Time for School Ch. 17

Once I finally pulled away from her, she greeted me with a warm smile.

"Thank you for everything," she whispered. "That was so wonderful. I'll never forget this, ever."

"Same here, definitely," I softly replied.

Afterward, Sarah and I put our clothes back on. She took out her glasses from her pocket, which had stayed perfectly intact, fitting them back to the bridge of her nose. She surprised me with another tight embrace when I turned to her. I was more than happy to accept those any time. When her arms fell away from me, she took a deep breath through her nose. I looked to her with a smile upon my face.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said with a content sigh, "I'm great, actually." The two of us shared a laugh. She then took a brief look around. "It's so strange. ... How everything looks normal, but ... it's so quiet and so ... still. It really is peaceful, but after the way you explained it, it feels kind of like an eerie peaceful."

"I know what you mean," I replied as I rested against the nearby wall. "The day I figured out I even had this power, I stopped time and walked around the city I lived in. For a little while, it was so cool knowing that I could just run around anywhere I wanted and there was nothing around to stop me from going anywhere. It kind of felt like ... being in a video game, I guess." She chuckled. "But after that, it was really stale. Not having any interaction with anyone or anything was boring. I had this amazing power to stop time and I was disappointed with it. That's why it feels a million times better to be able to share it with someone else."

"I can understand that," she said as she touched my arm. "Why have a one-player game when you can have a two-player game?"

"That's true," I replied, grinning. Then my grin faded as I thought about how I'd come clean about my power to so many different people. "You know, I feel like ... you're the last one I can share this secret with." She looked at me inquisitively. "I've told – and showed – some people before you. ... After this, I don't feel like there's anyone else to tell."

"Will you keep usin' your power to share with your friends or ... will you give it up?"

"Give it up?" I asked, taken aback by the very idea. "Wow, ... I never even considered that. ... Like I said, it's just not as great when there's nobody to share it with. ... Maybe I will do that. Maybe I'll just ... I dunno, keep it on a 'shelf' or something until I need to really use it."

"But you wouldn't abuse it, right? I mean, you haven't used it to ... do anythin' bad?"

I couldn't help but chuckle and smirk. I felt like she knew me so well.

"I haven't," I replied with a reassuring nod. "Sure, I pulled an innocent prank on my teacher with it the day I'd gotten in, but, ..." I trailed off, furring my eyebrow. I found myself deep in thought for a brief moment. She stared at me, eagerly awaiting what I had to say next. "You know, there was a moment when I thought to myself about how much trouble I could've caused. I could've just ... stopped time for one car in the middle of the street and caused all the cars behind it to crash. I could've stopped the weather completely. I could've halted the tides – heck, I probably could've stopped the moon from orbiting around earth." Then, I sighed heavily and shook my head. "But I don't want to do that. What's the point of causing harm to people with my power? Really, all I've wanted this whole time was to lay low about it as much as possible and just be careful with who I let know about it."

"Wow," she softly spoke. "I'm so proud of how responsible and ... reserved you are. I dunno that I wouldn't've just freaked out and told everyone at some point."

"It crossed my mind once or twice," I said with a laugh. She smiled at me.

"Well, I'm happy you decided reason over craziness. It's just another reason for me to be happy to call you my friend."

"Thanks," I replied, feeling so very fulfilled by her words. Maybe it was just the kind of closure I needed on using my time-stopping power.

Her eyes then lit up as terror came across her face. "Oh, shoot! What about Jordan? We left her there this whole time."

I laughed, waving my hand to calm her down. "It's been a while for us, but for her it's still only been those few minutes since we left her and came out here."

"Oh, that's right," she said with a relieved sigh. "Ya' know, with how calm you've been about all this, I completely forgot time's been stopped."

"Ready to go back?" I asked with a grin. She nodded and smiled.

"Whenever you are."

I gave her a nod back and then casually blinked to restore time. I turned my head to the staff member who continued on his stride, having not noticed a thing. Sarah and I chuckled to each other knowingly and went back into the building together.

"By the way," she said as we walked back through the halls, "you don't have to worry about me tellin' Jordan. I mean, yeah, we tell each other everything, but ... some things are better off kept personal."

"Thank you, Sarah," I said with gratitude in my voice. She chuckled.

"Anytime."

Then, we headed out into the courtyard, bustling with students chatting and walking every which way. We approached the picnic bench Jordan was waiting for us at. She spotted us while sipping from her soda can with a straw. There were two plates with pizza slices waiting for us on the table. I was pretty hungry after all of that, so it was a very welcome sight.

"Sorry we took so long," Sarah said as we sat across from her.

"That was pretty quick, actually," she remarked in surprise. "Guess you guys just wanted to say your peace and get it over with, huh?"

"Something like that," I replied, prompting Sarah to quietly laugh. Jordan was a bit confused, but shrugged it off.

"So," Jordan said, suggestively, "I can probably guess what it was you guys talked abo~ut."

"Of course you do, big mouth," I replied with a smirk, causing the two girls to giggle. "But it's fine – I'm not mad. I'm just happier to finally get everything off my chest."

