Forward
I was not ready for this undertaking. I thought I could just edit the Brain School here and there, being a kind co-pilot to young Solomon. With this chapter, young Solomon has lost his driving privileges. I’m back in the driver’s seat, letting “YS” sit in my lap. He can pretend he’s driving by himself, but I’m right there, making sure he doesn’t drive us off the cliff like that suicidal brat wants to do. Conversely, this metaphor has totally escaped my control.
Chapter 7 has had the most glaring plot holes thus far, including a scene in which Warren fights off shadows in a library and walks away without any consequences. Those shadows will return in the book, but YS thought including them in this chapter was just what we needed to keep the action going. Wrong, Young Solomon; you were incredibly wrong.
I’ve cut out about a third of this chapter in revising it. I’ve excised ridiculous descriptions. I’ve rewritten dialogue and characters, especially Irene. I’ve also severely reduced the amount of damage Warren experiences. At the end of the last chapter, I had changed a section in which Tommy pushed Warren into his bed, resulting in Warren’s head colliding with the bed frame. He later gets beat up by the shadows. We won’t talk about next chapter. We’ll see if I cut out that violence.
In the interest of keeping the original voice and tone of the Brain School, I still haven’t revised it in a way that reflects my current writing style. Bits and pieces of my current style are present, but at the end of the day, this is still young Solomon’s book, not mine. We’ll see if this mentality survives past the next chapter.
*
Chapter 7 – Arising Conflicts
I awoke to a drumbeat against the inside of my skull. Pain radiated from my back where it had been hit the night before. My stomach joined the chorus, tightening in anger against its emptiness. Even before my brain was ready to recognize it, my body communicated that it didn’t want to face the day ahead.
I swung my legs off the bed and sat up, cursing again as my head began to throb. I cupped my head into my hands. Through the slits between my fingers, I eyed the room and found all of my roommates sleeping. Tommy lay across from me, and I stifled the urge to ram my foot into his face.
“5:30 a.m.” blazed across the face of my watch. With half an hour still to rest, I collapsed back into the soft comfort of my bedding. I urged myself to fall back to sleep, but both ache and worry urged against this. I needed to do something.
I needed a plan. Would it help to join the Brain School Survivors? Hell, why couldn’t I just listen to Tommy and stay out of it all? God knew I didn’t have to save the school from certain death, but what would happen if I left my fate with Tommy? I seemingly had two choices. I could be lazy and not do anything, or I could lend a hand with Mind’s work. Who was the right one to follow: Tommy or Mind?
Both weren’t right. Both embodied arrogance, and neither was scared enough. In this situation, the grey seemed friendlier than the black or white. I had to stay in the middle and lead myself, but I could pretend to go along with each side. That meant I would have to join the BSS while ensuring Tommy wasn’t be my enemy. I didn’t like the latter idea, but it had to be part of the plan.
I pushed myself off my mattress and focused on my morning routine. I showered, washing off days of sweat, dirt, and tears. I tried to empty my mind as I brushed my teeth. I dressed myself in a clean outfit, almost able to pretend it was just another day.
When I had finished, “6:07” glared at me in green pigments. I needed to speak to Tommy eventually, but this morning, I didn’t want to pretend to go with his plan. I wasn’t ready to give him that honor. I snatched my wallet from yesterday’s pants and walked out of the dorm.
There were few people out at this time, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. It was to my disappointment then that I found Eli in the cafeteria. He saw me as I entered and indicated that he expected me to sit with him. Resigned, I grabbed my food and joined him.
“Hey Warren,” he said as I sat down. He studied my face and frowned. “You don’t look like you’re doing too well; something wrong?”
“Just a bit of a headache, that’s all,” I replied.
“Oh,” he mumbled. “That sucks.” He paused as I stared at my plate, figuring out my portion today. “Hey,” he began again, “I heard you’re thinking about joining the Brain School Survivors. What’s your opinion of them so far?”
“You know about them?” I sputtered through a mouthful of pancakes.
“Yeah, I was one of the first members,” he boasted. “Mind, Alex, and I started the group when we first started noticing strange things. So, you still haven’t answered my question.”
