Word Count: 476
His whole day would’ve gone down differently if Marilee Prance hadn’t smiled at him in the hall. If he hadn’t woke up with the feeling that nothing mattered much anymore. If that hadn’t given him the courage to ask her out for a latte after last class. If she hadn’t said yes but she did.
Funny, he thought; how nearly four years of being no more than a ghost in the classrooms, an occupied chair in the cafe, an average pimply-faced Freshman who outgrew his zits and developed a shell, that Marilee picked today of all days to smile.
There were different levels of outcasts and cliques. Each had their own slate of members. He and Darren had drifted and stuck in their own little group by Sophomore year. An exclusive club of two who were invited nowhere. Had one-time dates and randomly rare at that. But today, Marilee had smiled.
He tried to focus on the test paper which he hadn’t studied for because he didn’t think he’d need to. But the numbers and letters and lines made no sense at all. He looked up at the clock; eight forty-seven. Tried to sneak out his phone to text Darren. But the silence of tests, the focus of the instructor at test times made it completely impossible.
He ran down the test questions, found one he thought he could solve. Started working. The minute hand clicked again and again in his mind. Oddly yesterday’s lit class on hypertext slipped into his thoughts. What seemed like a ridiculously dumb series of what ifs? and choices made so much more sense to him now. What if, for example, Marilee hadn’t been there in that one spot next to him by his locker. What if he hadn’t been four minutes late because he and Darren had talked on the phone right after they’d gotten up.
There, one problem solved. And here was another he though he could tackle but first he looked again at the clock. Nine-o-two. He tried again to reach Darren but his hand froze in his pocket with Mr. Treacher’s stare. Came out empty and settled the paper in front of him again.
Click and click and click; he could hear the second hand going around now. Marilee Prance. Wow. She wasn’t the greatest good-looker but she had a cute smile and was nice. Not out of his league but above it. Definitely above it.
He looked at the clock; twelve after nine. Darren would be out there pacing by now. He guessed that Darren would figure by now that he wouldn’t be meeting him in the hall.
Click, click. Nine-fourteen. Thinking of Marilee and her smile. Click, click, just about…and the door burst open and Darren stood there, leveled the gun and blasted away at them all.
