After School Read online

never stay on me now.”

  “Even if there are a lot of holes, it’ll be better than going outside like this. You’ll freeze to death. I’ll go get them. ”

  She took a few steps back, keeping her eyes carefully trained on Caleb as she dashed into the boys’ room. She saw his jacket, undershirt, pants, and sneakers on the floor in a pile under a urinal. They were blood-splattered. “How could that bastard do this?” She kneeled down and gathered them in her arms. Caleb was right. They were unusable – the undershirt was torn in two, the jacket’s sleeves were ripped off, and the pants were splitting at the seam.

  She then looked over and noticed an oversized shoe hanging out from the handicap toilet stall. Confused, she went to investigate. She recoiled and grabbed a sink to keep her balance.

  Garret lay dead between the toilet and the wall, his drawers at his knees. His eyes and mouth were half-open and blood had pooled around his head. The handle of a small blade protruded from his neck.

  She gasped for air a moment before a breath escaped her lungs as a scream. She recoiled and fell through the stall door, hitting the ground with a thump. Even a bully like Garret looked pitiful with the blood oozing from his lifeless body. She placed her hands over her mouth and muttered a barely audible, “Oh my God!”

  She pushed herself to her feet and dashed out the door, dropping the clothes beneath the sink. Caleb was still seated nervously on the bench.

  She rushed to him and kneeled down to eye level with him. “Caleb, Garret’s still in there. I think he’s dead.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Caleb, you have to tell me what happened. The cops are coming and they’re going to find him.”

  Caleb looked away. “I don’t remember exactly what happened. I just remember that he wouldn’t stop. He just wouldn’t stop . . . I only wanted him to stop doing it. Then he did. I thought it was over, but then he took out the knife and held it to my throat. He told me that he was going to cut off my balls and take them as a prize for doing such a good job. I don’t remember what happened. I must’ve hit the knife away from my throat cause it went into his neck and he started to cough up blood. He was dead before I knew what was happening. I got up and I grabbed whatever clothes I could and walked out. That’s when you found me.”

  Dayana shivered. How could so much horror have gone on just a few rooms away, without anyone noticing? Caleb looked so broken. She worried about what he’d do to himself if left alone.

  Blue and red flashing lights shined through the windows.

  Dayana turned to see the vehicles stopping in the parking lot. “See Caleb? The cops are here. We’ll get you through this.”

  Caleb turned to her and said, “Please, I don’t want to go alone.” He reached out his hand to her. “Can you come with me, so I have a friend there?”

  She took his hand and smiled. “You won’t be alone Caleb. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know how to fix this, but I promise you that we’ll figure it out together.”

  She helped him to his feet. The moment he was off the bench, his boxers snapped off and landed at his feet.

  Dayana could see the mortification in Caleb’s eyes, but she was amazed that he didn’t even try to cover himself.

  She took off her jacket and wrapped it around his waist. “I’m not going to let you be humiliated again, Caleb.”

  “You didn’t have to do that for me.” He stared at the floor, ashamed of himself.

  She turned his head up and looked him in the eyes. “Friends take care of you, no matter what.” A tear escaped her eye. “I’m so sorry that I never paid much attention to you before. Every day you said ‘Hi’ to me and I just kind of ignored you every time.”

  “It’s okay. Everyone did.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s not okay. It’s not okay to treat people like that. And I’m sorry, Caleb. I wasn’t a friend to you and I should’ve been. Maybe if somebody had stepped up sooner, you’d never have been alone. Garret could’ve never done that to you. But I’m here now and I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure you never are without a friend again.”

  Caleb closed his eyes. “Thank you, Dayana.” He hugged her as tightly as his weak arms would allow him too. He pulled back and wiped his tears away.

  Dayana noticed the faintest look of relief in his eyes. It was only a glimmer, but it was something.

  Dayana took Caleb’s hand in hers. “Whatever comes next, Caleb, we’ll face it together.”

  Version 2 of After School

  After School

  “Caleb? Caleb, what happened?” Dayana Forbes dropped the black trash bag in her hands. She stopped her walk out the side door of her high school and stood in horror as a boy from her geometry class stumbled out from the basketball court on the edge of her school grounds. He was clad only in an unbuttoned shirt and torn boxers that barely clung to his waist.

