Mutants high

002

I sit alone in the cafeteria, the spoon in my hand halfway to my mouth, my food cold and untouched. My eyes stare blankly ahead, seeing everything and nothing at once. The usual chaos of lunchtime laughter, footsteps, and clanging trays blurs into meaningless noise. I’m not here, not really. My mind is stuck in a loop, replaying that argument with Guy, over and over again like a broken record.

Leaving Guy after that discussion was probably the best decision I ever made.

I don’t hate Guy. I just don’t want to hear another word about “that” party. Not from Guy. Not from anyone. The very idea of attending makes my stomach twist. It isn’t fear; it’s memory. The kind that clings to my skin like smoke and makes my chest feel too tight. I haven’t forgotten what Danny did to me last time. Not for a second.

A voice slices through my thoughts.

“Hey, honey!”

That voice. Sugar-sweet and sharp-edged. I flinch inwardly as a familiar chill snakes down my spine.

“Don’t tell me this is Guy’s big plan,” I think, dread pooling in my stomach.

I can’t look up. I don’t *want* to look up. That voice belongs to Piper John, a girl as persistent as she is terrifying. Arguing with her is like wrestling with a storm. Useless. Dangerous.

Piper drops into the seat across from me with the grace of someone who knows she owns every room she enters. Her sleek hair falls over one shoulder as she leans forward, one manicured finger snapping in front of my vacant eyes.

“Earth to Alan,” she says, her tone impatient. “Are you going to stare at your mashed potatoes all day or acknowledge my existence?”

I blink rapidly, dragged back to the present. “Huh? What is it?”

Piper sighs, dramatically. “Seriously. Sometimes I think you’re part alien. Whatever’s going on in that mysterious head of yours, keep it on pause. I came for something important.”

Her red lips curl into a smug smile as she pulls a glossy, silver invitation from her bag and slides it onto my tray like a poker card in a high-stakes game.

I barely glance at it before nudging it back. “I’m not going.”

“I didn’t ask if you were going,” Piper says, crossing her legs and tilting her head with mock sweetness. “Because I already know you’re not fun. Let’s be honest.”

Her words hit like a slap disguised as a compliment. I stiffen. “Not fun?”The most popular girls in school practically fight for my attention, and she is calling me “boring”?

But Piper isn’t done.

“I’m here to ask you out. A ‘date,’ Alan.”

I choke on air. “What?”

“You heard me,” she says, flashing me a wicked grin. “Pick me up at 7 p.m. sharp. Wear that blue tuxedo I like. And don’t be late.”

She stands and leans in, brushing a light kiss on my cheek that somehow feels more like a warning than affection. I sit frozen, my heart thumping in confusion and low-grade panic.

*What just happened?* I think, watching her strut away, heels clicking like war drums.

I gulp.

Piper doesn’t accept “no” for an answer, and if I don’t show up, I know she’ll make my life a living hell. I blink, my eyes slowly drifting back down to my untouched tray.

A heavy sigh escapes my lips. “Why me?” I mutter.

I ruffle my hair with both hands, groaning into my palms. It isn’t fair. Why does it feel like the world has chosen me as the punchline to some twisted joke?

My mind wanders to the only solution I can think of.

“Maybe I should just run away… Maybe that’s the only way to avoid this.“

I’m not even sure if I’m joking anymore. Running away suddenly sounds like a very real, very tempting escape from Piper’s clutches.

But the more I think about it, the more I know if I can’t escape her… if she finds a way to rope me in like she always does… then I’d better brace myself. Because the party isn’t just coming. It is coming for me.

And I have a very bad feeling about what is waiting on the other side.

I stand up, lifting my tray of food with slow, mechanical movements. The rice on the plate is barely touched, a few fork marks scattered across it like abandoned thoughts. My appetite has vanished, killed off by a mix of dread, confusion, and Piper’s overwhelming presence.

My stomach growls in protest, but even it seems to know it is pointless. No matter how hungry I am, my body can’t stomach another bite. Not after that.

“Forget it,” I mutter under my breath.

I carry the tray toward the bin, each step heavy, the food now just an inconvenient reminder of how normal my day should have been. And yet, nothing about this day is normal anymore. I dump it, the clatter of the tray louder than expected, earning a few curious glances, but I don’t care.

My mind is already spiraling again. “What if she really makes me go? What if I say no?“

But deep down into my mind I knew that I will somehow end up at the party even if am not willing to go but knowing that something was somehow tugging at my heart and asking me to go to that party . I had that feeling that something huge would happen tomorrow.