Friends

Micheal Peterson:

"Oh my god," Ash says, pinching her nose and waving her hand. "I'm sorry, Micheal, but stay away from me. You stink."

"Yeah," I say, taking a few steps to the side. "Thanks for the reminder."

It's the afternoon, only one period away from the end of the school day. While walking to my class, I stumble upon Ash and we walk to our next class together.

"Again," Ash says after taking a breath of clean air. "I'm sorry, but seriously, what happened to you? It's like you literally have green stink lines coming off of you."

I give myself a hard sniff and pull my head back.

"I don't smell anything," I say six feet from Ash.

"That's a bad sign," she replies. "It means you've gotten used to it."

I nod my head when I think about it a little more.

"Hmm. That would explain why people started to move away from me by the time lunch was over. I thought the smell was gone by then."

Even now, as I walk through the hallway, there are still some people pinching their noses and staying six feet from me. It's like having my own force field, except instead of some invisible barrier, it was, as Ash called it, green stink lines.

"Okay," I start, turning to Ash. "Putting the fact that I desperately need a shower to the sideline, can you ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Have you seen Brian today? I've looked around but haven't seen him at all. I'm a little worried about him."

"Brian. Why are you worried about him? I saw him a few times earlier today and he seems completely fine."

"He was?"

Immediately, I think back to the last night.

"He did, I don't know, seems a little shaken."

"What do you mean by 'shaken'? If anything, he sees the opposite of being shaken. He seems really excited for some reason. He showed me a bunch of pictures he had taken."

"Pictures? Pictures of what?"

"This old, really rundown building with this stone fountain in the center."

Once more, I think back to last night.

"Did he mention anything else?"

"Uhh," Ash says, stopping. She looks up and taps her chin. "Not really. Wait, what are you even asking me? Why can't you ask Brian yourself?"

"Because again, I haven't seen Brian for a while now. Now that I think about it, it had been a few days since I'd last seen Brian."

"A few days? Are you kidding me? Really?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen Brian for a while now."

"I see Brian almost every day. We almost always run into each other."

"Is Brian avoiding me," I ask myself. "Why would he be avoiding me? Is he mad about me ditching him when he asked for a ride? I know it was mean, but I didn't want Brian to come face-to-face with Jason. It's not like he had an iron chest plate."

"Oh hey," Ash says, clapping my hands and grabbing my attention. "This is my class. I'll see you later."

"Yeah," I reply with a nod. I give Ash a quick wave and we part ways. As I walk to my class, I hear the sound of footsteps quickly coming up from behind. Before I could do anything, a pair of arms wrap around me.

My instinct kicks me and I kick the leg from under my assailant. He screams and lets me go. I turn around and grab the collar of my assailant. Upon seeing dark skin, short, curly hair, a black hoodie, and long red pants, I pull my head back.

"Hey, hey, hey," Cameron says, putting up his hands. "Easy! Easy, it's me!"

"Cameron," I cry, rolling my head as I let go of his collar and put down my fist. As I lower my hand, I see a few students around us staring. "Uhh, hey. How's life?"

I smile and wave my hands. The students stare at us for a while before leaving.

"Oh my god," Cameron says, stepping back and pinching his nose. "Micheal, you--"

"Yes," I interrupt, "I know. I stink. I had a rough night last night."

As Cameron steps back and adjusts his collar, I rub my arm.

"Ouch," I whisper. "Note to self. Besides needing a shower, also need some ice packs."

Cameron pats himself down before smiling and looking up at me. The second he does, I punch him in the arm. I regretted it a few seconds later because pain shoots from my fist through my arm.

"Ouch," I think.

"Ouch," Cameron says, now also rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"

"For sneaking up on me," I answer, stepping six feet back. "How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"My bad," Cameron says with a chuckle. "I forget. You know kung-fu."

"I do," I say. "Believe me. I have watched many kung-fu movies and have copied their moves."

"So are you saying you can break bricks with your head?"

"I haven't copied that move yet. Though, I think I am fairly close."

I think back to a few months ago when I broke a wooden plank with my head at my hidden base. At least, I think I broke it. I remember closing my eyes and then slamming my head down. According to the time on my phone and all the miss calls, I then woke up three hours later in front of a broken wooden plank.

"Anyway," I say, shaking my head to stop the flashback. "What with the sudden grab?"

"I'm here to collect the payment," Cameron says, holding out his hand. "I got the information you asked for. You know, about that Tyler guy."

"Really? That fast. I asked only a day ago."

"What can I say? I'm a friendly guy and I know how to get people talking. Anyway, if you want the information, give me what I want."

I nod my head and throw my backpack on the ground. I pull out some cans of Peace Tea.

"Here you are," I say, giving all cans to Cameron. Immediately, he opens one and drinks it. I watch as he practically drinks the whole can in one gulp.

"Thanks," he says before wiping his mouth. "Man, I can't get enough of these."

"No kidding," I say, watching as Cameron packs the reminder cans into his pack. "Anyway, according to what I've learned, Tyler James Western, is a brand new student."

"That's not new information," I say.

"Don't interrupt me," Cameron says while pointing a finger. "He and his sister got here only about a week ago. His sister is friendly and whatnot, but he's the complete opposite, and I do mean the complete opposite. He doesn't talk much. He keeps to himself. There's a slight rumor that he got expelled from his previous school because he got into a lot of fights."

"After what I've seen, that isn't too hard to believe."

"Again," Cameron says, raising his voice. "Don't interrupt me. I'm in a flow. Besides all of that and also getting his class schedule, there's really nothing else."

"Nothing else," I repeat, lending in.

"Yeah. As I said, the guy mostly keeps to himself. He doesn't talk with anyone besides his sister. And because of the rumor and the actual fight I heard about, most students try and avoid him."

I shake my head as I stare at Cameron.

"For the record," I say, putting up my hand. "That was not worth the five Peace Tea."

"Yeah," Cameron says, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry about that. In my honest opinion, I thought I could find out more. I was wrong. Tell you what. The next time you require my service, I'll lower my price. Deal?"

"Deal," I say, shaking Cameron's hand. "One can."

"Four."

"Two."

"Three."

"Two."

"Three."

"Two."

"Three."

"Two and a half."

"That doesn't even make sense. Three."

"Two."

"Three."

About to say, I put up my finger and look around. By now, the hallway is almost entirely empty.

"Two," I repeat. "Final offer."

Before Cameron could reply back, the bell rings and cuts him off.

"Two cans it is," I say, running away. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Hey wait," Cameron yells but I disappear before I can hear him. Disappearing into class and taking my seat, I think about everything Cameron told me.

"It's a rumor," I think, "But if what Cameron heard is true, then I better keep an eye out for Tyler. I hate to judge a man based on nothing but rumors, but considering he shared a class with Ash, I should be cautious when we're around him."