•    The End  
    The light above my desk grew dim, my eyes glanced around adjusting to the new visibility. My eyes caught my mother standing in my bedroom doorway.
    “I’m sorry.” 
    “Sorry about what?” 
    “I’m sorry – I have to tell you,” She barely released the words from her throat, and a tear escaped her eyes, caressed her check, landed on her bottom lip and took rest. 
    “Mom, what’s the matter? You’re freaking me out.” My face became pale as a ghost. She leaned against the doorframe and grasped it with her free hand. She stared at me with sorrowful eyes and pleaded me not to make her speak. 
    She gained enough courage to speak the ill words, “It’s your friend, he…he’s dead.” 
    My thoughts disappeared, my pencil fell, and my eyes released their coursing water falls. My room became ice cold, freezing everything contained within it besides my never-ending tears.
    Before
    Another day to walk down with the herd moving from one room to another every hour and forty minutes. The first bell rings and the flock set in motion the routine of room to room. The halls instantly become packed, and the pack begins a stampede. Moments pass by and I notice his face across the hall and the stampede subsides. It takes a second for him to notice me. I stumble across the hall and finally reach him.
    “Hey.” He is the first to state his welcome.
    “Hi. This week is so long, I don’t think it will ever end.”
    “Of course it will, all good things come to an end.” He laughs.
    “Ha-ha, very funny.”Ding, the warning bell rings. The stampede is reawakened, and moves where they are assigned. The clocks tick and tock mocking time, dragging its feet making every second a minute, and every minute an hour; the day is surely never going to end.
    Ding, the fifth bell rings, lunch! The stampede is only half the size than it was this morning, but far more aggressive. I begin to reach the south end of the main hallway to meet him. I’m going to beat him there, I know it. I brush through the crowd, almost there. The crowd steps aside revealing my failure, He beat me again! Ahhh!“
    Ha, I beat you! Man this winning streak is never going to end,’ he states with a smile reaching ear to ear.
    “No, like you said ‘all good things come to an end.” I smile, waving my index finger, teasing his accomplishment.
    “Darn, I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the butt.” He snaps his fingers and begins to laugh.His laughter becomes contagious.
    “Ha-ha, so where-ha,” he begins to take a breath and takes a glance at his watch, “So where do you want to go to lunch? We just lost eight minutes.”
    “Huh, really eight minutes?” Time always seems to pass by so freely when you’re around.
    “Yes now pick, we don’t have any time to waste.”
    “Okay, okay…Noodles and Company. That good enough for ya?”
    “The choice, yes; the time it took, no.” He says walking to the doors leading to the senior students’ parking lot looking back at me smiling.Within moments, we arrive at his car. Two minutes later we arrive at Noodles and Company. Moments later we are sitting and waiting for our orders to be served.
    “So, what’s new?” I ask, scrounging for a conversation.
    “Nothing, you know me. Speaking of which, what drama do you have today?” His words poke a nerve.
    “Haha, smooth. Turning the conversation on me. Not this time, I don’t have any drama so, ha.”
    His eyes grow and his jaw begins to drop. “Really, I think that’s a record?”
    “Hey, my life isn’t that dramatic, if it was time would be flying by, it would be next week before I knew it. If anything my life would be entertaining, but it’s not so, yeah.” I cross my arms and slide back and down my chair. A waiter walks over, asking confirmation of our order and places our dishes on the table.
    “Ha, you’re right. You’re life doesn’t nearly have that much suspense or nearly that intriguing.”
    “Hey, hey cool it. My life’s not that pathetic, I mean look at you ‘Mr. Nothing’s new.’”
    “Okay, you got me there. But seriously there’s nothing new, family?” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, clasping his hands and finally resting his head on his hands and his eyes looks directly into mine.
    “Yeah, I’m sure. Nothing you haven’t heard of before, at least.”
    “So there is a new event?”
    “Maybe, even if there is, don’t worry about it, it’s all going to blow over soon.” I smile and gesture with my fork, telling him to eat.
    “It better, or you’re in trouble-with me.” He picks up his fork and scoops a mouthful of noodles and balances it near his mouth.I stare. Ha, you are always worrying about me, what about you? You have no clue that all this drama holds no value to my life, it’s just a grain of sand flaking away by each passing wave.
    “Hey, eat,” he says, mimicking my gesture, commanding me to eat.Before I know it, it’s time to go back to class. The horrid routine drags us until the last bell. Ding! Stampede, class, blah blah, and finally for the last time for the day, ding! The last stampede of the day tramples the halls, everyone rushing and bursting out the doors now of freedom and no longer imprisonment. Everyone is shoved, elbowed in the stomach, ran into, and everyone’s toes are throbbing. I finally reach the blessed doors, and am blinded by the bright welcoming rays of the sun, and directed by the sweet breeze infiltrating the stifling containment. Freedom! There he stands leaning against the tree, stationed about fifteen feet away from the main doors, the breeze flowing to its own rhythm. I stroll over to his side.
