Panophobia

“Hey,” a girl, Phoebe, said to her friends, Emily and Jordan. “Did you hear about that new kid?”

“Yes, oh my God!”

“Scandalous!”

Now, usually, I’m not one for gossip. It’s just… it’s never been something that really interested me. I’d rather be blind to what one does behind closed door.

But, new kids surrounded by scandal? Now, that’s something screaming in my face for attention.

“Apparently,” Jordan started, picking at excess nail polish that dried on her skin, “he was kicked out of his old school.”

“For what?” Emily said, completely engrossed by this new discovery, ignoring that fact a girl dropped a makeup compact fell under her desk and she had to crawl under to get it.

Jordan shrugged, “Believe it if you want, but apparently he murdered someone.”

I involuntarily winced; that word – murder – still brings me back in time. What an ugly word, just thrown around so casually by my peers.

“No way!”

“Hey, don’t believe everything you hear.”

“Would they even let a murderer into a public school?”

Not likely.

“Maybe you should ask the killer yourself,” Phoebe teased Emily.

“Speaking of being killer, damn, that boy’s got killer looks,” Jordan chimed in again.

Of course, they’re more focused on his looks than what could be a felony.

They chatted away for another eternity and I let my mind teleport me into another world of thought.

New kid, huh? I wonder how he’s adapting to this shit town, especially with these murder stories swirling around. Murder? Maybe he knows about what happened-

no kellin we dont think that that is a bad thought and we don’t think bad thoughts

-maybe everyone will forget about this whole thing next months. We’re not a town to remember things, I guess. Barely anyone remembers me coming out, or, more likely, they don’t care.

But then I was being dragged out of my thoughts when an eerie silence blanketed the room, suffocating all those who were speaking. I looked around to see what shut everyone up, and my eyes landed on a skinny tan boy, with longish brown hair, making his way to an empty table. Everyone stared at him, wide eyed, like they were watching a tiger in a zoo. He looked… strangely familiar.

I leaned into Desi, “Who’s that?”

“Vic Fuentes,” she whispered back, not daring to look away.

“He the new kid?”

“Yup.”

I gulped. Okay then, put the boy with the missing sister in the class with the possible killer. Yeah, great idea school system.

The bell rang, jolting me back into the comfort of my hoodie, grip tightening on my mechanical pencil. It was blue, like Kailey’s blouse the night-

kellin stop

My science teacher’s booming voice sounded throughout the room, bouncing off the walls, into our ears, and I tuned everything out.

-

The bells rang around fifty minutes later, and I jumped out of my seat and ran to the door.

But someone else was running to the door too.

And our hands brushed together.

The touch, again. Like cold, sweet lemonade on a scorching day.

I looked up to see who it was, and I was met face to face with the eyes of the new kid.

Aka, Vic.

Aka, the fucking murderer.

And by the look on his face, he too, was aware of the sensation that washed over me

“Oh,” I breathed out softly, melting into the touch. But he yanked his hand away, gave me a disgusted look.

“Faggot,” he hissed, briskly walking out.

Everyone behind me gasped, giving each other shocked looks.

I wanted to disappear.