Typos

//TW: drugs, mental health, mild violence, crime//

'How did we and up here?' Grace said, walking the woods on bare feet.

This is all a dream,' Ben blurrily joked.

'Maybe we died in that museum and got here, back in time, 'Alpha said through the messy hair of her fringe.

'Surewe did,' Grace replied. Sarcastically.

10 HOURS EARLIER:

'the bus leaves at nine,' Miss Thornton said to the students who were gathering on the parking lot outside school. once evryone took their seats.

the chatter continued.

A school trip never meant anything to these reckless, but depressed teenagers. Today, they were going to visit some kind of cemetey, as Alpha called it. She was the moody girl with the fringe that grew out too long.

The Museum of Archeological Findings of Dead and Living Beings, a mouthful of words. It was a place where the kids could question their mortality and have secret panic attacks. Ben was one of them. he knew death at a young age; both his parents died when he was eight. and of course, he got bullied. because nobody really knew eachothers story. It-s easier y to just assume than to ask.

'Wanna bail?' Alpha asked Elias.

'Yes, Please,' Ellas sighed burdenly.

The two teens ran away towards a private corner behind the building. they stumbled e over bushes and found themsleves in a sort of alleyway. with a forest behind them, and the group getting bored inside the museum of Archeological Findings of you know the rest, Alpha and Elias kissed eachother's mouths. Gasping for air every ten seconds (one of them had asthma).

'look at this,' Grace pointed at a skeleton buried in sand and stepped over the stanchion. Ben looked at her while she touched the skeletons finger and put its hand in its mouth. Grace then placed her own finger in her mouth and licked it off. Ben stared at her with an open mouth. then he heard somone coming.

'someone's coming, come here,' he said while lowering the rope so Grace could step over it. She almost tripped and fell, but Ben firmly held her hand.

Just friends. they said to anyone who asked. Just friends, nothing more.

Grace was obnoxiously chewing gum throughout the rest of the museum trip. They found the rest of the group at the souvenir shop, hanging against walls and scrolling on their phones, texting.

The teacher was the only one of two who was actually excitied. the other one was the classic class nerd).

Ben saw Grace looking at a little figurine of a bird, an owl.

Her face changed when she was looking at it, she stopped chewing gum, or maybe she stopped chewing a time ago, and dumped the gum somewhere on a statue of a caveman .

'alright, kids,' the teacher said with a high and a little nervous voice it cracked a bit. 'we’re going. Time to go, the last words, she sang. Probably to hide the fact that she was nervous. or perhaps, had an existential crisis too.

Meanwhile, the moody teenagers making out behind the museum of Archeolog—logical blah blah bullshit, they were done with god knows what, and rejoined the group.

Ben was reading a book on the bus, his hands were shaking/trembling.

Grace noticed it, and held his hand (in a friend way).

'alright kids,' her iconic punchline, the teacher said while we where already ten minutes on the road.

'Next stop is a very cultural and learny- place...

The gas station,' she said excitedly. the whole bus groaned and complained.

the teacher sighed and took her seat in the front of the bus. the bus eventually stopped, creaking brakes, at a gas station, which was also a motel. there was trees all around.

'bathroom break.’

Most of the teenagers exited the bus.

'Stay close.' the toucher called while the kids strayed.

"Look at this creepy AF motel, OMG.' Alpha said.

'Should we go in?' she asked.

'Do You WANNA get killed?' Grace said.

'at least it'd be better than this hellscape we go to every day.'

Alpha was right, but to be in a creepy motel where the walls were ripped was still worse than school, you could be killed by a chainsaw mssacre killer every moment you'd be there.

"You're overreacting.' Elias replied to GRace. He took Alpha's hand and entered the motel.

Ben felt a sense of protecting Alpha and Elias, like he was their teacher. So he followed them, and in its way, Grace followed Ben.

It's probably not so bad. What could possibly go wrong in an abondanded motel in the middle of a forest?

Nothing.

The teens were done with the motel in ten minutes, nothing to do apparently equels nothing to be afraid of.

Teen logic.

Guys, where's the bust' Grace said.

'It was just here.'

'Maybe they just drove around to look for us.'

'Ha, or maybe they just left without us, Fuking Ben.'

'No, how are we ever geting home?' Grace said almost breaking.

‘Stop overeeactting' Elias snarked at her.

Elias then walked over to a tree and punched it so hard, one of his knuckles bled.

'Fuck you Ell!' Grace yelled.

'What'd you say?' Ellas went towards Grace with his bloody hand and tried to punch her too, yet Grace evaded.

She grabbed his shoulder and

send him stumbled, almost hitting his head on the hard ground.

'Can you stop?' Alpha snarked at the two.

'Yeah, if only you could summon the fucking bus!' Elias shouted at his girlfriend who was shocked by this, she almost started to cry.

'Look, I'm sorry baby.' he tried to make right.

At first, Alpha tried to pull away when he held her hand, but as soon as Elias kissed her, she swooned and kissed him bakc.

All good, I guess. Grace scoffed.

The kids were sitting outside, waiting for the bus to magically arrive. An hour passed, and still no bus.

'I don’t think theyre coming back.' Alpha said.

