Today was.. one of those weird days at school. Too loud yet too quiet. Too hot yet too cold. Everything just felt off.. You couldn't tell what. It was like the entire school was holding its breath. All. Day. But.. nothing happened. You walked home like usual, the spring sun warming you as the birds sang in the trees. The wind gently ruffles your clothes and the world finally seems to have let go of the harsh tension that lingered in the air in that stuffy school.

The sun peaks through your window and your morning alarm blares in your ear, immediately awakening you from slumber. You groggily shower, put on your clothes, get all your stuff, and eat a rushed breakfast before walking out the door and to school. Usual morning.. right?.

wrong.

That morning felt icky. The school felt almost.. sticky as you walked into your history class the first thing in the morning. As you sit in your usual spot, the wooden seat digging into your ass uncomfortably, you feel a pair of eyes boring into the back of your skull. It sends weird shivers up your spine. A feeling in your gut pulls at you. You ignore it.

bad idea.

Your hands shake as you write out notes. The teacher is going on about some group project but you barely hear him through your anxiety. The pair of eyes boring into your skull, the weird gut feeling. The sense that something bad I'd going to happen.. It's all too much for you. You raise your hand to go use the restroom. To control your odd feeling. The teacher permits you and you start walking down the hallway. Halfway down the hallway, a hand plants itself on your shoulder. You freeze. The person walks to your front. It's Pico. The nefarious.. odd kid. His ginger hair is styled normally, with the weird spikes. His clothes are also normal. The usual lime green sweatshirt and khaki pants and maroon shoes. But his face.. his face looks different. More panicked but hidden under a layer of unruffled annoyance.

"Hey. Kid. I've been watching you all morning."

He leans in suddenly, whispering in your ear. He sounds weird.

"You feel that too, don't you? Like something bad is gonna happen?"

He whispers in your ear, his hands clenching at his sides, like reaching for an item not currently on him.