THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

63

Trigger warning

||JACKSON||

Exam day

News report:
A house in 21 jump st. was found to be a lab of illegal drugs. Police say that tending suspects are unidentified and have escaped the scene before arrival. Authorities have confiscated a number of substances as well as equipment. Further investigations will follow until the culprits are questioned and interrogated.

-

This morning, a news report was uploaded to the media. My hand shook as I read the passage on my phone. There was an attached image to the article of the address and it didn't take long enough for me to realize it was Kenny's place. Head couldn't stop aching, what the hell's happening?

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I pushed forward to open a pair of doors. Upon entering the classroom, I was told by the attending professor on my way that we need to put our devices and to be kept turned off for a quiet appropriate testing room. Otherwise, there would be consequences for cheating and disrupting. Actually, I noticed Damian and Kyle in here too. They were on opposite ends. Damian saw me and made eye contact, waving with a grin and gesturing to take place to the chair next to him. But before that, Kyle appeared very nervous on the other hand, bothered, most of all scared from what I could see. Glancing at Damian, and motioned him to pause for a moment to check on Kyle. "Are you okay?" I frowned.

"No. No, I'm not, I'm worried," he said so anxiously, fearing for the obvious reason.

"Any contact from him yet?"

Shaking his head vigorously, "I tried, but he just- I... he's missing and he won't answer. I don't know what to do," fingers rushed through his hair, gripping in tension.

"Let's calm down for now. Get this exam over with," Patting his shoulder for comfort.

Blinking, trembling, wincing, "Y-yeah, you're right," Kyle's lips quivered. He takes a breather, a palm on his forehead trying to recollect his thoughts. Seeing the guy so distraught, I thought to leave him alone for now for the sake of keeping things under control. Walking back to Damian who had watched our interaction, a look of confusion on his face, "something up?"

"It's Kenny," face crinkled.

"Shit, what's wrong?" Now, expression morphed completely upset.

"I... can't tell you right now," I replied, seeing that our professor had positioned himself to the front of the class. Bags shuffled as students brought out their writing tools, calculators, and scratch paper. Handing out a packet, we began looking through every question and focused as hard as we could.

At certain points, I would peer over to my side. Kyle was tapping his pen lightly, scribbling down in a forceful manner, and looking up to the wall clock that ticked. He can't help it, someone who always looked composed was losing it.

Then, the sound of a slap echoed within the room. Actually, all heads turned to the origin source. Kyle had clasped a hand on his mouth in shock, eyes wide. He looked like he had realized something mid-period.

-

After 2 hours of testing, my back was getting uncomfortably sore from hunching over the table. I'm glad we took the time to go over as much as we could, because as the query progressed, so did the difficulty. Though, I'm confident in my performance and sure that I got at least a decent score. "Thank you for your time everyone," soon, someone came over to collect our results. The professor gave one final notice before dismissing us, "it'll be a while for me to look through all and input your grades. Now, please exit silently and have a good day," with that, everyone lined up at the door and made their way out. Kyle, on the other hand, rushed quite hurriedly and the professor just shook his head and didn't bother to object. Damian and I glanced at each other before following behind.

When we exited the building, from our peripheral, Kyle was sprinting towards the parking lot. Thing is, it hasn't stopped raining since yesterday, and he was rushing through the heavy and wet water. "Kyle! Hold on," I called for him.

Damian stood still, staying put, unknowing of what is going on, "Jack, where are you headed?" He yelled out, hands cupped to his mouth.

"I just need to make sure Kyle's okay," I say before disappearing from view. My feet splattered on the field of moist grass and backpack getting soaked, though I had to adjust down to my front so my body shielded it. It was a tiny bit of a struggle to run, but hey, I'm a football player, this is just like every other sports training.

When I caught up, Kyle flung his car door open. "W-what are you doing?" I say, breathing hard.

"I need to check on something, fast!" He responded, turning the keys, engine roaring to life.

"Do you need help?"

"Just get on, we might not have enough time if I think he's where he is."

With such an objectifying tone, I opened the backseat and got in hastily, "sorry, getting your stuff wet," I say, shutting the door from the cold outer world. Kyle didn't retort but just slammed onto the accelerator and sped out of here. Occasionally, I would crash to each side when he made a turn. It was sort of frightening.

While under a red street light, I took the time to ask what he was doing exactly. The suspense in his eyes was endless, "I was doing some thinking during the test and hatched an idea of where he might be," fingers gripping the wheel tightly, "I just hope he isn't planning on doing what I think it is, knowing him..." once the color green beamed bright, he didn't hesitate to press faster.

All I could feel was the same heavy feeling he was projecting. Planning on doing?

-

Nostalgia hit when we came across a familiar neighborhood. For some odd reason, he had driven us to where Brad lives. I don't know what this place has ties with his worries but remained to myself. Then, the park nearby came into view, blocks past his house. When he settled his vehicle sloppily next to the curb, hands pressed the eject button of his seatbelt and pushed on its door. I did the same and made sure that we had kept it locked. Bolting to keep up with Kyle, determination fueled his desire to reach his whereabouts. From the direction he was heading, I remember a trail here that led to a certain ominous bridge. The dirt path was muddy, but we persevered. "Please no, no," I could hear him mumbling in distress mixed with panting.

Then, we witnessed an eerie view.

Stopping at the one end, within the foggy rainy atmosphere, a figure stood on the middle of the bridge, a step away from the edge. The person appears to be staring down at the great height. Though, I felt my heart drop when I saw their identity more clearly.

Kenny must have heard our footsteps as he turned to us.

The look of defeat, despair, and depression marked and scarred his face.

The face of someone who was about to jump...