Clang! one of the toilet stall doors banged off the wall.
"He's gotta be in here." Eddie said to the boys with him.
I sat on top of the closed toilet in the farthest stall from the bathroom door with my arms wrapped around my legs. I held my breath, scared they would hear me if I breathed too loud.
"He definitely came this way," another boy agreed.
Another stall door opened with a loud bang, causing the tiny wooden cubicle around me to shake violently. I could see Eddie's shadow moving closer beneath the stall doors now. He was at the stall next to mine. This was the dumbest place I could have hidden. An isolated room with no supervision and only one exit. Now the only thing protecting me from another beat down was the metal slide holding the door shut. Eddie stopped in front of my stall. He tried the door, and it didn't budge.
"This one is locked," he announced to the others.
Their shoes squeaked across the dirty white linoleum floor as they gathered in front of the stall door.
"Are you in here, Snakeface?" Eddie asked, banging on the door again.
I kept as quiet and still as I could.
Boom!
Someone slammed their body against the door to force it open. I slammed my eyes shut and clenched my jaw to keep from screaming.
"Hey Mike, lay down and peek under the door," Eddie directed.
Mike is huge. There was no way he would fit under the door. But what would happen once he looked in and saw me? Would they wait me out or force their way in?
"I'm not laying on that nasty ass floor. You do it!" Mike answered.
Relief briefly pounded in my chest. Then a bigger worry replaced it. Eddie was thin. He could definitely fit in the small space. If he decided to do it I had to strike first. A swift kick to the nose might end the fight before it even started. If I gave him a chance to get in here with me, I was doomed.
"Hell no," Eddie responded.
"And don't even look this way," Kris, the last member of their group, said.
Boom! The stall shook as someone slammed into it again. My trembling hands shot over my mouth. My not screaming surprised me.
"That's not gonna work, Mike," Eddie said.
Okay, so none of them were willing to crawl under and they weren't strong to just break through the door. Maybe this wouldn't end with me getting another black eye. The bell rang for the start of the next class.
"Shit, we gotta go. Okay, you won this round Snakeface," Eddie said as they walked away from the stall door.
I felt my shoulders relax as the bathroom closed behind them. I stepped off the toilet.
Splash!
Clear liquid came over the top of the stall from the one beside me and soaked my head and shoulders. The smell of old pee filled the air all around me. Someone ran out of the bathroom laughing. I gagged as I unlatched the door and ran to the closest sink and splashed water on my face. I stared into the mirror to see if I missed any of it. My pale skin and dark eyes and hair were all soaked.
I rushed out of the bathroom and headed to my locker to change clothes.
"Eww, Snakeface, did you piss yourself?" A girl asked with a giggle as I ran past her.
I didn't look back at her. I was used to everyone calling me the nickname they gave me in middle school. It wasn't supposed to stick with me till tenth grade, but it did.
"There he is, get him!" I heard Eddie yell from somewhere behind me.
Without hesitation, I bolted. I ran as fast as I could toward the stairs. Eddie was the captain of the track team, so I couldn't outrun him for long. I just hoped the crowded hall would slow him down enough to let me make it to a teacher or security guard. I made it to the main hallway before a powerful hand gripped my collar and snatched me backward. My back hit the metal railing as the three of them surrounded me.
"We caught ourselves a snake," Eddie said and poked me in the forehead.
I jerked my head away, getting a good glimpse of the space behind me. We were standing on the fourth floor in front of the trophy case. The only thing behind me was an open air drop leading to the main entrance.
"Are you sure it's a snake and not some other kinda lizard?" Kris asked and smacked me in the face.
A sick feeling stirred inside my gut as my head rocked to the side. I felt sick. Something powerful stirred inside of me. I needed to throw up. I felt the bile rising in my throat.
"Guys, I don't feel so good," I said and tried to walk away from them.
The churning in my stomach blocked out everything around me. Like a rushing wind, a tornado moving across the plains. The sound overpowered me and I doubled over dry heaving. It felt like something was trying to crawl out of me.
Eddie pushed me back against the railing just before I let out a loud burp. Green smoke wafted into the air between us.
"Eww that's fucking nasty!" Mike said and punched me in the stomach.
Pain followed rapidly by vomit raced up my throat before green vomit spewed all over Mike's face. He clutched his hands over his eyes and screamed.
"It burns!" he screamed and stumbled forward.
Eddie and Kris both dove out of the way to avoid him as he slammed into me. We toppled over the edge, headed straight for the lobby. Both of us screamed as we plummeted. Mike held onto me as we fell. I clawed at his baseball mitt sized hands trying to get him off me. He was too strong. All I could do was struggle and scream as the ground rapidly approached. Just before we slammed into the picture of the school mascot that decorated the lobby floor, a feeling came over me. My entire body vibrated as what felt like a gust of wind came out of small holes all over my arms and legs. It was so powerful that it punched tiny holes through my shirt and pants. It formed a pillow of air beneath us. I landed gently. Mike hit it and bounced off, slamming into the floor with a thud.