User: KnightoftheRealm

Thok Thok Thok

The sound of knocking woke Leo. Blearily, he looked toward the door and stood up, sending his textbooks crashing to the ground. The resounding THUD made him jump, and woke him up just enough to understand that the boy at the front door was looking for Bryn Hafer. Apparently, Bryn had been called down to the Office.

 Relieved, Leo explained that Leo was in Government History right now with Prof. Bennett. The boy nodded his thanks and loped away. Leo breathed a sigh of relief that the messenger hadn't asked why he wasn't in class.

After closing the door, Leo wandered to the bedroom, trying to see if there was some clue as to why Bryn had been called to the office. He peered closely at the books stacked near Bryn's bed. Most of the titles seemed ominous, dealing with murder, forensics, and bodies. Often, Leo had woken in the middle of the night to find Bryn poring intently over similar tomes, and had rarely seen him outside of class. A few times, Leo had heard Bryn thinking aloud, dissecting the connections, if any, between the two murders.

 Returning to the living room to pick up his books and homework, the doorbell rang again. When he opened the door, a police officer stood before him. The man's dark face cracked into a pleasant smile, and he said "Hello, I'm Officer Brown. I've been assigned to be your escort."

 Bewildered, Leo choked out a reply. "What? Why?! I'm not a troublemaker!"

 "Don't worry, kid. Everyone's getting an escort. After the 3 incidents here, the Police Academy in town sent some of us up here to prevent any more deaths."

"But...are you supposed to bunk with us?"

 "Kind of. There'll be a few of us staying on each floor to make sure nothing happens."

 Leo's eyes strayed to the clock on the wall. It was ten minutes till 2 o'clock. The officer's gaze followed, then drifted to the stack of books on Leo's desk.

 "Shouldn't you be in class?"

 "Yes," Leo admitted. "But I have a pass from Bennett, and I already took government last year. I needed to study for my geometry quizzes, and I have a physics exam tomorrow."

Officer Ross winced in sympathy. "Ouch. I can see why you need the extra time."

Leo darted over to his desk and shuffled through his papers, making a pretense of searching for his pass. He knew he had one—he'd bought it off a girl the day before. As he looked in and around his desk, a quiet desperation rose in him, and he worried that his half-truth had turned into  a lie.

 "I...can't find it," Leo said. He prayed the Officer wouldn't ask any more questions. 

 A knowing gleam came into Officer Ross's eyes, and he smirked lightly. "Sure you can't, kid. But I'll let you off this time. I've lost quite a few passes in my time as well."

 Hearing the man condescending comment, pride and resentment coiled in Leo's brain. A desire to humble the man roiled within him, and it was all he could do grin bashfully and turn away instead of making a cruelly sarcastic reply. Leo couldn't afford to antagonize the man.

 Glancing at the clock again to avoid looking at Ross's face,  Leo hurriedly put away his textbooks and changed into his gym clothes. As Officer Ross followed him to P.E., Leo's thoughts flickered to Bryn and he prayed his roommate wasn't in too much trouble.