“Hi, my name is Meech — my full name is Niel Andrew Meechum (as Mrs. Clemont requires me to state my full name even though no one but her will use it). I’m 13 years old and this morning my dad helped me find my up-to-date height, since I knew I would need it today: I’m 5 foot on the mark, I don’t know what it is in metric but your calculator could figure that out for you since you seem to be opposed to using the internet Mrs. Clemont. So I’m pretty average I guess, I don’t have a big shoe size but I would like to state for the record that my akri qiwi sk aou ajsihs (Mrs. Clemont came by and told me I was sharing too much information). This is why I don’t like in-class assignments, it’s just such a restriction of my personal freedom and expression being observed like this. You’re giving me that weird look from across the room Mrs. Clemont.

School is going well, although there’s weird pranks going on right now. The swimming team said in the mornings there have been other kids sneaking around the showers and change rooms. The girls tried to say the boys were making weird sounds in the girls washroom, but seems fake to me. There’s a lot of rumours going around now about people have sex in our grade and stuff. Like Mark is always showing us pictures he finds online of girls and talking about doing them but we all know he hasn’t.

I don’t really look up pictures like that, sometimes I wonder if I’m gay because I don’t like seeing the pictures that Mark shows us when they are all in their langerey (is that how it is spelled I don’t know French) but when we’re shopping for underwear and theres all the pictures of the guys only in boxers and briefs it doesn’t bother me. But like it doesn’t turn me on either, like when I’m thinking about Jessica and Marie (since everyone says they are lesbians), it makes me start to -”

The paper was ripped away from him as he wrote and some ink got on his desk. He looked up and saw Mrs. Clemont and her angry face.

“Niel Andrew Meechum! Go to the principal’s office now!”

He got up and obeyed immediately knowing all too well that defending himself at this point would only make things worse for him. Some of his classmates giggled and others rolled their eyes, all were pretty used to this happening. Mark gave him a thumbs up before he left the room and Mrs.Clemont turned around to call the office and give them the new details for Meech’s visit to the principal today.

Once out of the class Meech took out his phone and put on his stories a video he was heading to the office, pretending to hold his head in shame as he walked excessively wobbly. He saw on the screen that someone was following him from class, probably with another command from Mrs.Clemont. He turned around and no one was there. He looked at his story again and didn’t see anything.

He got to the office and smiled at Ms. Williams, she ignored him and kept pretending to work. The principal called him into the office just before the break bell rang. Meech was told to just sit down and wait. Mrs. Clemont came in not long after and the principal got his parents on a video call. Meech looked at the offices behind his parents as all the adults went on about him. His dad’s office was open concept and he could see everyone else working away. His mother’s was the opposite, her office was her own, filled with designs, books, models and supplies all over the place.

“Just look at the things he writes!” Mrs. Clemont said as she had the principal scan and send the parents a copy. He could tell his dad was holding back a smile but his mom kept up the irritated-mother face. There were apologies and promises made for talks and disciplining. He was allowed to leave as they continued to talk. Thankfully he still had some of the break left. He headed to the washroom because he knew Mrs. Clemont wouldn’t let him have any freedom for the rest of the day.

He went to the urinal and stood in front of it waiting. He didn’t really have to go but didn’t want to have to hold too much later. He heard someone behind him in one of the stalls behind him.

He let out a soft, “hello?”

They probably had headphones in. Eventually the pee came, it wasn’t much. While he was washing his hands he noticed that all the stall doors were open. He hadn’t heard anyone go past him. He took a step towards them and heard a small laugh.

“Yo, who’s there?” Hair raised on back of his neck.

There was a loud bang and he ran outside right away. Once he was outside he looked back. No one had followed him, probably someone trying a prank.

“Hey, you okay?” It was Tim asking, his voice soft as always.

“Yeah, yeah. Someone tried to spook me in the bathroom.”

“Really? Tracy said the same thing the other day, must be some dumb thing another class is trying to do.”

“Maybe. Whatever. Let’s go.”

Meech started running off.

