Owlings and Demons by T. Richardson (polar express read aloud .txt) 📕

how she was acting; she kept looking at my eyes. I noticed they were red, but I was too embarrassed to tell her why. After I charged at her and scratched her arm I couldn’t take it anymore. Guilt filled me to the top, this is when I began to hate myself and feel the urge to kill-not anyone in particular-but myself. But I couldn’t find the right way without someone fussing over me. Unless I stop hating myself my eyes would never go back to brown. Except that one moment when I "confidently" told her I love her. Very embarrassing.
I wanted to laugh when she shook her head. I wanted to apologize and say, “Sorry Erica, for expressing my feelings for you and then it was very nice of you for saying thanks.” But when she said she did, I couldn’t help but hating myself again. Knowing that she forgave me for fighting with another demon, especially her, killed me once again.
Adam was evil-eyeing Erica once we were walking down the hall. I was pretty sure Erica didn’t even notice. She just walked on. “Erica,” Adam said in a terrible coarse singing voice. She began to move towards his way waving. I tried to keep her next to me but she pulled away and mouthed.
“What’s your problem?” I pointed to the empty space next to me mouthing, stay over here!

Adam gave her a big hug showing his most affection for her. He grabbed her back and squeezed her like one of those squishy balls that could keep you from being angry. He held her pony tail and smelt her hair. This was starting to get awkward. His book bag dropped and he kissed her cheek.
“Uh…” she said.
“Adam,” I said sounding respectful to him for once. He looked towards me while still hugging Erica. I pointed to myself and then Erica. “Oh,” he said. “You two are a thing

?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said embarrassed by what just happened. He then kissed her lips. Whatever rose inside of me, rose to the fullest. I may've not known Erica too long, but once I had something, I had to keep it in my reach.

Continuing with Erica’s point of View

I could not believe it, and it made me wonder what Johnny thought about this. He began approaching faster than ever with an open mouth and fangs showing through a baring set of teeth. Adam which was on the other side of me had a position that you could tell that he was getting ready to stab something into him, and the scariest part was that I was right in-between. I then put my hands right to my sides towards both of their chests and I pushed. All of this was slowly operating in my head. Both guys were pushed to the other side of the hall. What I thought was happening so slowly happened in half a second, and now I knew how fast I could think and slow things down in my mind. Some people were looking around wondering if they saw a guy next to me one second and then saw him 10 feet across from me the other. I ran over to Johnny, “Are you ok?” I asked.
He nodded. “My sister,” Adam cried. “She is in the hospital because of you two, bastards. She could be dying any second because you idiots.”
This was the reason why he kissed me, he knew that Johnny wouldn’t like it and he must’ve figured it could be another way of saying payback time. The dean came out and ordered us to his office. Adam sat in one corner of the room while Jonathan sat in the other. The dean ordered me to sit in a separate room and watch.
“Come on,” he said to both of them. “This is absolutely ridiculous.” I looked around and checked Adam who was sweating rain that dripped off his forehead. “Until you two stop kissing your girlfriend over there,” he continued.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Adam interrupted.
“Then why’d you kiss her?!” the dean said. Adam didn’t want to tell him, I guess he must’ve thought the reason was foolish. “You guys will be partnered in every class,” he continued. “Hold hands in the hallways, you will sit next to each other on the bus, and you will not treat this girl like a lost child so you 're unallowed to talk to her for two weeks or until I see you two improve something.”
My eyes widened. Two weeks was so long! “Um…” I interrupted. “Why did you put me in the middle of this?” I asked.
“Adam has a crush on you,” he answered. Adam’s eyes widened. “Sorry Adam, she was never going to find out with you being a chicken like that.” Johnny found this to no surprise, he already knew and didn’t tell me! “Anyways,” said the dean. “They’ve only been fighting mostly over you, and you are a huge distraction to them, unless you go out with both of them and they like it that way that’s the only way you can have it, or you don’t get any one at all. I would pick the second choice though,” he whispered.
Now officially all of our eyes widened. Shouts of “That’s not fair!” and, “Why’d you tell!” and “My life is falling to ashes!” were going into the air. One last voice followed through saying, “You are all drama queens, get out of my office.”
I did as I was told. I watched as Adam and Johnny were barely holding hands to their next class. I walked beside them. “Hey guess what I realized!” I said. No one answered knowing they were not supposed to be talking to me. “Well…” I began. “He said you can’t talk to me but he never said I couldn’t talk to you guys!” They both nodded while still just brushing their hands together.
“The dean was just kidding about the hand holding thing you know,” I said. They both sighed and moved away from each other.
“Thank you god!” Adam yelled.
“God says 'no problem.'” I said angelically. “I guess I will be going to class now.” I muttered uncomfortably knowing that I no longer had any friends. They nodded. They went the other direction. This was not funny but I made it seem that way acting as if everything was going to be fine.
The next day as I went on the bus, as it was supposed to be, Johnny sat next to Adam, talked to Adam, bonded with Adam, became friends with Adam. I had never expected that they were actually getting along with each other. I knew that sooner or later when the dean realized this great behavior, we would soon be able to communicate. I walked down the halls happily all day until I saw Adam on the floor laughing with a black eye and Johnny on the floor next to him with his hair all cut in this and that way. I went up to them.
“What happened!?” I asked concerned. Adam shook his head not being able to talk without laughing. Johnny, who was beside him kept a straight face until a few seconds later when he busted out laughing.
“I don’t know!” he yelled.
“Chuckle chuckle chuckle,” I said. “Very funny.”
“All I remember,” began Adam laughing his heart away. “Is that the dean, he came by and the next second he left and we were on the floor laughing! I think it’s a mistake though.”

