Chapter 7: The Debt Owed

-Charlotte, January 9th.

Since the start of this school year, my entire grade has been foaming from the mouth in anticipation of this field trip. I myself was no exception, since we didn't have to wear our uniforms I'd even picked out a cute dress. A few things made it so exciting. First, during our entire high school careers, my grade had never had a single class field trip. The issue stems from a mixture of bad planning and lack of funds. Secondly, the trip is scheduled directly after winter break. Well, it's one day after we came back from break, but it's still just as good! Lastly, well this one's more for me, but I really really wanted to show off that dress, something with that kind of price tag needs to be flaunted to the world!

Anyway, that's all gone down the drain now. It's a quarter to noon and I'm sitting in my school uniform in a stuffy classroom all by my lonesome. The teacher said that he was gonna print some papers, but when ten minutes passed without a sign of him returning, I knew he just went to go flirt with the history teacher down the hall. 

I twirled my dark purple hair through my fingertips.

"Hey, isn't heat bad for dyed hair?"

That thought has been running through my mind since yesterday. Apparently, during the break the AC system basically self imploded. How does some shit like that even happen? No one was even in the school, I mean... It's just the type of crap you could only imagine happening in a hellhole school like this. 

I wouldn't even have to put up with this if it wasn't for that crazy 'dark king' bastard! Instead of going on the field trip like I wanted to, I've been at school all day looking for him. You'd think it'd be an easy task, but this has become a real headache. The cafeteria, classrooms, courts, I've checked damn near every inch of this school. And let it be known this school is pretty damn small! 

No biggie though, we have fifth period together so I'll get him then. Nope, not a trace of the kid. 

Of all days, why'd he have to stay home today of all days? 

The only reason that I stayed behind from the trip was to give this to him, that bastard. In my hand, I clutched his phone, though I had an urge to shatter it. 

Having to make up an excuse to tell all my friends was also way too annoying. Not that it was hard, I'm a good liar after all. I just hate lying, I hate it more than anything else in this entire world.

All this for a guy that I can't even have a normal conversation with. Whenever anyone attempts to talk to that lunatic he just starts rambling on about some stupid thing or another. Was he like that back in elementary? I don't remember. At one point in time, I might have, but now all my memories of that boy are of his stupid monologs.

-Yet, out of everyone in the world, it's him that-

...

What even goes through his mind?

Suddenly, I found myself yelling out into the empty classroom's void of silence, "Veri, Veri, Veri! I hate you! Forcing me to lie and not being here when I need you to be! When you're here you annoy me, when you're not here you annoy me, I hate you!"

No, that's not fair. It's not like it's him that's forcing me to be here. That was a decision that I made myself. This is a reality of my own making. After all, I doubt that he'd even understand why I'm doing all this. I can't hate him. I can't really like him either. Maybe it's not a matter of liking or hating. Hmmm, no matter how hard I think about it, deep philosophical stuff is not my area of expertise. 

Whatever. What matters most here is my resolve. I will resolve myself to help Veri, even if it's in some small way.

"I'll repay my debt to him. No matter what."

Chapter end