---

Meech walked through his front door and heard the refreshing echo of solitude. His parents would be home in a few hours and likely then carry out some kind of discipline. He kicked off his shoes so they landed somewhat on the tray and ran up the stairs to his room, closing and locking the door behind him. He tossed his bag under his desk and peeled off his uniform, smelling each one to see how dirty it was. He threw his socks, underwear and shirt into the laundry bin, his pants could make it another day. Meech went to his dresser and got a pair of boxers from there and took them into the bathroom with him.

The shower started up with its normal hiss and Meech looked at himself in the mirror. His skin was a little pale. He got in the shower and started thinking about the rumours he was writing about this morning regarding Jessica and Marie. After he shuddered and let out an awkward gasp, he cleaned himself up. He put his boxers on after drying off and went back to his bed to game with Mark and Tim before his parents got home.

He groaned as he heard a loud thump downstairs, one of his parents must have come home early to dish out the punishment.

“I can’t play actually, see you tomorrow.” He said before taking off his headset and getting out of bed.

“Hey,” he shouted out, stepping out of his bedroom door and heading downstairs. No one’s shoes appeared next to his, nor any keys on the table.

Meech headed to the kitchen after hearing a noise come from there. He’d have to try to get a word in first if it was his mom, otherwise she wouldn’t let him get a say.

“Okay, I know I was pushing Mrs.Clemont’s buttons, but last week, you guys said -” he stopped talking, the room was empty and the fridge door was open. “Uh, mom?”

He looked from where he was to the dining room but didn’t see her there either. He felt his skin prick up, something in him knew someone else was here. He shifted around the counter to look at the fridge, nothing inside was touched. One of his shoes flung out from the front and slammed into the fridge, making it snap shut.

“Who’s there?” Meech yelled out as he moved around the counter to look at the front, crouching slightly behind it.It was empty.

He reached forward on the counter and grabbed one of the knives, staying where he was. His eyes darted back and forth between the front and the dining room.

A scraping came from the dining room, moving towards the kitchen. A chair started jutting into view and something dark was holding it. Meech couldn’t tell before the chair flung into the kitchen. He ducked and ran along the counter and up the stairs, not taking a chance to look through the other hallway.

He got up to his room and locked the door behind him. Grabbing his bag from under the desk, he set the knife down to try to find his phone. There was a loud bang on his door, making him look up. It was quiet again. He took the phone out and threw the bag down, picking up the knife again.

“Come on.” The phone froze from reading his fingerprint wrong and he tried typing in the passcode. The door banged again and the door knob shook.

“I’ve called the cops, you better get out of here before they show up.” He yelled out, his voice cracking.

“Shit!” The screen was still frozen and he couldn’t even make an emergency call. He held it down to hard power it off.

Meech looked at the headset and thought about getting ahold of Tim or Mark. As he grabbed it, the door banged again, wood snapping as it strained, a crack went right down the middle.

He ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Sitting on the cool tile, he braced himself against the vanity and held his feet against the door. He hit the phone’s power button and it started its boot up. His other hand felt sore from gripping the knife.

It was silent again. The phone chimed it was awake. He bypassed the security to make an emergency call.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“There’s someone in my house.”

The shower hissed alive and Meech looked over, nothing there. The bathroom door banged, bouncing in its frame and making Meech pull his legs back in pain. Water started running from the faucet. Meech pushed himself to the corner and stood up, holding the knife out as the door continued to bang.

He could hear the voice on the phone, he spoke to it, “I don’t know what’s going on.”

The door broke open down the middle, a pitch black hand stuck through and beckoned him. Meech felt the knife pull from his hand and he slipped forward trying to to keep a grip on it, his phone cracking as it hit the tile and slid across the room.

Pushing through the broken door, the arm emerged, Meech could see through the mirror a sack over his head that was soaked wet, black ooze came up and dripped down his body. As he came through the door completely, a puddle of the ooze grew under the man as he stood there holding the knife, only the wet sack over his head.

Meech tried to raise his voice to yell at him again the police were coming, but he couldn’t catch a strong enough breath. As the oozing man came closer, he felt colder and it was harder to breathe. The man swirled the knife around in the air and there was loud thudding as he seemed to raise his head backwards. He glided forward with the knife held up high as Meech held up his hands.