquid, clearing the blurred scene in front of me.

Taking a deep breath, I back away. "I'm ok now. I'm ok."

She pats me on the arm grinning and leads me into another corner of the room.

"I'm so happy I finally found you! I mean I was looking for ages and ages, but there were so many people! And for a moment there I thought you were dead!" she babbles as we walk, her voice rising in pitch saturated with utter relief.

"I'm happy you found me too."

She smiles, her green eyes sparkling with affection. "And we're here!" she declares grandly sweeping out her arms gesturing to group of people scattered on the ground in front of us.

"Everybody! This is my cousin Ariadne!"

"Hi," I say shyly, my cheeks growing hot with embarrassment as I do so. A dozen sets of eyes settle upon me bright with curiosity and wonder.

Finally, one of the girls speaks. "Welcome!"

And then just like that, a trickle becomes a river. "Hey," another girl says.

"Hi!" a boy adds, waving a hand.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Welcome to the dark side."

"Sup."

"Yo."

After a while Dani apparently decides that the introductions have gone on long enough and she guides me to a spot between her and another girl. Immediately, they begin chattering in strands of what seem to me, unintelligible nonsense but which are actually soccer terms.

"Did you see the game yesterday?"

"Yeah, the striker completely killed it..."

"I know! And the ref completely missed that red card!"

"Right? And that penalty was so unfair!"

Slowly I zone out, and their voices die down into a comforting buzz at the base of my brain. It's comforting just being by them, but still my body aches for movement. I need a distraction.

Gazing around the room slowly, I scour my mind for ideas. Maybe MASH? No. I doubted they would want to play something as juvenile as MASH. I let out a deep sigh of defeat, and return my gaze to the group, but suddenly a door catches my eye and a slow thoughtful smile spreads across my face.

"Jackpot!" I whisper grinning. Leaping to my feet , I glance around at the teachers making sure that they aren't paying attention.

"Where are you going?!" Dani hisses at me her eyes filled with concern.

"I'm going to get something to entertain myself!" I hiss back at her. She raises her eyebrows questioningly, but I shake my head smiling mysteriously. "By the way, do you happen to know the password to the gear room?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's 1234," she replies. Now it's my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"1234? Seriously? That's the code?!"

"Yes! Why?"

"You'll see."

"Hey wait!" she calls.

But then I'm off, sprinting across the gym darting glances towards the teachers who have now turned to watch me. I just barely dodge a group of seniors, and wince as a slew of curse words hit my ears. But suddenly I stop, my eyes dragged to a hunched over figure on the floor and I change direction, taking a slight detour.

"Hey Leo! Over here!" I wave at him wildly, and sprint across the gym to him. Footsteps sound behind me and my grin widens as I realize Dani has followed me.

As I reach him, I say jokingly, " Hey stranger! Whatcha up to?"

"Not much. Just catching up on the Three Musketeers and planning to work on homework later," he says gesturing toward his backpack as he does so.

I open my mouth to comment on his impressive concentration skills, but there's a strange choking noise behind me and I turn to Dani who is obviously trying to hide a snicker. She smirks widely, and internally I groan as I sense the oncoming battle.

Leo glares at her coldly and stands up to his full height where he towers a few inches above us.

"So what if I care if I'm studying. Not all of us can be star athletes," he says calmly although his eyes tell a different story, I mean if looks could kill...

Dani however, appears unaffected. She merely rolls her eyes and laughs. "Not all of us can be nerds Leonidas. Besides what kind of name is that?"

Leo stiffens. Clearly she's hit a nerve, and his glare doubles in intensity. His lip curls in anger and spite, and he takes a threatening step forwards.

Deciding that enough was enough, I leap forwards before World War III can break out. Placing a calming hand on his chest, and my other hand on Dani's shoulder, I force them backwards.

"Guys just chill, ok?" I say nervously glancing between the two of them. "Look, Leo, Dani and I were going to play some ball," I continue and ignore the confused glance from Dani that says 'We are?'

"And one-on-one is no fun because Dani always wins, so we're trying to round up some people to play," I finish.

"No thanks Ari. I'm no good at sports. Besides you don't even have a basketball," he points out.

"Thank you for noticing that, genius. We're playing when Ari here gets the ball," Dani snaps and I grin realizing that she had apparently accepted my plan without question.