"Same here," Sarah added.

"Well, that's good! I think the two of you make really great friends."

"Yeah, I agree," Sarah said, smiling to me while I had a whole mouthful of pizza. I looked at her and nodded.

"Uh-huh," I replied with my mouth full, both of them laughing again.

After we ate, the three of us hung around to chat about anything. I could never have imagined that a lunch break would've felt so fulfilling. It was good for me. I felt ... accomplished. But - as it always went - before long, it was time to go back to class.

I spent the rest of the day reflecting on how much better I'd felt as a whole; as a person. Things were going better for me now than they ever had my entire life – and I say that knowing I'd been to Disney World. Nothing beats going to Disney World. But as the bell rang to finish up school for the day, I was about to learn a bit more about the negative aspects to associating myself with so many new girls. As I roamed through the hallways on my trek to leave school, a boy with short brown hair rushed up to me from behind.

Sure enough, I had attracted the freaks.

"Hey, man," he said as I turned to him.

"Hey! Johnathan!" I greeted him as we kept walking.

I was so surprised, as well as uneasy, to see him again. We hadn't really seen each other since we were kids. Back then, the guy was a pretty strange dude as far I knew from hanging out with him. He was into some really strange things – sexual things, and liked talking freely about it a lot. This was well before he'd hit puberty, too. It got to the point where I started to distance myself from him enough until he just disappeared for a while. Upon seeing his face again, all those weird memories came flooding back. I would never be able to forget all that stuff.

"Been a while, huh?" he asked, a strange excitement in his eyes.

"Yeah, what's it been—like, four years? Five?"

"Something like that, yeah."

The way he looked at me was ... eager. He definitely wanted something from me, like I was about to spot him a hundred bucks. Something in my mind was telling me it was time to go.

"Well, I'll catch you later, okay?" I said, attempting to walk away, only for him to grab my shoulder.

"Er, wait, hold on Anthony," he said as he brought me to a stop. "I heard ... ya' know, some stuff about you." I looked at him suspiciously. "Good stuff! Good stuff, I swear. Like, really good stuff, you know what I mean?"

"I ... don't know what you mean," I replied, shaking my head in confusion. "Look, I really should get going–"

"Wait-wait-wait-wait," he quickly said as he stopped me again. "Okay, okay. I'll cut to the chase. I want you to, you know, hook me up, dude."

I was baffled. "Hook you up?" I asked.

"You know, put in a good word for me so I can get a little action with some of the pretty faces you roll with; a little nookie—just like you got. Come on, you know what I'm sayin', right?"

I had no idea where he got that information, but I wasn't admitting to anything. I certainly wasn't running a dating service, either.

"Sorry. Can't help you," I replied with a shrug.

"Oh come o~n, man. I know you can spare one of your ho's for me. Come on, for old times' sake."

I didn't even respond to that. I just looked at him with an annoyed expression. The fact that he even referred to any of the girls I knew as 'ho's' was not something I appreciated.

"Okay, okay. How about I ... pay you? How's fifty bucks a girl sound?"

I couldn't help but boisterously laugh at the notion of him paying me for sex.

"So what, I'm a pimp now?" I asked with an amused grin.

"Yeah, you a pimp!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "You made it, man. You're at the top of the mountain! So come on, just hook me up. I'm seriously desperate."

"I can tell," I replied, shaking my head in disbelief. "Look, I don't know what you heard but obviously you were misinformed. I don't have any ho's, or pretty faces—definitely none to 'spare.' I'm not at the top of any mountain, I'm just another dude in the masses trying to survive high school. Okay? Sorry to let you down."

He looked like he was about to crumble to pieces before he quickly spoke up again.

"But, ... I-I heard this girl with gigantic tits say that you were like this amazing 'sex god' or something. She was definitely talking about you!"

I had the sneaking suspicion he overheard Natalie talking to someone. Why Natalie felt the need to talk about me or bring up our tryst – especially considering the whole 'time stopping' thing was involved – was beyond me. I just sighed. Best to go with the old 'deny everything' route and move on.

"I don't even know any girls with 'gigantic tits,' man," I calmly said, much to his surprise. "Sorry, I have no idea what's going on, but, I really need to catch my bus. See ya."

"Okay! Um, ... I'll see you later, man!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I quickly walked away from him. I really hoped I wouldn't see him later.

I didn't think my escapades were going to bring trouble my way, or that I'd feel as annoyed as I did at that moment. If more people were going to act like Johnathan—try to suck up to me in the hopes I'd help them get laid—then I figured it was time to cool down for a while. The best idea was to probably let this 'buzz' about me blow over and let everyone forget about it. The longer people stop obsessing over me, the less they'll care about me. That's all I could hope for.