    “Freedom!” I say extending my arms and allow the breeze to guide me into a twirl. After a few twirls I lower my arms to my side.
    “Well at least for now, that is until seven thirty tomorrow morning,” I sigh.He gently covers his mouth, and snickers. I softly smile in response. We talk about absolutely nothing, as usual and spontaneously it’s time to go to our distant homes.
    “Uhg, you’re home already,” Is the ‘welcome home’ I receive as I enter the front door of the cramped apartment shared by three. I glance back before entering the place to call home, and wave him good bye.  My elder sister (only three years older than me, but you wouldn’t know that by the disgusted, wrinkled face she bares night and day) is sitting on the couch vigorously flipping through the channels. I take a few steps in, push the door behind me, kick off my shoes, and throw my hand in the air my back facing her.
    “Be nice. How many times do I need to tell you that?” My mom sighs, startling me and letting my sisters’ attitude escape. I drag my feet to the end of the hallway and to the right and enter my room. I drop my bag and other necessities on my desk and close the door behind me. My sketch books welcome and urge me over. I jump into my seat and turn on my computer. My hands scribble over the open pages, forming images. And then computer beeps, ‘You have one message!’.
    “Bet, ur sketching, huh?”
    “Yea, yea u know me so well.”
    “I do, so wats the matter?” Damn! Don’t you have problems, or am I the only one? Doubt it.
    “Nothing, it’s all the same s**t. Don’t worry, ok.”
    “Wat did she say this time?”
    “I said don’t worry about it! She’s just being as pleasant as always.”
    “Oh, she is? So wat did she say that was so ‘pleasant’?”
    “Hey you should see this sketch; it’s coming out just the way I want it to. It’s freakin awesome!”
    “Don’t change the subj! >_<”
    “That subj doesn’t matter, I’m over it. Anyways, u’ll c the sketch 2morrow k! ^_^”
    “Yea, right, it’s eating you up inside and u know it. N cool, can’t wait.”
    “No, ur wrong. It’s not. Wat about u? Everything ok?”
    “Yes it is! Me? No, everything is the same, wat makes you think that?”
    “No it’s not! >< ‘Cause you jumped right into my problems and won’t leave them be. Something’s up I know it.”
    “Ha, no once again ur wrong n I’m right.”
    “No, no ur hiding something. Plus, how can u not have problems? Everyone does.’“No I’m not! Well I guess I’m just lucky.”
    “Yes u r!” The clock ticks time away, no reply. Come on reply. What’s going on? I tap my pencil slowly, every moment the taps increase. Reply, reply please. I nervously send another message asking where he went, and if he was mad at me. No reply.The night drags on, the routine of bickering, screaming, rolling eyes, and sighing takes over the night. Where is he? He better be okay! My worries conquered my mind until the first bell rang, and I spot him leaning against the wall across the hall.
    “Hey, what happened?” I plead.
    “Well hello to you too.”“Hi, so what happened?”
    “Nothing, just couldn’t talk any more. My dad needed the computer, sorry.” He shrugs his shoulders.
    “Liar! Why don’t you tell me anything? I tell and tell!” My face turns red. I sneak into the stampede and head to class. I glance back enraged. He’s just standing there, stunned, watching me fade away. I turn my glance away, and enter the second place I rather not be. The day becomes an eternity. The final bell rings, he’s standing there again. What should I do? We’ve never had a fight, until now. What should I do? The surrounding world disappears and we stare. Only moments pass, and he walks towards me. Overcome by worries, I stand.
    “Hey,” he says, kicking a leaf.
    “Is that all you have to say, ‘Hey’?”
    “No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I did lie, sorry.” He places his hands on my shoulders and lowers his head to bring us eye to eye.
    “So, are you going to tell me what happened or not?” 
    He smiles with relief, “Yes, I’m sorry. My dad was drunk, too drunk.” 
    “Why – never mind, did something happen?” 
    “No, no I just became the parent that’s all.” You’re still hiding something, please tell me. 
    “That’s all? No, that’s not cool. You’re not the parent, you shouldn’t need to play the role of one. Don’t just shrug it off, this is serious. My s**t is just petty-”
    He stops me from saying anything further, “Don’t say that, you shouldn’t have to go through that s**t either!”
    “I know, I know.”  We head to his car.I know something more happened last night, you’re limping. Should I ask why you’re limping, or will you tell me?Neither one of us brought up his limp and two normal school days go by, and everything seems fine.
    Tonight the light above my desk grows dim; my eyes glance around adjusting to the new visibility. My eyes see my mother standing in my bedroom doorway.
    “I’m sorry.” 
    “Sorry about what?” 
    “I’m sorry – I have to tell you,” She barely releases the words from her throat, and a tear escapes her eye, caresses her check, lands on her bottom lip and takes rest. 