He stares at us for a moment and then holds up his hands in defeat. "Fine, I'll play but only if you get the basketball."

"Thanks Leo!" I cry and then smile mischieviously as we walk back to her group. Holding out my hand at Dani, I gesture for her to remain where she is. And then after taking a deep breath in preparation, I begin sprinting once more towards the door.

My eyes are fixed on my prize, and I don't even stop when a teacher lunges out to grab my shirt, instead I duck around the arm.

"Young lady! Running is forbidden in this school! Please walk," someone yells, and I grin back at them adrenaline fueling my rebellious spark.

"It's forbidden in the hallways! This is the gym, which if I remember correctly is actually USED for running in. Besides I have to do something to entertain myself!"

"Lunch detention!"

I keep running.

"For a WEEK!"

At last I slow, but not because of the teacher's threats, but because I have reached my goal. Punching in the passcode-which still makes me laugh- I dart inside snatching the first thing I see, a large, hard, dark orange-brown orb of leather, and not a moment too soon as a moment later a large hand grips the back of my shirt jerking me backwards forcefully into the air.

"WHAT.EXACTLY.DO.YOU.THINK. YOU. ARE. DOING. MISSY???!!!!" A loud voice roars and I cringe, flailing in the teacher's grasp.

"LET ME DOWN!!!" I scream, fear clouding my voice.

After a moment, the hand releases and I crumple to the ground rubbing my neck where the shirt had pulled taut against my skin.

Quick footsteps sound around me and when I look up, I stare into the eyes of half a dozen teachers. Their gazes are mixed, ranging from angry, to mildly amused, to concerned. I groan slightly and heave myself up, staring defiantly at them.

"Would you like to explain yourself?" a voice asks calmly, and I turn to see Ms. Blackwell staring at me with disapproval but also speckled with understanding.

"Ummm... well, uh, I was feeling bored and a bit restless, so I thought that I would get something to entertain myself with."

"You can have pencils and paper to draw."

"I'm a terrible artist."

"You can do your homework."

"Have you seen this noise level? And I've tried."

She sighs deeply and stares at me with a look of exasperation in her eyes. "So what would you like to do?"

I stare at her in return with an expression of polite disbelief. Had she forgotten why we were even standing where we were? I merely hold up the basketball in explanation.

"I want to play basketball," I say and bite my tongue from adding a petulant 'obviously', but I can't stop my face from forming the expression, and I can see by the darkening of Ms. Blackwell's eyes that she can read it perfectly.

Hastily, I decide to plunge on ahead before she can nix the idea once and for all.

"You see, we are all extremely bored right now, and not all of us are artists. Many of us have left our bags in our dorms so we can't even do homework right now. AND we're also scared and anxious so I doubt that we would be able to concentrate right now. Keeping us locked in here can only serve as a constant reminder of the murders, and right now we need a distraction. Something that only a game can provide."

She opens her mouth to say something, but I stop her. "And also various research projects have shown that exercise actually stimulates brain development."

I take a deep breath, and plead with her with my eyes. She twists her lips thoughtfully her eyebrows furrowing, and then she opens her mouth again and once more she's interrupted but not by me.

The school nurse steps forward, her eyes filled with empathy. "Arabella she's right. These kids do need a distraction. I mean constantly worrying and being scared can only have detrimental effects on these kids. They are kids after all. They need to play!"

"Marilyn..." Ms. Blackwell begins and for the third time is cut off.

"Basketball doesn't take much room either. It only takes one hoop, and it doesn't need many adults to keep an eye on either. I can watch them and the rest of you will be free to keep a look out on everything else."

At last, Ms. Blackwell holds up her hands in surrender and lets out a long breath. "Alright. You can play, but on one condition."

"Yes?"

"If any adult begins to give a command you must stop immediately and listen, understand?"

"Yes."

"And also, try not to be too loud."

I nod quickly, and smile at her gleefully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" I squeal and practically bounce off in happiness. She shakes her head slightly bemused, and I grin.

Dribbling the ball lazily, I make my way back towards Dani and her friends, a smile plastered permanently on my face. As I pass the group of seniors, I mime throwing the ball at one of their heads, and they growl.

"Freshie," one of them mutter and I stare at them, grinning mischieviously. It didn't really bother me much. After all, they weren't the ones who now had a basketball to play with.

