I should've acted worried at least. When my mom stopped the car because of the "drunk looking," man that had wandered out into the middle of an empty road, surrounded by trees, six miles to be exact, from the school I attended. My sister was in the car too which made this a bad idea but my mother felt as if something was terribly wrong with the man.

The man stood there, so my mother got out the car, she asked him if he was okay, he wasn't too responsive nor alert which was odd. I thought of how brave my mother was, with her doctor uniform on (ready for another shift at the hospital), her brown serious eyes showing the mother in her.

So my mom told him to get in the car, the front seat that is, so he wouldn't have to look at me and Sammy (my ten-year-old sister). My mom actually took that risk. I knew that was a horrible idea.

I remember the look on his face, the gray cracked skin on his neck, covered by his north face jacket.

His eyes were a cold and cloudy gray, he had a scratch, maybe an animal scratch, on his neck too, he grumbled a little as we drove, non-translatable words.

It got more meek as the car moved slowly. Once we made it to my high school, the man said, "I'll walk... From here."

"You sure?" My mother asks.

"You look like you are hurt." My mom said.

"I'm not... Wait well actually I'll go to the hospital but I'll walk from the hospital instead.." He mumbles.

How confusing.. I thought to myself. I hugged Sammy and told her to be good. I got out the car and popped headphones in, music playing loudly in my ears, and I started a casual day of school....

The first period was math class. I didn't really have many friends in that class, most of them that were already here were early like me, I was always early to class. One guy I know, I had a huge crush on. I had a crush on him since elementary school.

But I knew we weren't ever going to magically end up together.He seemed to want to talk to me as soon as I stepped in. He was waiting at the door, his hands in his pockets, his brown hair looked neatly combed. I told myself to shut up and not say anything weird to him.

His name was Hunter. Hunter Derek. A name I couldn't stop thinking of when he was around, I would imagine all the possible conversations we could have one day if we ever ended up together.

"Hey, Mara-" As soon as he said my name wrong, I quickly corrected him, my voice straining against the cold in my throat.

"Lara.." I shyly correct, my face burning.

"Ag... Sorry." He says brushing his hair to one side and laughing, his face turned a soft shade of red. I nod, and tug my earphones out from my ears, and place my phone underneath my pile of books.

"Yea Hunter?" I ask.

The class hadn't started yet, it was just us and... The silence. I stare at his brown eyes and my face automatically burns, yet again. I guess I got here early, and it's a bad time for my crush to talk to me since there's this awkward silence in the classroom.

"Um... You know how that pandemic virus, right?" He asks, his mint smelling breath and the smell of clean laundry clothes and maple syrup pancakes filled my nose and I nearly melted, but I simply force a nod, focused on this newer topic. The virus.

It was becoming a pandemic virus now, spreading from different contents. It caused the victims to grow really sick, my mother would come home and make sure Sammy and I were clean and medicated so we wouldn't get sick so easily.

"Yea.," I say, avoiding eye contact since I couldn't hold eye contact. I never could anyway. His eyes were warm and welcoming but I couldn't hold eye contact with him either, not for a long time.

The virus conversation made me feel so scared for everyone. What if the man had got it? The one that hitched a ride from my mom?-- "Anyways... I just wanted to say thanks because your mom is helping my little sister heal from it.. My sister seemed to get the mental backlash of the virus.." He meant she was suffering badly but it wasn't hurting her, I told myself. "She said there isn't an antidote right now..." He continues, "Just medicine to level out the pain and fever."

"And it's a lot of work helping my sister because she's deaf..." He says, scratching his head.

"But she's working really hard, your mom." He said a charming smile hinting at his cheeks.

"Thank you." He whispers.

I hear a giggle from across the room. Gina was laughing, along with a couple of other girls who were glancing over at me, with a sly smirk. Not everyone thought I was a weirdo, maybe not even Hunter for once. In your dreams~ I told myself.

I had no idea his sister was suffering from the virus. My mother had told me there were a couple of little kids in the sick homes, a couple of adults too. She never told me, that Hunter's sister was there, sick.

All during class, I glanced over at Hunter, I could tell that was why he was so stressed, why dark spots were under his eyes sometimes. But why would he credit me...? He could always credit my mother himself since his aunt worked with my mom.

Class ended, I left quickly, straight to the bathroom, to look in the mirror for some reason, I fixed my hair and I cringed when I realized one strand of my hair had been out of place. Big deal it wasn't, I told myself. Once I walked in, I stepped into a bathroom stall, used the bathroom, and left to wash my hands. I dried my hands and I whipped around, shrieked, and dropped all my objects needed for the next classes.

A pale girl was in front of me, her eyebrows narrowed upward in a worried angle, and her light almost shallow, blonde hair was in a bun, her skin was grayish, but I tried to act less surprised.

She was clutching her arm, her left hand clutched her stomach and she moved her right hand to her mouth and gagged her eyes widening.

Her big blue and gray eyes met mines quickly, her head was trembling, and she pushed past me quickly.

I knew who that was, it was Gina's best friend Lor. I could tell from the headband, it was made of the finest lace, but it didn't fit on her all of a sudden, shallow and fragile looking hair or boney and small looking head.

Lor had pushed past so fast that I almost fell. I turned to look at her, but she bolted into a bathroom stall, slammed the Lock-it-yourself stall door and it flew backward again since she didn't take the time to lock it.

I blinked and all I could hear was the horrible sickening sounds of vomiting, I quickly left the bathroom.

••••••••••

"Just because it's raining outside doesn't mean you won't be doing those laps. Stand! Give me nine laps right now, straight jogging." Coach Brand yells his eyes bulging with determination, his loud military retired voice filled my ears, waking me up out of thought. I start to run, my eyes looking straight at the long gym ahead of me. Miranda, my best friend, comes towards and starts running to me, and yells, "Hey!!!!"

I smile at her.

"Hey, Miranda," I mumble, running slower so we could talk.

"Miranda!" I whisper once we were running again because she began running faster than my legs could carry me.

Miranda was that type of friend we all needed one day. That one friend that is brave, and outgoing, and always happy, she was one of my friend's I had been going to school with for a while now. I was the kid, once upon a time, and Miranda happened to be around to help me get adjusted.

"We should really go to that movie tonight. It's called... It's called Bites, a zombie movie based off of the novel." She says.

"Sure. Tickets cost...?" I ask.

"Since it's grand." She says, air-quoting the word, grand. "It cost extra.. It's twenty-four bucks to get in, but I'll pay for yours. I also wanna go to that amusement park this weekend. My grandma will pay for that too." She continues.

I nod, trying to hear her over my heart beating from running.

"The amusement park is called Fun-Land," I tell her.

"Oh." She says.

"Hunter talked to me today." I finally tell her.

"Whoa! What?!" She yells, drawing attention.

"He credited me for my mom the doctor, for working with his older sister, I didn't even know his older sister had the virus..." I whisper, so no one will start gossip about it.

"But then Gina, she said it was all a dare," I said.

"She is just a hater. Ugh. I can't stand that chick, Hunter and Gina are jerks." Miranda says.

"I don't know why... But I saw Lor in the bathroom and she was-"

Suddenly a loud voice comes from the intercom.

"Everyone please report to the gym. I repeat please re-" the voice was cut off, and confused mumbles were heard from all directions.

"Now now! Must be an unplanned announcement. Everyone! To the bleachers!" Coach yells.

To the bleachers, it is then.