stevie hopkins
- november 13, 2017 -

I HOBBLED DOWN THE HALL using my newly acquired crutches the best that I could. I remember when Ryan was on crutches for months and he complained non-stop. Now I understand why. I thought he was being a child at the time, but crutches were the literal worst.

            Everywhere I went I was hitting someone or something, it was terrible. Half the time I was on the verge of just throwing them in the dumpster and damning the consequences. It was crazy that I even had to use the stupid things. I barely even fell. I was practically a twist of the ankle. How it did so much damage, I'll never understand.

            I couldn't get comfortable doing any of my hobbies. It was awkward to go anywhere. I'd been held up in my room for days now. This was how people went inside. I'd already caught up on every single homework assignment, plus the ones my teachers gave me after begging them for something to do.

            My math professor gave me a sudoku book to work through... Finished it in one night. He refused to give me another one.

            Gimping passed the bulletin board, I stopped. Slowly, I moved backwards to scan the different flyers. Maybe I could simply find something else to occupy my time. There was this bright yellow flyer for the poetry club right up front.

            An image of men in tights flashed through my head. Actually, an image of Xavier in tights went through my head and I cringed. The last thing I wanted to do with my time was spend it in a musty, old library listening to people talk about the sun and Shakespeare as if they had any more meaning than they actually did.

            Maybe finding another wasn't all that bad as long as I kept my grades up and if it could look good on applications, that was always a plus. I could tutor someone in math. That would look good for someone majoring in Education and Mathematics.

            A shadow appeared over my shoulder, "Thinking of joining?"

            I jumped, fumbling over the crutches. I turned around and stared at a girl who laughed, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," she smiled and held up her hands, "I mean, not anymore than it seems I already have. I'm sorry about your foot by the way."

            "It's no big deal, really." I cleared my throat, "I'm just out of commission for a little while is all, plus it wasn't your fault." I stared at her and there was something in her eyes... Hope maybe? I couldn't tell. People were far too complicated.

            My heart pounded in a strange rhythm... More like a flutter than an actual heartbeat. She had this faraway beauty about her that was so captivating. I blinked a couple of times and tried to look at anything that wasn't her or her face.

            "Well, come on then," she gestured with her head down the hallway.

            My eyes followed her and a smile slowly grew on my lips, "Where are we going?"

            "I'm about to change your life," she walked backwards and her hands went towards the ceiling, "we may end up among the stars or at the tops of mountains, but I can guarantee, without a doubt in my mind, that even in a hallway such as this, I still have the best view with such a pretty face."

            I breathed a nervous laugh, my brows knitting, "Was—Was that about me?"

            "Do you think you have a pretty face?" Smiling, she sent me a wink and the air caught in my throat for a moment, "Guess you'll just have to follow me and find out, won't you?"

            Shaking my head, I followed after her. She slowed her pace enough for me to catch up. It was a nice thing to do. I guess I was joining the poetry club after all. That right there. That was why I didn't look back that day.

            The only thing I knew about poetry was what I'd seen a movie once. As long as there wasn't any actual writing involved, I could possibly get by. I was a numbers person. I didn't do words or metaphors or whatever else they did.

            "I don't remember catching your name earlier," I said once we entered the elevator which was a whole other battle in itself.

            She leaned one shoulder against the wall and grinned. She had a great smile. I wasn't perfect by any means, but it lit up her face. Her entire persona had this brightness to it. Maybe that was what made a great smile great. Not the smile itself, but the person.

            She wore these dark, skinny jeans and a sweatshirt that was at least two sizes too big for her. A large slouching beanie sat on her mess of brown hair, "How could you if I never threw it?"

            I laughed, hopping back to rest against the handrail, "Wow, you really know how to make people work for it, don't you?"

            I'd never had to fight this hard to get someone's name before. I don't recall having to fight this hard to get anything from anyone before, but I guess that's what happened when people don't just know who you are. I forget that people don't know my name from just looking at me in this town.

            "No," she shook her head, "only the ones I think are up for the challenge and you look like someone who would welcome a challenge. I once gave a girl my number in roman numerals."

            "Yeah?" I laughed, "And, how'd that work out for you?"

            Her eyes darted from me and locked on the carpet between us, "She never called."

            I rested a hand on my heart, "I hate to say I'm not at all surprised. Most people have a hard enough time just remembering roman numerals are a thing. I think that's something I'm going to push my students to learn."

