The Life Of a Teenage Assassin

I helped Jeremiah limp home, "what did you do to make them mad?" I asked, helping him up the front steps. He shrugged, I have no idea, the just...attacked me." He limped inside.

"So where are your parents," I asked.

"Probable at work, they're almost never around," he said glumly. He went upstairs to change out of the bloody clothing, I noticed my clothes were also blood soaked from him. When he came down I asked, "so you need to go to the hospital?" He shrugged, "maybe, I don't know. I've never gotten hurt this bad before."

"You're not really helping you know," I said. He gave me an apologetic look, "I know, I don't talk to people much, much less trust them." We were silent after that, the only sound was a cat meowing. I knew exactly how he felt.

After a little bit he started wincing when he moved. I sighed, "come on, you need pain meds before you feel the real pain." He reached into his pocket and handed me a set of keys, "you know how to drive, don't you?" I nodded, "fairly well." Without hesitation, I picked him up, he clung to me, afraid I was going to drop him.

"How are you that strong?" He asked as I set him in the backseat. I got in the drivers side, "for one, you weigh almost nothing, and two, I work out a lot." I drive him to the hospital, helping him into the emergency room.

The doctor checked him out, "whoever bandaged this did it very professionally. If it had been less severe than you wouldn't have needed to come at all." I felt slightly smug as he said this. He gave him a prescription and sent him on his merry way.

We picked up the prescription and drove back to his house. Before I left, I said, "try not to die any more today please."

"I'll try, not promising anything because of the klutz I am," I am, he said, grinning. I rolled my eyes to conceal a smile. I went back home, running most of the way. I washed my clothes, adding a little extra bleach. I checked in with my boss, I got to stay home tonight and catch up on my sleep.

In the morning I did my normal routine, ate, worked out, and changed into school clothes. Today I was feeling a little darker than usual so I wore my customarily black. It felt so....customary that I almost loaded myself down with weapons, knifes mainly. I didn't like guns.

I almost knocked over Jeremiah in the library, he was on crutches. We sat by each other in silence, neither of us talking. In the hall I met the guys who had attached him and I beat the shot out of. I grinned, "boo!" They ran, both of them had bruises and looked quite shaken.

At lunch Jeremiah sat by me, he had no one else to sit with. I let him, I didn't mind his company. He was quiet, he didn't annoy me or make me want to hit him, and he didn't pressure me to talk. We did talk about scant things that didn't really matter, growing more accustomed to each other.

After school there was someone handing out fliers for the basketball team. I said farewell to Jeremiah and tried walking past her. She handed me one, I tried to hand it back, "I'm not one for sports."

"Well how do you know that if you've never tried? There's a practice in the gym if you want to watch," she continued to hand out fliers. I took it and continued walking, but I heard something. It was coming from the gym. Curiosity got the better of me and I started walking in that direction. I hesitated and walked through the doors, captivated by what I saw. It was normal people, with normal lives, just playing. Goofing off and having fun. I tried to remember the last time I had laughed like that, but I couldn't.

I saw someone look at me, so I hurried away, embarrassed to be caught. When I got home I sat on my couch, wondering what I saw doing. I wanted to be normal, with friends and a life that did not include sneaking around so companies can get others' secrets, or killing someone like it was nothing, I wanted to have a conscience.

You do, you know the difference between right and wrong. You help the innocent and defend those who can't defend themselves, a small voice in my mind said.

I did, I helped Jeremiah when it would have been easier to just walk away. I looked at the crumpled piece of paper in my hand, I knew I had made my choice.