“How many BSS members are there?” I continued, ignoring his question.
Eli sighed. “There are about forty of us right at the moment, and please, use Brain School Survivors instead of BSS. I told them the name was stupid—especially for that acronym—but it stuck. Anyway, our numbers have stabilized because only a few have been able to go without food. Some students are still not able to remember anything even when they eat very little. Now, can you answer my question?”
“Yes, I’m going to join your group,” I mumbled. “Don’t expect me to give myself up to the good of the society, but yes, I will join your meetings and take part in the activities that seem beneficial.”
“Great attitude,” Eli countered, but he didn’t appear offended. “I just suggest you don’t act this way in front of Mind. He might not let you stay a member if he felt you weren’t taking it seriously. I don’t know what you’ll consider “beneficial,” but it would be good to have you. Make sure to kiss up a bit to Mind, but I’ll make sure you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Work for you?”
“Sure,” I replied hesitantly.
“Great! I’ll see you at the meeting tonight then, assuming that headache doesn’t get worse.” He gave me a warm smile and nudged me.
I was about to ask another question when Eli shouted at someone behind me. I shifted in my seat and saw a group of guys coming toward our table. Among them was Tommy, acting his normal joking and deceitful self. Eli continued to wave them over until each of them grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the table.
“Hope we’re not intruding upon anything,” Tommy said to Eli as he sat down, flicking his eyes over to me. “We don’t want to interrupt any romantic conversations the two of you may be having.” The table responded with rambunctious laughter, too energetic for this early in the day.
Eli said something in response, and the laughter continued, but I couldn’t join in. As Tommy smirked and giggled along with the rest, his eyes remained planted on me, cutting into my thoughts. It seemed he wanted me to clearly understand where we now stood after last night’s exchange.
I quietly excused myself from the table. There was some fuss—mainly from Tommy—but I stood firm and left. I couldn’t stand pretending to banter with Tommy. I needed a break from him. I needed a break from everyone.
However, my social studies class would not provide that reprieve. Having arrived early, I had some minutes to myself in an empty classroom, but the other students would follow. I rested my forehead against the desk and tried to pull at the fragments of a plan in my head. I had fantastical ideas of rallying the student body to rebel. I thought of running away, hopping the gate, and disappearing into the forest.
Mr. Drake entered the room, greeting those of us scattered in the room. My hopes scattered similarly. I imagined him in his monstrous form, tearing through crowds of teenagers without us being able to react. I began to sweat as I thought of him hunting me down in the forest.
I breathed in and pulled my forehead off the desk, offering a weak smile to Drake who was now looking at me. He had a concerned look on his face, as if he could tell I was stressed. He seemed to look like he actually cared. Hatred boiled in my stomach. If he did care about me, it was the same care a slaughterer shared with his livestock.
After Tommy funneled in to class with the rest, my hatred overwhelmed me. It was not a foreign feeling because it was the same hatred I had felt before I had entered this damned school. This hatred grew out of powerlessness and confusion. It felt like I could not control anything, but I had all of the playing pieces in front of me. I knew that the school staff were monsters, but they had already shown how much control they had over us, even in their human forms. I theoretically had allies, but they had their heads up their asses and did not seem to listen to reason.
I stewed in this emotion all through class, staring a hole into the middle of my desk. Drake’s lecture droned on, and Tommy sat in my periphery. I could not ignore either of them, so I screamed internally, hoping it would not slip out.
By the time class had finished, I was fully pressured, anger threatening to burst from every one of my pores. As I trudged out of class and to my dorm, I made a point of needlessly bumping into others. I knew it was juvenile, but I dared any one of them to say anything. I wanted to punch a face, any face. I waited for retaliation, an insult, a sneer, anything to give me a reason to start something. None came.
When I entered the gym, a large group of students caught my eye. Potential conflict. Gym class wasn’t being held in the gym this week, so this group wasn’t here for any class. As I shuffled closer, I saw that most of the students had created a semi-circle, pinning one person in a corner of the gym. Judging from the people I could see, the posse seemed to consist of the US. I suspected they were either bullying a lesser individual or listening to their leader. With my mind set to its pessimistic ideals, I doubted their leader would be retreating from the group.