Me?

“He was angry,” I said while sitting next to Adam and Johnny on the bus. “He was probably angry that you guys could take two weeks together and be on the same bus without killing each other. Why were you guys laughing when I found you?”
Adam shook his head in disappointment. “It was the only way I could reject pain, by laughing and not crying. Then your dumb boyfriend over here cracked up and thought it was ridiculous and we forgot about the pain altogether.”
I was squished up in one seat between both boys. “Ha!” Johnny laughed, “Funny secret you had in the deans office.” Then he suddenly frowned. “Yeah, I’ve been waiting 14 days to tell you this, so here it goes, she’s mine

.” I widened my eyes.
“But,” I began. “I thought you guys were going to end the stupid fight--”
Adam cut me off. “It was all a stupid act Erica,” he said patiently. “I thought he liked me too.” He put my head against his chest. Awkwardness spread around the three of us quickly.
Jonathan looked at Adam, his eyes being brown again. “Erica, that was an act to get you closer to him.” Why did his eyes turn brown? Then they quickly turned red. Johnny took my head and put it against his chest.
“Johnny?” Adam said slyly. “You said it yourself; you don’t even deserve her for all the pain you caused her.”
Adam took my arm and turned it around showing the scar of where he had scratched me that one morning. We had come to our stop.
“See you tomorrow Adam,” Johnny said. This was becoming very unusual.
Johnny and I walked off of the bus. Johnny looked around the bus stop and pulled off the stop sign and threw it over my head into the woods. “Johnny calm down. You can forget about it what happened that one day was all messed up, and you know I forgave you. The question is, did you ever forgive me?”
Jonathan stared at me. He came close to me and squeezed my shoulders. “There is nothing to forgive you for. You were right to do what you did to me, it was me who wasn’t right to do what I did to you, and so I couldn’t get angry at Adam. He was speaking the truth, I don’t deserve you.”
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. Was he making this all up to make it easier to say I wanna break up with you? I paced for a couple of seconds. “Johnny,” I said with tears filling my eyes. “You don’t have to make up silly stories just to say you’re breaking up with me, it’s still as painful.”