"LEAH!"

Leah jolted her head up from her makeshift book pillow on her desk and blinked her eyes. Her entire class was staring, or quietly laughing, at her. I must have fallen asleep again, she thought. Leah hadn't been getting much sleep because of horrible nightmares and her 1st period english class seemed to be the perfect time to rest up. It was like Miss Hedgerow could make time slow down so that one minute was an eternity. All the ADD medication in the universe couldn't keep Leah focused for a 50 minute class with this lady.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your personal nap time but we have some grammar to go over so please, answer question number 9 please," Hedgerow said with her voice that pretended to be friendly but was malicious to its core.

"Alrighty then, just give me a minute," Leah said as she opened her grammar book, all of her classmates eyes focused closely on her. Her friend Danny sat across the room from her and held up his fingers to show let her know they were on page 107. Leah smiled quickly to let him know she understood and flipped to the page.

"It's a complex sentence," she said after a 5 second examination of the sentence. Everyone raised their eyebrows in admiration to her quick save, then looked back and Hedgerow. "Thank you, now Ariel, could you tell us what kind of..."

Leah zoned her out and stared out the window. The teacher probably expected her to get the wrong answer, but Leah wasn't stupid like this lady thought she was. Danny, on the other hand, was not extremely smart, but he paid attention and at least pretended to like Miss Hedgerow. Leah wanted to pick her up and throw her out the window and into the fresh mud made by the pouring rain; that is, if she was actually able to pick her up. Leah wasn't athletic or strong, but she knew how to hate somebody better than she could throw them.

"Leah, are you listening to me?!" The shrill yell that Leah was all too familiar with echoed off the walls of the little classroom. "I'm working on it," Leah quickly snapped, not meaning to sound so nasty but it definitely sounded like she was picking a fight. Her teacher also caught that vibe and anger clearly registered on her featureless face.

"Get out of my class this instant and you head right to the principal's office! There has been too many incidents this week and I have been giving you too much leeway. GO!" Leah hated to be yelled at, so she just followed her teachers orders. She put her books into her lime green backpack, shouldered it, and quietly slunk out the door, lip bit. She walked part of the hallway, then slipped into the bathroom.

She had no intention of going to see Dr. Wilson and couldn't afford to. Her foster parents would either shun her or send her back. She would just camp out here and wait for the bell to ring. She looked at herself in the hazy mirror. Her tired, dark green eyes stared back at her, partially hidden by long eyelashes. Leah's face had sharp, defined features and a faint scar across her right cheek. Her unruly brown hair was pulled back in a loose, and poorly made, braid. She turned away from the mirror, walked to the far corner of the bathroom, and slowly sat down on the questionably clean floor.

Leah was positive no one would come to this bathroom. It was the smallest in the entire school and far away from anything of importance, and that was why Leah liked it. She loved company, she wasn't a loner, but sometimes, being alone was just what she needed. She pulled her laptop from her backpack and flipped it open. She didn't really have anything to work on, but she'd think of something.

All of the sudden, an enormous thump shook the building, causing some pieces of ceiling to fall around her. Earthquake? In Boston? Impossible or extremely unlikely. Leah put her computer away and stood up. Another thump caused one of the light fixtures to fall down, just skimming her. What was going on? Leah quickly grabbed her backpack and bolted out the door to investigate, dismissing every sensible instinct to take cover.

Leah looked left and right in the hallway, but no one else was there. She was running to the nearest classroom when another thump threw her to the ground. Her brand new black sweatshirt was not so new anymore, but she couldn't care less. When she picked herself up and ran to the classroom, panting, the students and teacher looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you alright?" the teacher asked her. "Yeah... I think," she answered, very unconvincingly. Could they not see that they were covered with ceiling? Did they not feel the building shake?

Just then, Leah heard the sound that had been plaguing her nightmares. A deep, terrifying howl that made her body forget everything it should be doing. It came from the nearby maintenance staircase that went to the basement. Ignoring every ounce of reason in her, she pushed open the door and ran down the stairs.