Kevin's afternoon isn't what he anticipated.


This chapter is part of my WOTF series, which has been an ongoing series I've been working on for a while.
For the Last Chapter: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31101245/
For Chapter 1: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20765988/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four Days Before the Full Moon
Monday Afternoon: 1:46 PM

"Wolf on the Field," Nicholas volunteered to Kevin, who stared out the classroom window, gazing at the street leading out of the school.

Kevin smirked at the concept of what Nicholas suggested before stating, "That's a little tacky." He turned to face his copy-writer-closest friend. "Don't you think?"

"I think it nice balance of tacky, yet engages the reader."

"I don't want click bait," Kevin said exhaustedly, dropping himself into the nearest desk chair. "Anyone can write something flashy that makes someone want to read it. You know what I want, something that has actual substance to it. Something meaningful."

"Dude, it doesn't have to be all amazing or anything. You know that most will just look at the picture and read like, five words of it."

"So we should lower our standards because the majority of people aren't capable of reading a sentence? That's inane."

"Why you gotta go an use all big words, as if you're proving something?" Nicholas coyly responded.

"'Inane' is not a 'big word,' as you put it."

Kevin found himself zoning out as he spoke, wishing his world wasn't so complicated. This entire day he had immersed himself in his newspaper work, so much so that he managed to get out of his classes. It was to escape his feelings of despair, loneliness, and worse, failure. Yet this was his consistent world, putting on an aggressive face, hiding any trace of worry in his life.

"What's with you lately, Kev?" Nicholas eyed his editor-in-chief curiously. "It's like you've made this - all of this - like, the meaning of life."

Kevin slowly shook his head, reminded of how isolated he was in the world that surrounded him. He gazed back at Nicholas. "You know, the other day, I was on the bus, headed home. Two seats in front of me is Tyler Mertens with that cocky smile of his and that unearned six-pack body. I'm sitting there and the bus suddenly swerves to the right - Someone cut the bus off and the driver had to react. The bus actually lurched so much so to the right that you could feel the wheels lift slightly off the road, and I'm thinking 'oh no, this is it,' but then it occurred to me, if something happened, if this buss actually flipped and people died, it's not me they'd be mourning, it's him - The jock, the football star. In the social system of our school, that's it. Play football, you're a star." Kevin stared Nicholas sternly in the eyes. "Did you know that colleges spend, on average, nearly one-hundred-thousand dollars per athlete yearly?"

Nicholas smiled. "So what you trying to say, you want to be a jock?"

Kevin looked away, frustrated that his friend was unable to register his sentiment. He exhaled just as the bell for the next class change began to ring.

"I got to go," Nicholas said, gathering his notebooks. "Are you finishing this for me?" He asked, gesturing at the interview notes scattered on the table.

"Yeah, go," Kevin muttered, staring down.

He turned his head, watching Nicholas leave the classroom before shoving the notes and paperwork onto the floor in a fury.

He walked into the hallway just as the bell signaling the next class block rang. He felt a momentary sense of happiness, knowing he was alone in the hallway, away from the constant disappoint he faced. He headed towards the bathroom, pushing at the door, until - He collided hard with the door, banging his face against it. "Ow!" He gasped, clutching his face, specifically his nose, which he feared for a split second he had broken.

Looking up, he realized the bathroom door was locked. He punched the door in anger, needing a cathartic release. He felt his body freeze and his heart stop when he heard a distinctive growl on the other side of the door, a clear response to the sound of his fist against the door.

His aching face no longer was an issue, nor did he care that his nose was lightly dripping blood. He stared at the door, hesitating and speculating that what he heard was accurate. He edged forward, contemplating for a brief moment if he was making a mistake, but knocked on the bathroom door with the joint of his pointer finger.

One knock - Two knocks - He jumped back in terror at the immediate sound of something wild, something dangerous, something vicious on the other side of the door that rammed itself hard against the barrier, nearly causing the door to break from its hinges. Kevin found himself thrown back, falling back onto his back hard in the middle of the hallway, before sitting up and staring, mouth-gaped-open at the bathroom door, as something within desperately wanted to break out and attack him.

He could hear a distinct scratching against the back of the door, then a fierce crack as he saw what looked to the tips of two claws penetrate through the wood door, seemingly tearing the door apart.

Kevin scurried on his feet, making it two steps before tripping over his own foot and falling down, hard, onto the hallway floor, hitting the side of his face. Not deterred, he bolted back inside of the classroom he had designated as his newspaper room, slamming the door behind him, and collapsing to the floor, using his back as a seeming barricade if whatever was inside were to dare attempt to enter.

His breathed in-and-out hastily, trying to catch his breath, but also to avoid the possibility of a panic attack. 'What the hell was that?!" He thought in a panic.

"Did I imagine that up?" He found himself saying out loud in a panicked, exasperated tone of voice.