That night, I was beginning to settle into bed. I'd already finished my homework and shut off my computer. I turned off the light and then slipped under the covers with a happy sigh. As I laid staring at the ceiling, I recalled Sarah's suggestion for me to simply ... stop using my time-stopping power. I had to admit, there really was never any practical use for it and I really didn't have any compulsion to abuse it for evil. But before I could do that, stop using it forever, I recalled for a moment one final loose end. It was the one that unnerved me, but it's been there in the back of my mind since it had occurred: The odd men in black robes. I furred my eyebrows, recalling the first glimpse of them down the hallway in school. After that, there was the more up close and personal meeting on the beach. I was never going to get any sleep until I knew...

I paused for a moment before I slowly peeled away the covers from my body with a sigh. I quickly got to my feet in the darkness. I must've looked pretty stupid just standing there in the dark with nothing but my boxers on, but I didn't care. I took into consideration the fact that those guys never seemed to bother me until I was by myself – like they had to make it personal for some reason. But why? What did they want from me?

I figured if there was any more a personal setting for them to appear again, this would definitely be it. I nodded to myself, blinking once to stop time and stood dauntless in the silence.

"All right," I spoke up. "You know who I'm talking to. Let's have one more meeting, all right? Show yourselves – I know you know that I'm here."

I waited patiently. A few tense moments passed by in the unnatural silence.

"Come on," I spoke up again. "I'm not just going to be on your time. There has to be some give and take."

And with that, I felt my head buzz just before they showed themselves. The air escaped my lungs as I watched them slowly emerge from the pitch blackness of my closet. My eyes widened and my heart began to race from the terrifying sight. My breathing quickened, but I tried my best not to show my fear to the three tall figures that showed themselves to me one by one. I swallowed, feeling sweat begin to break out on my forehead. They stood calmly, stoically, near the far end of the room. I took a deep breath and sighed.

I remained as calm as I could as I spoke to them. My head kept buzzing, as though I was in great danger. But I wasn't going to end this conversation until they gave me the answers I wanted.

"I'm not going to take my eyes off you this time – I don't want any disappearing acts like before."

The one in the center raised its bony hand and pointed to me.

"Time ...," it whispered in its raspy, ethereal voice. I straightened my posture, smiling confidently.

"Yes, I know that one. You already said that before. Now you're going to tell me something that actually makes sense."

"What do you wish to know ...?" it asked, surprising me. Its voice seemed to change a bit, not speaking as otherworldly and perhaps, a bit quicker.

"Oka~y ... so you do know more than one word ...," I replied in intrigue. "I'll skip the formalities this time. What I really want to know is ... what brought you to me? Are you ... are you the ones that gave me these powers?"

Amidst the darkness, I saw all three of them slowly shake their robed heads back and forth.

"You did this. This is your power ..."

I was stunned. How could that be possible? I didn't just wake up one morning and bless myself with superpowers with a flick of my magic wand. However, they weren't quite done yet.

"Now, ... you will turn it off ..."

"Turn it off?" I wondered aloud. "You want me to turn off ... the time-stopping?"

Its voice suddenly became much louder and menacing.

"Turn it off."

That's when the three of them began to advance on me, their arms stretched out as if to grab me. The buzzing sensation in my head was practically vibrating my entire skull.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!!"

I screamed in terror, covering my face, shutting my eyes tight.

After a brief moment of silence, my ears caught the gentle sounds of crickets chirping and the quiet honk of a car in the distance. I shot my eyes open – everything was back to normal. Well, everything except for the fact that I was trembling harder than I ever had in my life. My eyes were wide, terror gripping my entire body like an icy hand that refused to let up. I couldn't move – totally paralyzed by fear. I panted sharply with terrified gasps, a cold sweat rolling over every inch of me.

I just stood there – shocked, horrified, incredulous – for several minutes. I was still too scared to move, fearful that they would return if I moved so much as an inch. Were they still there? Were they invisible? Were they waiting to grab me and tear me limb from limb? I had no idea what to think anymore. If there was ever a really noticeable downside I could've ever thought of upon acquiring the power to stop time ... this was definitely it. Honestly, I would take getting pestered by other guys to help them get laid over this any day.

Finally, my legs gave out from under me and I fell to my hands and knees. I continued trembling. My eyes stayed wide open. I didn't want to blink – I couldn't. If I blinked ... I might stop time and they might return. I cared not for the tensing pain around my eyes as they dried. I'd sooner lose my vision than feel the wrath of those ... things screaming at me.

It took me a little while, but I eventually managed to pull myself back into bed. I pressed myself firmly against the wall. It gave me one less angle to have to watch for them. I couldn't take the pain in my dry eyes anymore and squeezed them shut with a terrified shout. When I quickly opened them again, there were no robed things in black to be found. Time was still flowing nicely. I think, at that moment, my mind was far too frightened to stop time and so it wouldn't allow me to. I slowly laid my head down on the pillow, keeping watch over the room. My eyes were as alert and focused as they'd ever been.

I swallowed a few times. My mouth felt as dry as cotton. I couldn't find the willingness in myself to get up and go to the kitchen for water, that would've brought me past the closet. I wasn't going anywhere near that area. I kept myself under the covers, trembling and as frightened as any kid could be when faced against the bogeyman or things under the bed. These monsters, however, were as real as it gets...