As luck would have it, pressing one’s ear against a door which had lost its locking mechanism was foolish. It was some grace of god which allowed Lucas not to fall flat on the floor. He wouldn’t be admitting to anyone that he may have windmilled his arms a few rotations in his haste to maintain balance. Thankfully no one was around to witness it...

[i]No one was around...?[/i]

At that moment a delicate hand shot down from a conspicuous hole above him starling him with its suddenness. Giving a quick look around the empty room, and hearing the distant sounds of movement in the building growing closer, he threw caution to the wind and hopped up on a desk so his shorter body could reach the hand up. Thankfully he wasn’t much of a weighty kid, so he was up and surrounded by a gaggle of upperclassmen in no time. The social hierarchy being what it was he didn’t know any of them, but having been a wall flower at lunch most days he was at least aware of them.

The male he knew was supposed to be very popular. Rumor had it he was also filthy, stinking rich, but those comments had always been spoken by people with tones of jealousy. Of the two young women he was much less familiar. The one shifting around uncomfortably in the dark ventilation shaft was one of the more vocal protestors of the school’s cellphone policy. Seeing the lit phone in her hand made the corner of his lips twitch. When his eyes scanned the girl who’d helped him up he couldn’t help but notice the headphones she wore. His eyes briefly flashed an electric blue before he slapped a hand over them.

[i][b]‘Well done, little Freak, you’ve never been able to help yourself...’[/b][/i]

After a moment to collect himself Lucas glanced at Cellphone-girl with a small frown. Now wasn’t the time for his insecurities. He took a deep breath, glanced around at everyone else, and then put up a reluctant hand,

“If no one else can, I should be able to handle it.”