A classmate pulled ahead, followed close by Johnston.
The two shot around L-shaped corners, zigging past waves of empty cork boards and brightly colored, crisply cut election posters taped to walls.
The classmate pumped sweatered arms, never quite looking back.
Johnston pressed, but heard his shoes begin to screech against the scummy linoleum floor. Too loud to go this fast, he thought. Too much trouble. Not the right way to behave.
He stopped and caught his breath, alone now in a random stretch of hall.
As he considered heading home, a neatly folded square of lined paper caught his eye from beneath the rear of a bin marked “REFUSE.”
Glancing left then right, Johnston glided in and stooped to clasp the mysterious page by its exposed corner. He noticed a blue heart drawn in pen with extra curves and spirals.
As he turned the note over to yank its careful folds apart, a gaggle of gleeful females swarmed into the hall, all giggling and honking like the working components of some enormous cartoon machine. Johnston froze, feeling their judgmental stares as they laughed and bobbed in his general direction.
He glanced halfway up, not quite meeting pairs of menacing eyes . . . then quickly down again. His point of view was the sliding piece of the Strongman carnival game once its lever has been whacked with a mallet and the slider finds its apex.
He shuddered as he took in partial outlines of further curves and spirals.
An old warmth began to pool in his chest like a shaky jolt, and Johnston bolted, fleeing first straight at the gaggle, then around . . . an uncoordinated asteroid knocked into and out of orbit.
A door marked “MEN” lay just beyond.
Then safe in the usual dank and sterile mix of smells . . . hidden with his feet up in a stall . . . Johnston finished unraveling the paper, fighting to contain a wicked grin.
mark,
im stefani. im gabbys freind. u met me at gabbys house when derek had that party. i long brown hair and big tits. haha. anyway, i wrote this letter because ive been thinking about u. i like the way u talk and ur voice and i just though u were cool so gabby says u would probably go out with me. i want to go out with u. ur hot. haha. i think u liked me 2 because u were looking at me and laughing when i said that about mr hensler. i was so nervous about u but i hope u will think about this. i been thinking about u. a lot. haha. anyway. bfn.
xxx
stef
I don't know anything 