That was enough for me to act. I saw an opportunity to stick up for someone while simultaneously releasing my aggression. This was not the norm for me, but it seemed normal didn’t matter much in this school anymore.
“-hell you’re doing creeping around us?” As I drew near and circled round the group, I found Xavier Barron was the owner of the accusing voice. After Michael McGowan disappeared from school, Xavier took his place as head of the US. He led his group out of mourning for their past leader and into an age of popularity. He was smart, athletic, and completely full of shit. I would have a hard time saving whoever the hell decided bother him.
“Answer my question!” Xavier yelled at the girl who had now backed herself into the corner. I remembered her from some of my classes. I knew her name, but I didn’t know her personally. She wasn’t really the outgoing type. She usually sat in the back of the class, away from everyone. I never saw her with any friends; I didn’t really see her at all for that matter. Why would a wallflower like her sneak up on the US?
“What the fuck were you doing?” Xavier shouted again. “You think you can sneak yourself into our group? Hey! Answer, you bi-”
“Jesus, Xavier, lay off her!”
Xavier shifted stiffly to where I stood a few feet away. I felt a mass of eyes turn to me as the group opened to include me. My sense of reason crawled out from under my hatred, mustering the strength to question whether this was actually a good idea.
“Who the hell are you?” Xavier spat through gritted teeth. He glanced back at the girl and then at me. “I know your type of trash tends to stick together, but I didn’t think any of you actually had a spine.” He turned with a snide grin to his followers and was complimented with a few laughs.
“We’re going with stereotypical bullying today, are we?” I retaliated. “Are you going to threaten to stick my head down a toilet next?”
“Oh shut the f-”
“No cussing in school!” I managed with a grin. This banter was cathartic, but I was becoming increasingly concerned about my exit strategy.
“I can say any fucking wordI want,” Xavier snapped. “Why am I talking to you anyway?” Xavier looked back over to the girl. “My business is with this chick, and I believe you have nothing to do with her.” He started walking back to the girl.
“She has a name, you know,” I said, my voice now beginning to falter as I cringed at my own words. Xavier immediately stopped and turned around as if he was waiting for my response. “It’s Irene.”
“And why the fuck do I care? I don’t even know who the hell you are.” He scoffed at me, seeming to finally size me up.
I almost said my name and then thought against it. Instead, I just stood silently, hoping I would appear intimidating.
“Nothing? After all of that, you got nothing now?” Xavier laughed as he began to circle Irene. I glanced at her and found her staring directly at me. Her blank eyes didn’t show any fear or apprehension. If she was showing any emotion, it was apathy. There was none of the thankful princess stereotype I had been imagining. What the hell was I doing here?
Xavier seemed to pick up on the fact that he was having a greater impact on me than he was on her. He watched me as he walked closer to Irene.
“All that bravado and now you look more scared than this chick here.” He stopped and stood behind her, and being a full foot taller than me, he seemed to arch over Irene menacingly. He leaned over beside her ear and cooed, “I’m just trying to figure out why this bitch has been stalking us; that’s all. You can act like her knight in shining armor all you want, but I’m not the bad one here.” He smirked and eyed me again. “You seem to think I’m some kind of monster.”
In my head, at that moment, he was. I watched his skin bubble off as he mutated in that monster that Drake had become. The scene then flashed to Irene being ripped apart by him, viscera and blood splattering across a cheering audience. My heart began to race, and I felt my breath hitch in my throat.
The nightmare drained away as I heard Xavier and his posse laugh at me. He was pointing at me, and I imagine from his position, it had looked like he had scared me. The anger reignited in my stomach. He was nothing compared to what I had seen.
“Leave her alone,” I hissed.
Xavier laughed all the harder. “You’re funny to watch, man. One moment, you’re pissing yourself, and the next, you’re back to your shitty hero act.” He shook his head and met my gaze, his eyes reflecting a spite not in his voice. “You can run off now. I’ll make sure everyone talks about how you bravely stood up to me.”
