We are going to be so late, I lamented as I drove just below the speed limit.

We’d missed the first period already, and we would probably miss second, too. Stacey had already said she was going to sit it out in the bathroom. I would have snickered at the unintended pun, but the situation didn’t call for it.

As long as we didn’t get caught by any teachers, we would be fine. Though they might bring it up with our parents because Stacey and I had skipped a few classes so we could hook up…

When we got close to the school, I slowed down the car. Stacey sighed beside me, and I shot her an apologetic look.

“You know I don’t like it either,” I said, trying to placate her.

“I know,” she said, shrugging. “It’s just such a fucking pain. I wish I were the one with the car; then I could make you walk part of the way back to school.”

I bit my lip on whatever I wanted to say, because I knew she wouldn’t find it amusing, and the last thing I wanted was for her to get angry at me. It was a bad idea to get her even more riled up when she was already sulking because of this morning.

It made me wondered what she’d done, those few times we got enough private time to fuck at school. Usually, I just took her somewhere with my car. To an open field, a part of the park people don't walk by too frequently…

But then, considering she was wearing a G-string this time, her panties wouldn’t be much protection, either.

“You can just stop here,” she said, already reaching for her seatbelt. “I can handle a block.”

I winced. “Dropping you a block away, though…”

“You know the drill. We can't get caught coming in late together. If that leaks out, everyone will make the obvious conclusion that we were together. I don’t want to have to start answering annoying questions, or to hear people gossiping about me.”

Because I didn’t want to argue, I slid the car to a stop against the curb. But I caught her by the arm before she could get out. I leaned over, and realizing what I wanted, she leaned back, our lips meeting between the seats.

“Kevin,” she said in warning when I went to deepen the kiss, placing a hand on my chest and pushing lightly. “You need to go if you don’t want to be late. And, I have a bit of walking to do.”

“Can't I just drop you off closer to the school?” I offered. “I mean, around right now, most people will be in classes, right? No one might even see us.”

“Might,” she repeated, arching her eyebrows like that alone made her point. “Just go. Now would be the worst time to have stories floating around. I’ll be fine. I already told you, right? I won’t be making second period. I’ll just go to my third period class.”

After saying that, she opened the door and got out before I could protest some more, closing the door behind her. She started walking down the sidewalk, and I watched her go.

It’s just a few minutes, barely ten if she walks slowly. She’ll get there.

This wasn’t the first time it had happened, anyway. I just hated making her walk. But, it would be even stranger if I gave her my car to drive to school while I walked, and she didn’t have a car of her own.

I arrived just as I heard the bell go off; then noises started up in the school building. Which meant the students were changing classes. I grabbed my bag and jumped out of my car, running inside. I rushed to my locker, switching out some books in my bag, and then ran to my next class.

I made it just in time and moved toward the back, where my usual seat was. Then I frowned when I noticed the one next to it was still empty.

Where the fuck is Rod?

I sat down and waited to see if he would walk in. But when everyone was settled down, and the teacher walked in and shut the door, he still wasn’t there.

He fucking skipped?

Rod, unlike me, had a near perfect attendance record. The few times he had been absent from classes, was because he was sick and stayed home.

So, where the fuck is he?

Maybe he just decided not to go to school. But wasn’t Stacey waiting for him to leave this morning? I guess I never did ask her if he did…

I put the matter out of my mind, though I felt uneasy. Maybe whatever he was dealing with was too much, and he ended up staying at home for the day. He had been acting strange enough; it wouldn’t be so far out there to believe even he could use a rest now and then.

Because he wasn’t there, I had to focus in class. Usually, he helped me out, taking notes, and I copied them later on. Then, when it was around time for tests, he would help me out while we studied. There were subjects I was good at that he wasn’t, and I took that role then, but this was calculus. I could listen to what the teacher was saying, copy down what he was writing on the board, but I didn’t get everything. I’d have to run it by him later and hope he could make sense of it all where I couldn’t.

Then, halfway through the class, there was a knock at the door.

I perked up immediately, stretching my neck out to try and see through the glass on the door. Could it be Rod, finally? I’d been worried he wasn’t going to be around for the day…

But the teacher opened the door, and my mood dropped again. It wasn’t him; it was another member of staff. He and the teacher talked, then the door closed and the teacher slowly walked back to his desk.

