S.O.L.
Every middle school student has that one person in their class that is just weird for the sake of being weird. For me, that person was called Skylar Olivia Louise. When I think of Skylar, the first thing I think of is her appearance. Platinum blonde hair, big blue eyes, freckles across her nose. No doubt she was the most beautiful girl in the entire class. She was also strange, and I mean *STRANGE*. She drew snakes on her arm with permanent markers. She hissed at classmates, and even quacked sometimes. At recess she would run around on all fours sniffing the ground. Despite this, she also did incredibly well in class. I guess I don't need to tell you that she didn't really have any friends. So when our Social Studies class was being split into partners, I had absolutely no qualms working with her. In fact, I considered it a bit of a lucky break on myself. She could do 80% of the work. I wouldn't even have to try. Okay. We worked together on this project for the next couple of days. I don't exactly remember what our topic was anymore, but I know she was certainly excited about it. She had this sort of enthusiasm that she put into all of her work that really helped put a smile on the faces of a lot of teachers. I probably could've learned a thing or two from her. She wasn't even that much of a weirdo as long as I kept her focused on work. One time she invited me to her apartment so we could work on it after class, and I remember how shocked I was that she just lived in a normal apartment. Half of me expected her to live in some immaculate shrine of some sort, while the other half assumed she just slept in public parks and stuff. I think it's save to say I learned a little about her in our short time working together. Her family was always away at work so she was always alone in the bleak little apartment by herself. That definitely made a lot of sense. We were pretty far ahead in the project by the time all hell broke loose. I remember the moment I started to notice something was wrong when Skylar was spending the entire class watching the clock. Right before the class ended, she stood up. "Can I make an announcement to the class?" The teacher raised her eyebrows. "Alright, but make it quick." She got up in front of the class, corrected her posture and cleared her throat like she would at the start of a presentation. Then she completely fucked me over. "I'm sad to say that today will be my last day at this school with you. I want you all to know that it's been a great honor to work with you all and that I wish you great luck in the future." The bell rang. Everyone watched as Skylar walked out of class for the last time, casual as ever. No one knew what to make of it at the time. Was she just messing with us? Skylar had said and done some pretty bizarre things in the past, but this one took the cake. And she stayed true to her word. For the next three days, no one had heard or seen from Skylar. I was getting worried. The next Social Studies class was coming up, and Skylar hadn't given me any of her notes. What's more, I overheard the teacher trying to get into contact with her parents and she couldn't get through. Nobody would pick up. That only left me with one option: going back to her apartment and praying to god her parents wouldn't think I'm a boyfriend or something like that. As I walked up to the complex, the first thing I noticed was the police car sitting outside in the parking area. Maybe a police officer lived there? No, deep down I knew that wasn't the case. Riding the elevator up to her floor I kept trying to tell myself that everything was probably okay, and that I should stop watching so many movies. It was only when I saw the yellow police tape around her apartment door that my worst fears were confirmed. Instinctively, I walked up to the yellow tape to try to get a peek inside the apartment. Just as I did, two police officers came through the doorway. "Excuse me, young man, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave immediately." "But my friend lives here!" She wasn't really my friend, I was just saying that. "That girl, you mean? The blonde-haired one that looked about your age?" "What happened to her?" I feared the worst for my notes, but if Skylar was okay I'd probably make it through. "She got sent to the hospital a couple of hours ago. Doctor says she'll be fine, though. Say, are you by any chance related to her?" That's a strange question. "No, why?" "We've tried calling her parents but no one seems to pick up. Say, how much do you know about this girl?" "Oh, not much." I walked away, knowing full-well that the police would probably show up at my house and the houses of other students to ask us questions. I also knew that I did get a quick glimpse of the apartment wall. I can't say I'm 100% certain, but it looked like a sun had been drawn on the wall with blood. I ended up going to the hospital to check on Skylar. Oddly enough, I got there right as she was being released. No parents had come to pick her up, so she would probably be living in an orphanage. When I first saw her, I was admittedly freaked out. Large bandages had been used to stop bleeding around her mouth, and a tube stuck up from out of her nose to let her breathe. The first thing she did was pass me a note. *Why?