    “Mom, what’s the matter? You’re freaking me out.” My face becomes pale as a ghost. She leans against the doorframe and grasps it with her free hand. She stares at me with sorrowful eyes pleading me not to make her speak.
     She gains enough courage to say the ill words, “It’s your friend, he…he’s dead.” 
    My thoughts disappear, my pencil falls, and my eyes release their coursing water falls. My room becomes ice cold, freezing everything contained within it besides my never-ending tears. 
    Why? Why did you leave me behind? You were just letting me know your life. Was it to much for you to let me know? Did I drive you to this? I’m sorry. I’m sorry! 
    My worries and thoughts disappear within an instant, and my memories are all I can see. It is as if I am trapped within my past. They slowly begin to fade, to leave one memory before me. 
    It was one morning a year or so ago, my home life was a bit worse back then. I accidentally woke my sister up as I was going to school, which was some serious bad luck for me. The night before she was dead drunk, so that morning she had a killer hang over. She was furious with her self, me, the world, hell everything and I just had to make it worse. Let’s just say I left for school that day in more pain than ever. When I got to school he was there. It didn’t take him long to realize that something was wrong, heck I looked like crap.
    I expected him to worry and play 20 questions, but he didn’t, instead he just asked one, “Do you wanna skip school today?” He didn’t even wait for a reply, he just took my arm, pulled me to his car and we went for a drive. The adventure was awkward at first, but it didn’t take long to for us to have some fun. Time flew by, but not fast enough.
    I just had to look at the clock on the dashboard and utter the words, “It’s almost time for us to be at home. Can you drop me off?” At first he just ignored my comment, and then when I repeated it, “No.” was his only response. I was shocked so I just sat there and stared out my window, while thoughts of what was going to happen when I did get home ran wild. He eventually drove past his house.  
    “Now you know where I live,” he said as he pointed in the direction I was looking. The house was small and needed a new coat of paint or two, but the yard was huge and looked as though fall had never left, and the car in the drive way looked as shaggy as the house. I never imagined him to live in such a place, I thought he lived in a house with a white fence. He smiled and continued to drive. We eventually reached a worn out shed not that far from his house. It was actually in better shape than his house. He got out of the car, walked over to the shed door, and looked back at me. Then he made a gesture with his hand to call me over with a gentle smile.
    “This is where I go to escape…when things get bad. You can borrow it for awhile if you want.”He opened the door and walked in, no words came to mind so I followed. For about five to ten minutes I explored the shed.
    “I know it’s not much, but it’s the best place to escape this world.”
    “What made you find this place? What did you need to escape from?” I asked, amazed he needed such a place.
    It took him awhile to respond with, “Stress, the stress that life brings. I come here to let my thoughts run free and escape to a place no where close to reality.”
    “Do you come here often?” My curiosity got the best of me.
    “Hey, I think I should be the one asking questions. I’m not the one looking to escape.”
    “Who said I was? I asked you to drop me off, remember?”
    “Yeah you did, but you didn’t want me to. Admit it, you’re happy I dragged you out here.” He folded his arms, lowered his head, and looked me straight in the eye.
    “Yes I’m happy you brought me here, but that doesn’t mean I want to escape for awhile.”
    “Sorry but you’re not leaving, I don’t know what happened, but you are not going back until your ‘home’ is safe again. Got it?” He walked to the door and began to close it behind him,
    “I’ll be back soon don’t leave, okay. Just give me fifteen minutes tops, okay?”
    “Hey wait!” He ignored me and shut the door and locked it. I don’t know why, I wasn’t planning on walking home. You kidding me, I wouldn’t make it back until the next day. I guess I see now, he didn’t want me to follow him home.
    About thirty minutes went by then he finally came back.
    “Sorry, I’m late. And you can’t stay here…sorry.”
    “Damn right you’re-” I started to say, but then everything he said clicked. He grabbed my hand and took me to his car. About fifteen feet away a shadowy figure was approaching the car.  
    He yelled “Get in!” As he walked over to the drivers side of the car. His command went in one ear and out the other, so he rushed over to my side, opened my door, and pushed me in. He quickly went to his side and got in. The shadowy figure was only a few feet away. He sped off and the figure disappeared into the background. Confused I just sat there, and he drove me home. I never asked him what happened, who that figure was, or even if he was okay. For that I will forever regret. 
    Soon I awake from reliving that day, to find my mom holding me tightly on the floor. My never-ending tears drenched the shoulder of her cotton shirt.  
    Later on, I was told the details of his death, and what he left behind. He went to the abandoned shed not too far from his house and set it a flame. Did it have to be that shed? He was sitting in one of the corners that had a window. I’m sure he was staring at the stars. And he left me a note, which read… 
    I didn’t tell you everything, sorry.  Sorry.