The Boy Who Rolls His Eyes

The sound of the bell echoed throughout the school, bringing the last class of the day to a close. The professor closed his mouth and made a dramatic motion for us all to get our asses out of here. Getting up with my bag placed comfortably on my back, I slowly made my way out of the classroom with the flow of other students, doing my best to stay as close to the back of the group as possible. The new professor, who had arrived just today, nonchalantly stacked papers on his desk, paying little attention to the passing crowd of students, clearly done with having to deal with us.

Despite his lack of interest, and perhaps even annoyance with us, he had still been nice enough. He didn't make fun of me like the last guy...well, I guess I shouldn't have brought up the sins of the dead or something. God, that was only a week ago back then, but it felt like it had been years. Probably for the better really. The farther away I was from memories of that man the better.

I took a deep breath, as other memories of a week prior came to me. It had also been a week since I met that girl, and I'd been thinking of her daily up to that point. In fairness, it was impossible not to. How else was one to react to meeting a mind-reader? Anyways, it was a shame she didn't even give me her name then, just confused me and ran off. How rude. Not to mention that I hadn't seen her since. Even ruder…from my perspective anyways. I mean, despite how weird she was…it wasn't an awful experience talking to her.

"Well, whatever, it was nice to talk to somebody, but it's over. I'll remember her forever~." As I made such a dramatic declaration, I finally found my way out through the school's entrance, arriving in the school's front yard. The dead grass was lit by lamps, held up by massive poles that always intimidated me when I was stuck going there. The other students started splitting up into groups, leaving me to walk through the school's front gates without interruption.

Arriving on the sidewalk, I began my walk home down the usual path. Take a left, walk down almost six different streets, take a right, and you're there. Even now the path is burned into my memory. Occasionally, if I was feeling spicy, I'd make a stop at the corner shop, much like that day. Walking through the door, I was met by rows of snack foods and a few freezers filled with drinks and frozen meals. I let my feet lead me down to my usual spot at the back of the store. Grabbing a bottle of Pepsi and a microwavable fried rice I made my way to the front where a bored looking 35 year old played with a Rubik's cube.

"Don't look too happy to see me." I remarked, placing my stuff on the counter for them to eventually scan, despite their annoyed stare deep into my soul.

"You could try getting a life instead of coming in here all the time you know." The man advised, placing my stuff in a bag. "$5.40." I reached into my pocket and pulled out six bucks, handing them to him.

"Yeah well, when's the last time you talked to someone you had no interest in talking to? Multiply that feeling by everyone and you'd understand my hesitance."

"Heh, funny, but you know, if you think like that for too long it'll be way too late. This world isn't all that kind to older folks anymore." The man seemed in a better mood now that he felt he could talk candidly.

"Well, yeah, the longer you live, the more likely you'll do something deserving of judgment. Still, regretting shit isn't a good enough reason to change something."

"Oooh, how difficult you are." He chuckled, finally putting down his Rubik's cube. "I don't blame you for feeling that way though. I'm sure I thought the same before this world went to total shit. How about you just promise me you'll at least start being interesting if you're gonna be a loner." The man joked.

"Sure, sure, I'll wage a one man war against the dude in the sky for your entertainment in particular, how's that sound?" I smirk, grabbing my bag. "See ya man."

"I'll be looking out!" The man promised, chuckling. What a prick, god I loved him. Now back outside, I made the last turn and arrived at my home. Standing in front of my apartment complex, I headed inside. The door's were a bitch to pull apart. A sign that the grime was starting to be a real issue. As soon as I was in the lobby, I could feel the bellboy's intense stare from across the room. He never talked to me, but he sure did enjoy letting his eyes burrow under my skin. Of course, he did this while also not doing his job properly, so maybe he was just warning me not to go to his boss. If only he knew how little I had to gain from that. I gave him an awkward wave before walking to the stairs, heading up and up to the fifth floor.

The whole floor had the disgusting stench of death. Burnt death no less. Someone must have been judged today. I groaned, pinching my nose shut. Memories of gruesome deaths played through my head. I had never been bothered by the sight, but the smell was always the worst part. I…had absolutely no interest in going to check who had ended up becoming god's next toast slice, but knowing the smell of decay was only gonna get worse pushed me to do so. I followed the smell down the hall, doing my best not to vomit.

As the smell got worse though, I noticed something that was…interesting. That is, one of the rooms towards the hall's end was open. Odd. Did it happen as soon as they got home? My mind went through as many different possibilities that realistically could have led to the door still being open. and my body halted when I came to one.

"Hey…this isn't, like, a murder right?" I wanted to chuckle at the idea, but staring at the cracked open door, I felt like I couldn't completely rule it out until I actually saw what was going on. "I…really don't wanna though…" Sure I've seen people die a lot. I have for a while. Come on though, actually being in the crossfire sounds scary. I may have talked about waging war and shit, but I was still just a coward, and not afraid to live like one. I turned my head to see my own apartment. I began to turn myself around, justifying it all the while. Someone else would surely handle it. It didn't have to be me. I would just make things worse somehow if it really was a murder.

Unfortunately, all these justifications meant nothing. The decision was taken from me. In fact, I'd say the outcome had been decided when I met that girl all those days ago.

"Marcus?! The hell are…you actually live here?!" The recognizable voice put a spell on me. Turning back to the door, I saw the girl from a week before. She was…covered in blood. What the hell happened? I felt my lips try to move, but they only stuttered. "Shit, it's coming back. Get in!" She reached forward and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the apartment. As soon as I was inside, I finally reached the limit for the contents of my stomach. Whoever this neighbor once was, they now existed only as stains of blood and gore all over the place. The smell was forcing its way deep inside me, and It was too much. Letting my vomit fall on the floor, I groaned. She seemed caught off guard by my blowing chunks, before lightly patting my back. "You've definitely seen worse than this. I need you to keep your head, okay?"

"How would you…mind reader…right." I'm just stressed was all I wanted to blurt out then, but it definitely would have been inappropriate. I wiped the remaining chunks from my lips as I did my best to avoid looking at any one place for too long. "This wasn't an act of judgment was it?" The question felt stupid even just leaving my mouth.

"Depends on who you think was doing the judging." She clicked her tongue, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the apartment's kitchen, opening the pantry cabinet and quickly pulling out everything, throwing me inside. "You stay in here, no matter what, got it?" Her warning was the last thing I saw before she slammed the pantry's door closed, leaving me in the cramped dark. God, that sucked. All thoughts of how much it sucked, however, were quickly brought to an end when I heard the sound of a pair of massive footsteps echoing from outside.

Something terrifying was just outside.