* "Why not?" I asked. Suddenly I found myself wrapped up into the strongest bear hug I had ever been in. I guess loneliness and tragedy can make a person really hunger for compassion. She pulled out another note. *Home?* I explained to her that she wouldn't be able to return home for a long time, or at least until the police finished investigating. She looked at me with a mixture of sadness and confusion in her eyes. Then she turned over the note and scribbled another word on it. *Shopping?* I snorted out of disbelief. "You want to go shopping?" Skylar nodded her head up and down so hard her bandages loosened a little. At that point I had no idea what in the hell I was getting into, so I just went with it. Maybe she just wanted to take her mind off of whatever the hell happened in her apartment? So we go shopping, and at some point Skylar buys a really nice black coat and a scarf to cover her mouth. I didn't know where she was getting this money from, and I didn't care. All I was concerned about was what happened to her mouth. It couldn't be that bad, and it had healed already, so why wasn't she showing it? After we went shopping, we went out to have dinner. The more time I spend thinking about this the more I realize it sounds like a date. Maybe my mind was too preoccupied with the decision of either abandoning Skylar or explaining to my parents where I was all night. There was a humane choice and a selfish choice, but I knew deep down that I had already been plenty selfish. It was time for me to do something nice for once. We ate at McDonalds, not anything fancy. She paid for a bunch of food and then gave it to me like I was going to eat it. I mean, it's not that I wouldn't eat it. McDonalds is McDonalds, no matter which way you look at it. But still a part of me felt bad for eating it all by myself. I offered her some, but she declined. I assumed at the time that her mouth was still in no condition to eat food. Maybe she could only drink liquids? I offered her my drink, only to get turned down again. I guess she was content to go hungry. As we sat inside the bus stop, I felt myself get sleepy. Skylar rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. We had been out for far too long. The sun was beginning to set over the houses. It was actually very beautiful. A sight I didn't show myself too often. Things went from bad to worse when some teenagers started hanging out outside the bus stop. At first they were just talking really loud, but when one of them decided it would be funny to fling cigarette butts at us I felt like it was time for me to stand up. "Can you stop doing that, please? We're trying to rest." "Yeah, Michael," one of his friends said mockingly. "Can you stop doing that? *Please?*" They laughed. "I'm serious." "Ooh, you gonna take that one, Mikey?" The one they called Michael walked up to the both of us. He wore a muscle shirt to show off his humongous arms. "Listen, kid. I don't know who you think you are, but this here bus stop is mine. See that?" He pointed to the ceiling. The name *Mikey* was scribbled on with cheap marker. "That's my name, man. That means this is my property. Now if you're going to use it, that means you're also my property." "This is the public's property," I retorted. In hindsight, I was a ballsy kid. I don't have exact memories of what happened next. In fact, my memory has been kinda foggy since this incident. All I remember was that Mikey started slapping me around a whole bunch, and then Skylar woke up and jumped at him. I remember lying on the ground watching the teenager's bloodied carcass slump against the glass wall of the bus stop. The other teenagers ran off screaming, but I don't remember what happened to them. Maybe some of them are in jail? All I remember is this one image. One thing that stands out in my mind. Skylar Olivia Louise staring at me with her sad blue eyes, her platinum blonde hair, and freckles across the bridge of her nose. And her mouth... it can only be described as being like a crocodile mouth, but on a human. Bent all the way back in a perfect grin that showed no pleasure. That was the last time I saw her. I helped the police investigate all I could, but my memory was starting to fail me at that time so I don't think I was of much help. The teacher exempted me from the project since my partner was unavailable, and from that point on I had to start taking special needs education due to my mental state. I like to think that I'm doing fine now, though. Besides a loss in memory, I live a pretty normal life now. I have a job as a graphics designer and I'm pretty successful despite my lack of a degree. I still live in my hometown, too, so I'll go to visit Skylar's grave sometimes. Technically speaking there are no official records to prove her existence, so our class got together over the summer to host an unofficial funeral. We're the only ones who seem to remember her still. It's funny, I never noticed until now but her initials spell out S.O.L. Sol. Like the sun. It's funny though, how I keep waking up with these weird bite marks on my body. They kinda remind me of the sun too, for some reason.