ECHO: Episode 3 // Chapter II

Gavin found himself lying in bed awake. He didn’t realize how long he was staring at the ceiling until a fly buzzed in his ear. He sat upright and shook his head. ‘What time is it?’ he thought. He looked at the alarm clock on the dresser next to his bed. “10:06.” Gavin had been lying awake motionless in his bed for almost three hours. He had been like this since the last time he saw Lindsey, and it was getting worse with each passing day. It had been weeks since the last time he talked to her, since the day of the encounter with Juno. Gavin got up from bed and looked at himself through a mirror. His arm was no longer bandaged, but it still hurt every time he moved it and it brought back flashbacks from the fight.

Gavin looked back at the clock. “10:31.” He had been dozing off again. Something just didn’t feel right with him. He didn’t feel at ease anymore. Flashes of Juno haunted his thoughts and dreams. Gavin quickly gathered his thoughts and got ready for school. When he was about to step out the door, he threw his backpack down. He wasn’t going to school.

Gavin didn’t feel like being just a part of the crowd at school again, walking around campus unnoticed. He didn’t even want to be at school with the expectation of talking to, or even seeing Lindsey. He needed a break just to gather his thoughts because he was hurt and broken.

For a while, Gavin walked aimlessly around town. He let his feet guide him to places while his mind wandered around elsewhere. He came to his senses after a car honked at him and found himself downtown in the middle of an intersection facing a red light. He scurried over to the sidewalk wide awake now, and saw a crowd huddled around a post. They looked like other high school kids that were cutting. Gavin was curious what they were looking at. He walked up to the crowd and saw that they were looking at a flyer. “Carnival this weekend! Hosted by the local high school’s Activities Team.” Gavin suddenly felt a rush of warmth flow through him. Lindsey runs the Activities Team.