  Each step of his bare feet was a struggle and he appeared about to lose his balance, yet, with every inch, he forced himself forward. His face and exposed limbs were covered in bruises and bloody gashes. His usually tidy brown hair was a mess and his emerald green eyes were filled with a look of horror.

  Dayana could see that he couldn’t stay standing much longer. She ran to him, seeing his legs begin to give out seconds before she reached him. She extended her arms just in time to prevent the tall, but frail boy from crashing to the ground. His bony body felt heavy in her thin arms. It was as if he had no strength to hold himself up.

  She looked around for some sort of seat. She saw a bench a few yards away and assisted him to it – her slender form just barely able to support him – and helped him sit down. A small puddle of blood quickly gathered around where he sat. She also noticed a long trail of blood on the gray cement walkway that led to the bench. These weren’t minor injuries.

  Dayana stood up and looked for any sign of other people. Nobody was around. “Hello? Can anyone hear me? We need help over here!” She felt her throat sting from shouting but it seemed that nobody was near enough to hear. Apparently twilight in winter made high school sports courts poor hangouts. She shuddered to think about what would’ve happened to Caleb if she hadn’t volunteered to bring the trash from class to the dumpster before going home.

  Dayana scanned the school grounds again. There was nobody else in sight. She returned her gaze to her shivering classmate. He looked so pitiful like this. She wanted to go for help but she didn’t want to leave him alone. She feared what he could do to himself even in a few minutes. “Caleb, I’m not going to leave you. But I have to call for help.” She waited for some sign that he understood but he just sat there.

  Dayana pulled out her phone from her coat pocket and dialed 911. As she spoke to the operator, she nervously twirled her long, dirty-blond hair. Her heart was racing but she managed to get out the information without a noticeable stutter. Within a minute, she closed her phone. “I called an ambulance. They’ll be here soon.” She sat down next to him.

  She stroked his neck, not caring about the blood that smeared onto her hands. “What happened to your clothes?” She felt the need to look away. She knew how shy he was and the fact that he didn’t seem to care about his near-naked state troubled her even more. “Caleb, can you hear me?” She gently took his hand.

  No response. He was typically quiet but he was always warm and laid back. Now, he looked almost dead. Only the rise and fall of his chest with each deep breath and the shaking of his entire body gave her a sense that he was still alive.

  “Caleb, you have to tell me what happened.” She tried to look him in the eyes, but his face remained fixated straight ahead.

  “Did he do this? Garret? I know he’s been picking on you.” She felt his grip on her hand tighten. She looked up to see a tear rolling down his cheek, mingling with a spot of blood.

  “I was helping Mr. Altman straighten up after class.” Caleb swallowed a mixture of saliva and blood. “Everyone had gotten into groups so all the desks and chairs were all over the place. It wasn’t fair th
at the teacher had to do all the work. You know?”

  She nodded. “Of course. That was good of you to help.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t think anyone else was still here. Right after Mr. Altman left, I went to my locker and got some books I needed for homework. I walked outside and was turning to go home but Garret was waiting for me at the edge of the driveway. I could see that he was really pissed.” He titled his head back and tried to fight sobs. “I tried to run but he stopped me and threw me into the fence. I called for help but everyone else was gone. Then Garret put his hand over my mouth. He was so much stronger than me.” Caleb held his chest and took a deep breath. “He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the basketball court. I tried to get away again but I couldn’t. When we got to the courts, he threw me down. I remember crashing to the ground. It was so hard. He picked up a basketball and threw it at my head. It hurt. I watched it roll away. He grabbed it and tossed it into the basket. Then he kicked me and said that I was a girly wimp who didn’t belong in the school. Then he kicked me again and again. He just kept kicking and wouldn’t stop. Then he started to rip off all of my clothes. I really thought he was going to kill me.”

  Dayana felt her stomach turn. She thrust her eyes closed. It almost made her vomit to think of how Caleb must’ve felt as he was assaulted. He had skipped a grade