            "Students?"

            I laughed, "I'm getting a Teaching degree with a double major in Education and Mathematics."

            "A numbers gal," she smiled, looking up at me through her lashes. Something in the air stirred, "I like it."

            She didn't seem like the kind of girl to come off this smooth in a conversation. With her wild hair and child-like features, yet she seemed completely comfortable within her own body. Something I wish I could do.

            The elevator door opened with a ding and she pushed off the wall with ease. Her eyes moved over my body, sending a shiver dancing down my spine. Was there anything this girl couldn't do smoothly?

            She kept a hand firmly planted on the door to keep them from closing as I maneuvered my way out. A blast of cold air hit me hard and my shoulders tensed up.

            "Chelsea," she spoke, letting out a sigh. I tried to say something back to her, but my brain was moving that quickly.

            If she killed me down here, not a single person would know about it. I hadn't even told Ethan where I was going. I hadn't planned on coming down here. This was where they shoved all the clubs, they didn't know what to do with.

            I always thought things like that stopped after high school. Bowling For Soup had it right after all. High school really never does end, does it?

            A low constant beat caught my attention. I glanced over at Chelsea, but she simply smiled and continued down the poorly lit hallway. I'm pretty sure I actually saw one of them flicker as we walked past it.

            It gave off some intense horror movies vibes that was for sure. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I looked up to find a pair of twins standing at the end. Or if something simply walked through one of the walls at any given moment.

            "Come on, you're going to love this."

            Yeah, being led down a creepy murderous hallway by a really cute and mysterious girl to a background track of sacrificial sounding music in a college basement... Totally my scene.

            The further down the hall we got, the louder the thumping beat became until we were standing outside the last door. A large smile formed on Chelsea's face. It was clearly some kind of music, but nothing I recognized.

            She grabbed the handle and pushed the door open to reveal five students sitting in a circle and one teacher in the far corner at a desk with nothing but a book and a cup of coffee. Music pounded against my ears, just like it had the day we met and I couldn't help but smile.

            Light shined down on the student, but the rest of the room seemed to be shadowed in darkness. All heads turned towards us. One of the girls grabbed a phone next to her and the music lowered, "Chels, hey."

            "Hey," she waved as we made our way into the room.

            A raven-haired girl raised her pierced brow. Large, oval glasses took up most of her face and her lips were painted a deep red. She looked like she wouldn't hesitate to jump me at any given moment, but then she smiled and my entire theory about her flipped on its head, "Who's your friend?"

            Laughing, Chelsea turned and looked between me and the rest of the group, "This is Stevie, the girl I told you guys about. She's going to be joining us until her foot's better. At least I'm hoping she is. That's cool, right Jackson?"

            The man in the back of the room didn't even bother to look up for his book, but instead took a sip of his coffee, "The more the merrier, I always say."

            A dark-skinned boy nodded his head, "So this is her. Very nice. Good to know you weren't lying when you were raving about how pretty she was," his voice took on a gentle mocking tone as he made kissy faces at Chelsea.

            Everyone laughed along with him. My cheeks flushed, but I hoped that the room was dark enough that no one noticed; especially Chelsea. He moved over, giving us just enough room to squeeze into the circle.

            "I didn't interrupt the sacrifice, did I?" I laughed as I struggled to sit on the ground. The whole room went quiet and they turned to look at me.

            "Chels," the raven-haired girl's eyes widened and she pushed up her glasses, "you didn't tell her?"

            I forced a smile trying my hardest not to seem at all worried, but it still managed to waver, "Tell me what?"

            Chelsea sighed, "No, Luna, I haven't had the opportunity yet, but thanks for bringing it up."

            My stomach twisted into knots. The fancy kind that won medals at county fairs, "Tell me what, now?"

            Turning to me, Chelsea frowned, "There is something I didn't quite mention. Before you can 'officially' join the club, there is just a tiny, little thing you have to do..."

            That was it. I was going to have to do something gross or disturbing just to sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers. That was how people ended up in cults. I didn't want to be in a cult. They might even push me into the middle and sacrifice me. I couldn't get away even if I wanted to.

            Why did I even get into that damn elevator in the first place?

            The whole room erupted into laughter and Chelsea covered her grin with her hands, "We're only joking. You don't have to do anything. You should have seen your face though. You'd think we were going to kidnap you or something. From this day forward consider yourself an honorary member of the Kensington Poets Society."