The others were probably expecting the lesson to continue. But when I was paying attention, I was pretty good at reading people, and right then, the teacher looked troubled. I wasn’t as surprised as some of my classmates when he set down the textbook he was holding up and turned to face us with a heavy expression. The others started murmuring and turning to each other, wondering what was going on.

“Class is going to end early today,” he said slowly.

The silence went through the room; then the murmurings came back even louder. He waited a moment, then raised his hand for silence when the noise didn’t die down quickly on its own.

“Please, everyone stay calm. I know you have questions, and they’ll be answered in a minute. A school-wide announcement will be made over the intercom soon. Please, stay in your seats and listen. Afterwards, you can all leave peacefully, please.”

I could practically feel the anticipation in the room. Everyone was curious, wondering what it could be. I was starting to feel a bit frustrated. My eyes were fastened on the door, and in my mind, I was practically begging Rod to walk in through the door at that moment.

After a couple of minutes, the school intercom crackled, then the principles voice came through.

“Morning, students,” the principal said, voice heavy.

I didn’t miss how he didn’t attach the usual ‘good’ before ‘morning.’

I'm just fucking paranoid, I thought. Rod, you motherfucker, just fucking get here…

The principal went on, “I know you’re all confused, but please, no one panic. There…has been an accident.”

My heart thumped hard in my chest. Fuck.

Accidents were things that happened. They weren’t as common in our small town as they were in the big cities that people got to hear about on the news, though. So the fact that there was an accident, and it was being announced in school, meant this was bad. I did my best to calm my racing heartbeat, but it just wouldn’t.

Then my heart jumped in my throat, and I trembled. Fuck, please not Stacey. I knew I shouldn’t have let her walk…

“Earlier this morning,” the principal continued, “there was an accident on the road, a few streets away from the school. No pedestrians were injured…”

I breathed a sigh of relief at that. She must have made it…

“But we’ve received some news of the people in the car. They were both picked up by an ambulance and taken to the hospital…”

I ignored whatever else he said, ignored as the students started muttering among themselves again. Instead, I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. Immediately, I sent Rod a text and waited for him to reply to me.

And waited.

A heavy feeling was growing in my chest.

“… That is all,” the principal said as he finished the announcement.

“All right class,” our teacher said. “You heard him. You may step out of the class if you wish to. I’m afraid I don’t have any answers to this, either, so please no one ask me.”

Then he proceeded to pick up his materials and head for the door.

A moment of silence, then everyone was talking at once, raising the noise level quite a bit. I picked up my bag and rushed out of class, only to pause in the hall. Our class wasn’t the only one letting out early, and I wondered if there would even still be classes after this.

Probably not.

The teacher hadn't gotten far, and I reached for his shoulder. “Excuse me, sir? I know you said you don’t know, but I’ve got to ask…”

“There’s nothing I can tell you,” he said. “I wasn’t told much, just warned about the announcement. The details only just got to the school.”

He went to turn away, but I held him back again.

“That’s just the thing, though,” I said hurriedly. “Why would the school need the information? There’s nothing I can think of, unless—”

“The news had to deal with the school,” he finished, nodding. I took it as confirmation, and my heart constricted in my chest. “Now, besides that much, I have nothing more. Please excuse me.”

I didn’t stop him again, letting his sweater slip through my fingers. I didn’t watch him disappear into the sea of students, instead of reaching for my phone again. Rod still hadn't replied, and I shot off another message. I wished I had room to pace, but the hallways are already growing packed. Then, I wanted to smash my fist into the lockers, but I didn’t want people thinking I’d suddenly gone crazy, either.

“Kevin!”

Someone yelled my name, loud enough to be heard over the murmuring students filling the hallway. I turned to where the voice came from, and saw Stacey struggling through the crowd, trying to get to me. There was this stricken look on her face, so full of fear, and I could feel dread start to grow in my chest.

No…

“Kevin!” she called again, and I had my arms open for her as she fell into them, panting and staring up at me with that look.

Then, she opened her mouth and said, frantically, the last thing I wanted to hear. The one thing I’d been hoping I wouldn’t.

“Kevin... Rod and my mom. They were in an accident.”