Page 51 - The Muse 2021

One day I was walking with Kennedy to my next class, as usual. She had become my best friend, I guess. She was someone I could always talk to, I didn’t have that before.
“I think I seriously failed that test,” she started saying as I let out a tired laugh. Kennedy always said that after taking tests, but then she manages to pass every single one. However, I stopped listening to her because I made eye contact with a guy across the room. There was something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on. He looked almost...familiar. “And that’s why I used the red paint instead of the blue paint,” said Kennedy with an exasperated sigh because she noticed I wasn’t listening shortly after. “What happened?”
I then lost my train of thought, “Nothing, nothing. I’m just tired.”
“Okay, whatever you say,” replied Kennedy, “I gotta go, see you later!”
Strangely enough, the guy wasn’t there anymore when I glanced in his direction. Weird. Whatever.
The next day, the same thing happened. I was talking to Kennedy and then I caught the guy looking at me. As
soon as we made eye contact, he quickly left.
“I really didn’t get that last lesson. Hey! Are you listening to me?” asked Kennedy while waving her hand in front
of my face.
“Sorry Ken! I’ll catch up with you later,” I hurriedly told her while walking away in the guy’s direction. I
followed the guy around three separate hallways. He was clearly avoiding me.
“Hey! You in the blue shirt!” I practically screamed so he couldn’t run away again.
He slowly turned around and faced me, his brown hair all messy and his sea green eyes filled with...fear? Was he
scared of me?
“Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked the mysterious boy.
“No, no, I don’t think so,” he replied, looking at the floor.
One thing about me; I’m very good at being able to tell when someone’s lying. I picked it up when my dad kept
telling me that my mom was coming home soon, back when I was Luna.
I grabbed his arm, causing his eyes to look everywhere but my face, “Listen to me. Where do I know you from?”
He let out a frustrated groan and then pulled me into the janitor’s closet, making sure no one saw us. “What are you doing!?” I exclaimed.
“Look, my name is Diego Sanchez, and I know the truth about you,” he explained.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking around the room for a way to escape.
“I know who you are, Luna,” Diego finally blurted out.
I couldn’t believe it. The identity that I tried so hard to protect, the person that I tried so hard to leave behind, was
back. I had buried the memory of the night at the gym deep, deep in my memory. It wasn’t my proudest moment.
“How did you know?” I murmured, feeling defeated.
Diego sighed before finally explaining who he was, “I also went to Flint Central. Of course, you never knew me
because I was kind of a loner. I stayed in school late one night to work on a project that I needed to finish. Then, I smelled something burning in the gym, so I went to check it out. That was the night of the fall school dance. I was entering through the back entrance and then I accidentally bumped into someone. A girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes. It was only for a second, but I recognized your face.”
Oh my god. How could a detail so important slip my mind? The person I bumped into the night that I burned down the gym. I convinced myself that they didn’t see my face, mainly because I didn’t want to believe that there was a fault in my plan. He wasn’t supposed to be there, but he was, and he saw my face.
I was speechless to say the least, but I needed information, “How did you find me?”
“I saw you leave in such a hurry that I followed you out until I saw you getting in your car. I recognized the plate from a car rental place that my uncle owns so I took a picture of the license plate. After you were reported dead, I went to my uncle and had him run the plate. Then, I took a long road trip to Rockford, Illinois and found the school nearest to where your car was parked. I enrolled in the school as a transfer student, and then I found you. I could recognize those eyes anywhere,” he finished, breaking eye contact with me and fixing his eyes on a broom that was next to the door.
“Don’t tell anyone or I swea-” I started but then Diego chimed in before I could do anything violent. “I won’t, you can trust me,” he assured me.
༛
I don’t know what’s supposed to happen next. After Diego explained who he was and everything, I didn’t really know where to go from there. We both left the janitors closet, making sure nobody saw us exit, and then we went our separate ways. I may not know what to do next, but I know one thing for sure; I can’t trust this guy. It wasn’t in my DNA to be trusting. And there was something about him that seemed off to me. Why would he follow me here? I knew what I had to do. I got some paper and a pen from the computer lab and I wrote:
Meet me in my apartment after school at 7:30 p.m. 51