The rest sighed tiredly. The motel seemed like the only choice now. This'd be the moment the sad piano theme song starts playing.

Grace went towards the motel.

'Whereyou goin?' Alpha asked.

'The motel,' Grace made a hand gesture, as to say where else? ‘Do you wanna wait here?!’

'Fine,' Alpha replied. She then followed her into the motel.

Once everyone was inside, they saw nobody behind the counter. Yet, the keys were still hanging on the wall. Elias hopped over the counter, and grabbed one of the keys,

'Room 16'

They opened the door and it creaked while the golden doorknob turned.

The wallpaper was faded an the windows cracked.

'Shotgun' Elias jumped on the bed, which almost gave in under the weight, the legs creaked and almost broke.

The floor creaked too, while footsteps walked the room, dust stuck to their shoes. The air was old, it smelled like old furniture and typewriters dustingaway on attics. There were only two beds, but we knew we wanted to stay in the same room.

'If only we-d have service, fucking middle of nowhere,' Grace said. She threw her phone on a bed.

'Soo, now that we have nowhere to go, and nothing to do but wait, might as well get high right?' Elias took a plastic bag out of his pocket.

'What? No,' Ben looked frustrated.

'I dont mind,' Grace wanted to grab the bag out of Elias' hands.

Elias evaded her hand and raided his finger.

"Ah ah,' then he opened the bag and a little mountain had formed on his finger. Grace stared into Elias' Green eyes, and licked his fin finger. Alpha saw her doing this and stood up from the bed. Grace, who was sitting on the floor, stood up too.

'The fuck Grace!' Alpha yelled at her.

'Girls, dont fight now,' Elias tried to come between them.

'Shut up Ellie,' Alpha said, but regretted it. She bitterly stared at Grace while kissing Elias again.

'Ugh,' Grace scoffed.

The rest of the night, all the kids did drugs. Even Ben.

'Ooh, this is the stuff.' he said.

'Told you,' Elias replied. 'The best stuff is always the stolen stuff.'

Ben looked him, but too high too start an argument.

Alpha and Grace were in the hallway exchanging secrets;

'So whatd you think about Elias?' Alpha started.

'Dont know, hes fine i guess,' Grace answered.

'dont lie,

"I know he's the worst,' She whispered, in case he was listening.

'He kinda is, Grace said, laughing.

Alpha started laughing too.

After a few minutes of laughingand seeing the walls move.

Grace asked, 'What about Ben?'

Alpha was quiet for a second befor answering, 'I heard he's an orphan..'

'I know, it's sad,'

'Do you like him?'

'What, no we're just friends,

'Yeah, right. I see the way he looks at you,'

‘ how does he look at me?’

'Like this,' Alpha stared wide-eyed at Grace and opened her mouth.

'Really?'

'Oh, Grace, you're so pretty,' Alpha pretended to be Ben.

Then she made kissy gestures.

'Oh, come on, you can tell me. what happens in this motel, stays in this motel.'

'Ok, yeah, he's kinda cute though.' Alpha squeled, and Grace laughed.

Meanwhile the boys were talking about past lifes and holidays gone wrong.

"This jacket is my dad's. I fucking hate him,' Elias started, growing angry, but suddenly changed, 'But it hides the pain.’

The girls entered the room again.

Elias saw their faces when he showed Ben his knuckles. He wanted to hide them again in his sleeve- But changed his mind when Alpha sat beside him and pat his back. Ben sat closer to Elias and held his hand, dried up bloody knuckles grazed his fingers.

Elias continued his story, 'We were on a holiday, my dad and I.'

He paused,

'I killed someone,' he clenched his fist, while Ben let go of his hands. 'I fucking killed someone because my dad wouldnt listen!’

'I killed someone,' he now sounded sad as a tear escaped his green eye. He quickly wiped it away. Alpha made circles on his back with her fingers, tracing I love you's.

Grace was sitting next to Ben on the floor, touching his pinky,

Ben then held her hand.

'I've been pretending my parents could come home any minute. They never do.' Ben told.

'Why'd they have to die?' He said.

'I’m sorry if i—‘ Elias said.

'No, it's not you, it’s-‘ Ben replied, ‘Just, this motel reminded me of it.' 'I was seven and they'd always take me to a motel down the road, we were always road tripping,' Ben smiled through a sad

Face. ‘We’d always look at leaves, counting how many species there are, and find pinecones and chestnuts.

Alpha started crying too, 'After school, I-' 'He uhm-t 'The- after class, I was alone and he, the teacher, he-' 'I'm sorry.' Tears were streaming down Alpha's face like a river. Elias squezed Alpha's hand.

They all knew what she meant.

Everyone was quiet after this.

But, the drugs was still in their system.

***

'How did we and up here?' Grace said, walking the woods on bare feet.

‘This is all a dream,' Ben blurrily joked.

'Maybe we died in that museum and got here, back in time, 'Alpha said through the messy hair of her fringe.

‘Surewe did,' Grace replied. Sarcastically.

That’s when flashes of the motel came soaring back.

Nobody really remembered all the words said, yet the connection stayed with them.

‘Oh uhm Grace, I wanted to give you this,’ Ben said while he took a small figurine of an owl out his pocket an gave it to Grace.