An Undead Boy

Danielle and I are leaving the library. Usually, we go at separate times in case there are any other students or teachers lurking in the corridors but today, after the weight of our conversation, our meticulous planning has been forgotten.

We manage to walk down an entire corridor together before we hear the unmistakable sound of boys shouting and by now, it is too late to act despite the realisation of our error. We have seconds.

I stare around wildly, trying to find some place to hide or duck behind but my attempts are fruitless. The only place I can turn to is back at the library and my gut clenches, knowing it is too far away for me to get there on time.

As the voices grow louder, Danielle throws me a silent, wide-eyed look and takes off running as quickly and quietly as she can back down the corridor. For one awful moment, I think that she is abandoning me but sense and a wave of relief comes flying back.

She isn't leaving me; she is putting enough space between us in the desperate hope that we look like we're in the same place by coincidence. She spins back around again just as the group of boys turn the corner.

At first, they don't notice me - they're far too engaged in a humorous story to see my ghostly figure standing just before them - but sure enough, a member of the group spots me and nudges his friend beside him. They all stop mid-anecdote and we watch each other anxiously.

Several seconds pass before I recognise we are in a stand off. I'm afraid of what they might say or do to me but they're equally as frightened of me as I am of them. The only sound between us are the slow footsteps of Danielle approaching. This prompts one of the group to speak up.

"Hey, watch out! The zombie's right there!"

His friends laugh raucously and clap his back and I gulp, my hand tightening on the straps of my bag. I do not know what else I can do except to remain here motionless.

I can hear Danielle getting closer and I wish I could turn to look at her. I think just the sight of her may calm me a little.

"Oi, didn't you hear me? You're gonna get infected if you get too close!"

The same boy shouts at Danielle and I'm willing her to just stop and walk away with all my might. Our careful considerations and secret meetings will be for nothing if she refuses to act like the rest of the school and treat me like a disease.

There is a scuffle and another boy pushes his way through the group. Instinctively, I stop breathing. It is Mark. I scan the rest of his friends for James but he is nowhere to be seen. I can barely register this unusual occurrence; James and Mark are inseparable, but he starts to talk and my attention snaps back on him.

"She's not listening to you, mate. Maybe she likes 'em dead?" he jeers. "I always thought that was illegal, myself..."

His friends roar with laughter. I'm trying not to let my emotions get the better of me but Mark is watching me with complete disgust. There is something else there, too. Something I'm not used to seeing when looking into my former best friend's face - absolute fear? It's nearly concealed but undeniable. He is petrified. Maybe I mistook this emotion for pity? I wonder again at James' disappearance.

I feel the heat from Danielle's body against my left arm. It is near impossible to stop myself glancing at her but somehow, I triumph. This has to be convincing, I have to react the same with her as I do everybody else. Drawing upon every strength in my body, I force myself to go against my natural instincts and flinch away from her warmth.

"See? The dead guy doesn't like you. Better luck next time, love."

I do not know who has spoken; I can't help but witness her reaction to this and despite myself, I'm heartened by the blind rage in her face. Knowing her as I do, I can tell she is about to hit back at the gang of boys but I shoot her a warning look. Thankfully, she catches it and composes herself but Mark, the only member of the group to stare at me outright, also notices. His eyes flicker blankly between me and Danielle and I can tell that no matter what she says now, Mark will know that she is lying.

"Are you kidding me? Are you guys insane? He's a zombie! Do you think I like getting this close? Is it my fault you're all clogging up the corridor? How am I supposed to get to class on time if you're all blocking my way?!" she seethes, pointedly moving as far away from me as possible.

I just hope that to the rest of them, Danielle's brief anger can be played off as some sort of indignation at being associated with me. I pray that Mark keeps his mouth shut, at least until Danielle is out of the way.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you all be somewhere too? I'm sure the prefects will be delighted to know that you're skiving off from your lessons. They might even send a letter home..." she continues, letting the sentence hang in the air. The threat is strong and clear.

"Yeah, like we care about the prefects!" one of them hisses but they're already peering over their shoulders nervously. Miraculously, Danielle's words have gotten beneath their skin. My muscles loosen slightly as they edge around me to get to their classes.

"See you around, corpse."

Mark is the last to pass by and he pauses long enough to get his message across: this isn't over. I glare back with unwavering resolution. I am not going to let him intimidate me.

When Danielle and I are alone in the corridor again, she lets out a long, shaky breath and drags her hands over her face. Her whole body is trembling and her fingernails bite into the skin of her cheeks.

"Oh my gosh, Charlie - I'm sorry! I would have insisted that you go back towards the library but I know you can't run so fast anymore and we didn't have much time left to do anything else and I just panicked - "

"Danielle, breathe. It's fine. They didn't suspect a thing." I insist but the look on Mark's face is playing on my mind and tells me otherwise. "You did amazingly."

She doesn't seem assured. "What if they keep coming back here now? Do you think it's too close to the library? Should we find somewhere else to go?"

This is the last thing I want and I hurry to dispel these thoughts.

"No; we shouldn't be driven away. They don't know we were in the library. Even if one of them did suspect us being together - uh, I mean...being friends together, you know, they couldn't definitely trace it back to the library. We could have just been walking around."

She nods, lowering her hands from her face. There are angry, red marks from her nails trailing down her skin.

"You're right. Still, I really didn't like how that one guy was looking at you. I think his name is Matthew or Malcolm or something - you know, the tall one with the black hair."

Mark. So she had picked up on his behaviour. I hope she didn't see the dawning amazement and incredulity on his face when she was about to defend me. I sucked in a breath and decided to appear ignorant for now.

"You mean Mark. We were - he was my best friend before, well...you know." I broke off, suddenly abashed. We had never spoken of my life before, or more importantly, who I was before.

Was I as arrogant as how Mark appeared to me now? Was that the reason why Danielle hadn't spoken to me when I was alive? Not because I hadn't exactly needed her, but because we ran in totally different social circles? Had I been self-important and cruel towards other people, like Mark?

No longer the popular, alive arsehole but now an isolated, zombie nerd. No, that isn't fair. I shouldn't place a stereotype on other people, or especially myself. I thought I'd figured this out by now; you're only what you make yourself, not what others labelled you as.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie." Danielle squeaked, placing a hand on my shoulder. Her touch was so gentle, it was almost a caress. I could feel her fingers curled around my bony frame and somehow, all the ill thoughts washed away. I smiled easily.

We had overcome an obstacle today and we remained unscathed.