Chapter 5.

There's another minute or so of uncomfortable silence, until finally a tall lanky kid wearing a baseball cap stands up . A wave of relief washes over the principles face.

"Thank you, Pauly. Please check in with Sergeant Davidson at the supply room. Everyone else is dismissed."

The auditorium erupts into low level chaos as the students scramble for their bags and exchange goodbyes with their friends. Chase grabs hold of my backpack and steers at me gently in the direction of the exit."C'mon I'll show you where your room is."

"I got it."

"Okay," he says, and I detect a hint of disappointment in his voice "Guess I'll see you in lunch?"

"Sure. Later!"

I easily find my way to the study hall and check in with the teacher,who introduces himself as Mr. Nelson. He assigns me a seat next to a pretty blonde pony-tailed girl, who's obviously Royalty. She's painting her nails a strange neon green colour, and she looks up momentarily to give me a half-hearted smile.

"Hey"

"Hey," I say back.

"I'm Jenna."

"Jane."

Jenna holds her hand out at arm's length and studies it thoroughly."What do you think of this color?"

"It's awesome!" I say. Jenna's face lights up and she leans forward.

"Thanks! My dad brought it back from Gamma Sector when he was sent there on a special mission. He's a scientist working on the cure."

"So is my mom," I say "They probably know each other."

"Probably." Jenna nods. "Do your parents make you attend that lame Family?"

"Yep. Every year." Family day was the labs attempt at rewarding hard work and encouraging employee bonding. Last year's event include cheesy games like a three-legged race and tyg-of-war , ending with a picnic of soggy sandwiches and stale potato chips in a dimly lit conference room. A dull time was had by all.

"Me too," Jenna said and smiled."At least next time we'll have each other to hang out with, right?"

"Shhh!" Mr. Nelson glares at me and Jenna. I smile apologetically at him and begin idly flipping through an Alpha Beat Magazine. Am halfway through an interview with teen hearthrob Zak Furlong when suddenly someone or something starts banging against the classroom door. "Everyone to the back of the room!," Mr. Nelson shouts."Now!" He scrambles to his feet and pulls a pistol out of his hip holster as the door splinter and bursts open.

I follow his orders immediately, pulling a screaming Jenna along with me. As I cover with the rest of the students, a hulking figure walks stiff-legged into the room, growling and waving a mop over his head. He's wearing janitor's outfit with a name patch on the chest that reads ARTIE. His wild eyes flash a dull yellow, and a string of drool hands off of his droopy gray jowls. Mr. Nelson fires the gun at him but misses.

"Aarrrrrrrgghh!" Artie drops the mop and swings both arms at Mr. Nelson, knocking the gun out of his hands . It hits the floor with a metallic click and slides under the teacher's desk.

"Every man for himself!" Mr. Nelson shouts. He picks up the mop and tosses it in my direction. Then he ducks past the trip and runs out the door. As Artie starts his slow but determined shuffle towards me and the rest of the students.

Without a second thought, I pick the mop off the floor and charge towards the meatbag janitor. I shove the mop head into his mouth and push him back to the wall with all my might. "Somebody get the gun," I shout. "I don't think I can hold him like this much longer!"

A tall kid with an afro runs and slides under Mr. Nelson's desk. After a few seconds, he emerges from the other side, points the pistol at Artie's temple, and fires. The rest or the kids, still huddling together at the back emit a collective groan of disgust as I feel a wet splatter against the side of my face. I fell the VM slump down to the floor on the other side of the mop. The kid drops the pistol to his side and holds his other hand up for a high five.

"That was awesome! What's your name, girl?"

"Jane," I say, slapping him some skin. a set of dimples punctuates his goofy grin, and I can't help noticing that he's really cute. I grin back, and we both stand there staring at each other for a few awkward seconds.

"Yeah, well… I'm Michael. You should probably, uh…" He gestures to my forehead. "You got some…uh…brain hour hair."

"Oh, right."

"But wait a second." Michael flips open the chamber of his pistol and drops a bullet into his palm. "Take this. You deserve it."

"Thanks," I say. I take the bullet and give him one more quick smile before leaving for the restroom.

As I clean myself up in the sink of the girls restroom, I notice a small scratch on my hand that must have happened during the attack. I check my watch. There should still be plenty of time to make it to the health office for the antidote, and none of my peers will ever have to know I've been infected.

The nurse at the front desk of the health office greets me with a warm, motherly smile. "Can I help you, Child?"

"Uh…yeah.I, um…" I Nervously stutter. The nurse stares at me, waiting for me to spit it out. "I need a…"

Suddenly the office door swings open and a boy with wavy hair and the bluest eyes I've ever seen walks in.

"Aspirin," I finish, pointing to my skull. "Headache."

The nurse nods and gets up from her desk. She takes a pill from the pharmacy cabinet and hands it to me. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

"Anytime," she says with a grin. "How's it hangin'?"

"Fine and loose as usual." she reaches into her desk drawer for a small plastic inhaler and hands it to him. The boy puts it to his lips and takes a deep gasping breath. He notices me staring and a slight blush colours his cheeks.

"Asthma, " He says with a shrug. "Totally sucks."

I smiled sympathetically, but my brain refuses to cooperate and form an intelligent response. The best I can manage is a weak "Ehhh...."

Wow, that was embarrassing, but maybe I can recover.

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