“Leave her alone, Xavier,” I repeated, holding my ground. Irene continued to watch me, almost as if observing a science experiment.
“I don’t have time for this,” he mumbled, pushing Irene aside and planting himself in front of me. I had to look up to keep eye contact, and this close up, it was that more evident how disadvantaged I was physically. He seemed to fully understand my thought process.
“You’re really going ahead with this?” he laughed in my face. “This girl doesn’t seem to give two shits about you, and you’re still here? I’m not even in the wrong here, dickwad. She’s been creeping around us, butting into things like you are. Now, butt out before-“
I had had enough. I grabbed both of Xavier’s shoulders before he could finish his sentence. Once I had a firm grasp, I used him as leverage as I rammed my knee right into his groin. It was a direct hit. With a grunt, Xavier fell to the ground, wheezing. I knew my attack was highly undignified, but I wasn’t going for the dignified hero look.
“Come on, Irene,” I called out as I took a few steps away from Xavier, who continued to gasp from the fetal position. The rest of the US did not seem the slightest bit interested in me, and several had knelt down beside their leader. Irene, comparatively, seemed unmoved by what had just happened and followed me. I could hear some of the US speaking under their breath, and Xavier wasn’t breathing as heavily. It was time to head off.
Both Irene and I had Mr. Tower next, so I didn’t have to worry about escorting her anywhere. Silently, both of us walked briskly to his class. Inside, she retired to her usual seat in the back of the class. I hesitated for a moment, questioning whether I should follow her. Kneeing Xavier in the balls had been cathartic, and I was coming to realization I had just helped a cute girl. I decided to sit beside her.
She did not respond as I sat down. She didn’t even look at me. She had placed a notebook on her desk and began writing in it. From my angle, I could not see what she was doing, but I was bothered that her attention was not on me.
I shifted in my seat, facing her. “Sorry that I didn’t help much,” I offered, hoping my understatement would get some sort of response. She looked up from her notebook and at me, seeming to process what I had said. As if this was a cue, I continued awkwardly, “Since those US jerks are probably going to follow both of us for a while, I’m happy to stick around if that would help. After all, it’ll be my fault if they get mad at us.”
She paused, looking back at her notebook before turning back to me. “Why did you help me?” she asked, her voice soft, almost a whisper. This was the type of question which would have allowed me to boast about myself, but the way she asked it killed that spirit. She was not interested in me; she seemed interested in my behavior.
“Uh…well…” I stumbled, thrown off by the tone of the question. “I knew that scumbag had it in for you, and my conscience wouldn’t let me sleep if I had just passed you by without trying to help.”
“So you’re like some type of Prince Charming?” she asked. That comment stung, but it seemed less intended to insult than it was to categorize me.
“Uh…no, I’m not any type of Prince Charming,” I replied shakily. “Kicking someone in the balls kind of disqualifies you.” I expected at least a smirk, but I got nothing. Her eyes seemed to burn through my retinas and into my soul. I continued, scared of the silence, “I acted on instinct and adrenaline, not much else.”
Irene studied me for a bit longer and then shook her head. “Thanks anyway,” she replied. It almost looked like she had smiled, but at this point, I was convinced it could have been a nervous tic instead. I was about to speak again, but the bell cut me off. I turned to sit facing forward, glad our exchange had ended. It started to seem less crazy to me that she’d be snooping around the US.
That thought didn’t feel right, and something about her seemed off, even more than her lack of emotion. As Tower’s lecture began, I snuck glances at her, trying to figure out what it was about her that made me feel so off. Then my eye caught it. A silver chain around her neck. I had been used to seeing it on the teachers, so I was familiar with how the chain looked compared to other necklaces, but I hadn’t anticipated students could also wear it. She had it mostly tucked underneath her shirt, but I was certain the necklace was the same sapphire necklace that now haunted me.
I stared at my desk, feeling the hair on my skin rise. I tried to convince myself it was all coincidence, but I knew coincidences were things of the past now. She was connected to the teachers. I didn’t know if this meant she was a monster nor did I want to find out, but that didn’t stop my mind from imagining what different creatures she might be.