By the time I arrived at Gryce's house, the moon had already been out for a while. His body was tense when I reached for the doorknob. I never intended to stay out this long, but what was the harm? However, his mother didn't share the same sentiment.
"Where in the hell have you been?" She swung the door open before I had the chance to grab the doorknob. Grabbing me by the arm, she dragged me into the house, tossing me onto the ground. Before I responded, I scanned the room. Gryce's father was gone again.
"Do you have any idea what's going on here!" She attempted to grab me again, but Gryce's body instinctively moved away, which only seemed to upset her more.
She took a long, deep breath, running her hands through her hair before saying anything else. Her chin was trembling with the immense amount of emotion pouring out of her. This happened often; Gryce's mind knew the best way to get out of this was to stay quiet. I didn't know how to handle this, so I followed per instructions.
"The men in this family…" She tugged at her pants. "You're all driving me nuts!" I stood up as she trudged to the kitchen. My body hurt. Kids were fragile.
"Your father's late again." His mom snickered for a moment. "After all this, he's still out".
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"How would I know? He doesn't tell me anything!". Gryce's heart skipped a beat. I was getting scared, but I kept talking anyway.
Grabbing my shoulder, I stepped back; "I'm sorry I asked". These weren't my words; even though I was in control, I still ran on routine.
"You and that shoulder! Would you let it go already!". I didn't know what she was talking about. I had his memories, and yet my body instinctively moved to straddle. It didn't tell me why, but it was comforting. Something else was coming.
She turned toward me, her hair draping over her eyes, but it was still enough to see them. It was still enough to make Gryce's body want to throw up from fear and whip his attention toward his room. Another second of this, and I wasn't sure what would happen next. But how else could I understand his life without facing what he did? Then again, this was his body, not mine. I'd forcibly taken it; I had no right to let it get damaged, but…
"Were you awake?".
I looked up at her.
"What?".
"How long were you up this morning?"
"I—I"
"You didn't seem groggy when you left your room. Why is that?" She rushed toward me, grabbing me by the arm again. "Were you listening to us?". I shook my head; my vision was becoming glossy. "Bullshit! You're planning on telling your teachers, aren't you?" She clenched her hand on my arm, enough to make the lower half of my arm red with internalized blood flow.
"We didn't travel across the fucking country to get ran out because my own son can't keep his mouth shut again".
"I… don't know what you're talking about".
Dragging me toward my room, she tossed me across the floor and slammed the door shut.
"Clean up your room and go to bed!".
That night, I couldn't move, and I stayed on the floor. Paralyzed by fear that wasn't mine, wallowing in the surge of despair that erupted from within his heart, I crawled toward the same corner I found him in this morning and stayed there until the sun came up again.
Just as I needed the sun for fuel, the human body needed sustenance to survive. It'd been two days since this body was given any nutrients, and because of that, I could hardly stand.
After going through the same process, Gryce did every morning, albeit at a grueling pace, I cleaned up the papers and shoved them back inside his bag. At this time, his mom and dad were already out, so at least one of the challenges was gone for a time. What I couldn't understand after was why Gryce didn't harbor the same feeling toward his mother. If anything, what I experienced in that small frame of time was worse than Jim. What made her different? I couldn't understand.
Before leaving, I made sure to position the wilted flower straight up. Even if it were a vessel I could no longer use, I still felt a connection to it. I wished it goodbye and went on my way across the short path to Gryce's school, across the sick grass and dry field of wheat.
There were other kids around me; only one long continuous path connected this part of town, so most of us were shoulder to shoulder. We were all led to the largest building in town, Sunled School. The sign was jagged, tilted on its side, seemingly only being held up by a few planks of wood still attached. It represented most of the area, though if everything were as it once was, perhaps some beauty would be captured in this. As it was now, my vision of the world was under the guise of Gryce's rendition. It was all a joyless blanket of despair and rot. The plague that was inflicting them only represented the souls of these people. In the two years his family had been here, that's the conclusion he'd made.
An adult male stood at the entrance, leading us inside. Gryce's class was Room 182. He sat in the back of the class, at the window facing the open field. He'd look outside all day until he couldn't process any more time, and by the end of class, it felt as if it'd gone by in a flash, and the next one would come. That day, I was there to see why this picture was so skewed. Why Gryce dreaded this, and try my best to fix it.
"It's almost time".