As I'm about halfway back to Dani, a sudden hands swipes the ball from my fingers, and I yelp in shock. My eyes trail the arm back to its owner to find Leo, grinning smugly twirling the ball above his head.

I try to glare at him, but can't quite stop a smile from leaking through. The effect is a strangely twisted expression.

"Mind if I join the game?" he asks.

"Nope, not at all," I grin. He smiles, and with a deft flick of the hands he returns the ball to my fingers.

We continue back to where Dani is and she high fives me.

"Way to go cuz!"

"Thank you," I say grandly, and bow deeply twirling my fingers in acceptance of her compliment. "I know I am just awesome."

She rolls her eyes and stares out at the rest of her 'crew'. "Alright who's up for some basketball?!"

Immediately, the girl who had been sitting next to her leaps up, her eyes filled with the fiery excitement of competition. A few moments later, we've gathered five people, Joan Holmes- the girl who had leaped up first, Dani, Me, Leo and a blonde-haired boy by the name of Adam Black.

"Alrighty kiddos! How are we going to split into teams?" Ms. Maverick asks sharply clapping her hands to get our attention.

There's a moment of silence as we consider her question, but then Dani bursts out, "Isn't it obvious? Boys against Girls!"

"What no!" Adam protests. "We only have two!"

"Well, if Ari here didn't get a ball, we'd all still be dying of boredom. So deal with it." Joan replies snappily, and I grin at the obviously taken aback look on Adam's face.

"First one to 60 points?" Dani suggests.

"You're on!"

Without another moment of waiting, I dribble up to the free throw line ducking around Leo's outstretched arm, and chuck it towards Joan.

She snatches it and growls as she turns to pass only to be blocked by Adam. I dash quickly around behind her and hold my hands out for the ball. It lands solidly in my fingers, and I quickly toss it to Dani before Leo can reach me. She puts it up, and it slams through the net with a satisfying swish.

"Woooo!!!" I yell sprinting over to hug her.

"Two points for the girls!" Ms.Maverick yells.

"It was a fluke," Leo says rolling his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I'd like to see you do better!" Joan challenges.

"Alright we will!" Adam declares.

He pounds the ball into the ground furiously, but stands perfectly still his eyes cool and calm. And then suddenly he darts forward knocking aside my arm, and throws the ball to Leo in a golden blur.

Leo catches it, pivots around on his heel and shoots. The ball soars into the air and then arcs back down towards Earth and slides easily through the hoop.

The boys tilt their heads towards us, the corners of their lips turned upward in an identical smirk that reads, 'Beat that'.

"Two points to the boys!"

Joan growls, and her eyes glow with challenge as she shifts into her 'competitive mode'. She snatches the ball and hurtles down the court darting and twisting around, dodging the boys' many attempts to stop her.

"Here pass!" I yell, and she whips the ball to me.

I leap up into the air my eyes fixed on the net my fingers moments away from shooting when suddenly a large, heavy object crashes into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and throwing me to the floor with a groan.

I glance upwards to see Leo on top of me breathing heavily, and my heart seems to stop for a second before recovering. Blushing hotly, I push him off me just as Joan bellows angrily, " RED CARD!!!"

For a moment, we pause staring at her. She stares back at us blankly and then smacks her head when she realizes her mistake and grins. "Sorry, wrong game, I meant foul."

We giggle slightly, and then it grows and swells until I'm clutching my stomach in hysterical laughter, tears tingling at the corner of my eyes. The others are no better, and even Joan joins in after a while.

It's extremely hard to be scared when you're laughing, and slowly as I gaze around at the four others smiling and laughing, a weight lifts from my shoulders and I am free. The murderers are still here, but suddenly I don't care.

We can't let them control us. We have to continue to live and to fight onwards. If we let the murders scare us into cowering irrational creatures, who scream at their own shadows, then we'd have let the murderers win, and that is not something I intend on doing.

We play on into the night, the hours flying by in sweat, laughter, and most importantly friendship. A feeling of invincibility spreads throughout my veins and silently I let out a challenge to the murderers. 'I dare you,' I think. 'Come on, try and kill me.'

And then I turn and toss the ball into the air, where it hovers for a split second before falling, as if in slow motion, with the grace of a dancer into the welcoming arms of the hoop. Not even touching the rim, it swishes through the net and bounces to the floor-a perfect shot.