Taking one last look outside, I turned my attention to the front of the classroom to catch Jim entering. I was the first to look at him, but he wouldn't reciprocate the action. Humans seem to avert their eyes from others, just like I averted Gryce's mother. What a strange weakness.
"Stop looking at me," Jim said, sitting at the desk beside me. I didn't budge, I didn't blink, only observed him. I learned from Gryce's mother that humans are rather expressive. So far, no one has noticed, but even though I have shown emotion, my face never showed it, not like them; I needed to be more like them. I couldn't let them see me.
"Alright, kids, eyes up here.". I turned to the front of the class.
"As many of you already know, mostly from your parents, there's been an incident in town. If you didn't, you're all old enough to process this correctly. If you have questions, go to your parents; if not, listen here!" The man up front wasn't anyone Gryce recognized; he wasn't the same teacher he'd seen every day for the past year.
"Mr. Ennis is out for the day. My name is Mr. Schwaryer, and the principal asked me to fill in his place; that's all you really need to know about me".
One kid raised their hand, a girl named Aisha, and Mr. Schwaryer pointed at her.
"Is Mr. Ennis okay?".
He shrugged. "It's not something they'd tell me. As far as I know, he's alright. Heard he didn't come home last night, probably got lost. He'll be back soon." Another kid raised their hand, and again Mr. Schwaryer pointed.
"How long will you be here ?".
"Once again, Mr. Ennis is unavailable at the moment. Until he comes back, I'll be your teacher." He sighed. "Any more questions?". This time, Jim raised his hand.
"Before you ask, does this question have something to do with the whereabouts of Mr. Ennis?".
"No, sir," Jim said.
"Then proceed".
Jim looked toward me for a moment before responding. "Does Gryce's family have something to do with the murder?". A burst of barely concealed whispers erupted from the entire classroom, and they all turned toward me.
"Well, I guess there's no point in asking who Gryce is." With his hands folded behind his back, he shimmied his way through the small slit formed by the desks to the back of the classroom.
"Doesn't seem like the type of kid that would do something like that. What makes you think his family had something to do with it?"
Mr. Schwaryer looked at Gryce's body with crossed eyes and muttered under his breath, "When's the last time this kid had a proper meal?".
"Didn't you hear? Before they moved, his parents were arrested for murder!".
Mr.Schwaryer looked at him, taken aback. "Murder, huh? That doesn't sound right. He lives with his parents, doesn't he?"
"Well… yeah," Jim said, his pitch much lower than before.
"Typically, people don't come out scot-free after that, especially able to keep custody of their children." Mr. Schwaryer looked at me and winked.
"Self-defense? Break and enter type of deal, right?". I nodded. Gryce had a vague memory of police lights and a gunshot that must've been when it happened.
"And that's a perfect transition into the first lesson of the day, boys and girls, and that is…" He grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote,
"Due process." Placing the chalk down, he turned to face the class again. "Who here knows what due process is?".
The same girl who asked the first question raised her hand.
"It's when you treat people fairly in court".
"Treat people fairly, that's the key point there. Abide by the rules and principles, and be treated fairly. Now, under this rule, Gryce's parents were relieved of the possible burden; without it, the entire world would deem them a criminal, just like this boy here". Everyone turned toward Jim. "Because he was ignorant of the circumstances, he judged his family before understanding the full picture. But there's always another side to things, right, Gryce?".
That's right! There's always another side to things. I couldn't have agreed more. Without even knowing it, I'd given myself my own rules and principles, but the keep part now was sticking by them the entire way. All in the pursuit of being treated fairly and equally. What a beautiful concept.
A sudden smile had formed across my face, and I quickly covered it. I could hardly conceal my glee, the alleviation I felt at that moment.
I could feel its footsteps through the floor.
It started with one child looking out the window. They didn't say anything; they only looked. It was too far away at that point to fully grasp it.
Then another noticed the classmate in front of them looking so intently outside, and they joined. This time, it became clearer, and they pointed.
"Mr Schwaryer," the boy said. The teacher remained silent as he noticed, one by one, each student beginning to see the incoming figure. He was the first to figure it out.
"Everybody, head over to the classroom next door now!". Using all his strength, he pushed back the empty desks as a roar of screams erupted from all the children, scurrying across the floor, toppling over themselves as the exit wasn't large enough to let all of them free, and the only option left was to make them harder to get to.
Bracing for impact, he covered his face as a storm of glass washed over him, painting the floor crimson red.