The skies were dull,the bright sun nowhere to be found beneath the grey clouds.
Not the type you would see during rainy days - which was moist and sometimes nostalgic.
This was a melancholic kind of dull,the type to make one severely depressed and question your sanity.
"Hey Matt, heading to school at this hour?".
A young boy around my age leapt out from an alley i had just passed by - his hands wrapped tightly around my neck. Almost as if he would snap it in two if i wasn't being careful.
" Yes Josh. And so are you"- i chuckled at his not so funny way of stating the obvious.
" Hey - seems like it's going to rain, man " - he patted my shoulders as he laughed heartily. His voice echoing through the empty paths.
I took a glance at the grey skies one more time before shaking my head for a while.
" That doesn't look like rain to me - looks depressing instead ".
" Ah~. Matt ,why do you always have to act like this ?" - he shoved me playfully.
" Like what?!"- i asked, shoving him backwards.Watching as he struggled to keep his posture straight after stumbling backwards.
" Like a wet blanket "- he yelled, finally catching up to my pace.
"Do you really think that?" - i asked absentmindedly. "Nevermind, it's nothing".
I took two paces forward. "If we don't pick up the pace, we're gonna get locked out of school" - i yelled out to Josh watching as he ran after me.
"Ah!,yes. We can't forget about the excursion to that abandoned ghost town. I've been really interested in going there,you know" - his excitement bubbled, his eyes glistening at the adventure that was yet to come.
"Nyur town- it's named Nyur. Try to get your facts straight for once " - For strange reasons,i couldn't shake off the feeling that these journey wouldn't rub off well on me.
"Yeah, yeah!" - he pushed me towards the overgrown dirth path.
We ran,pushed and shoved each other around - just like your average teen boys would. As we walked the long distance to our school - where we lived was remote and quiet.
Lacking in transportation - only a few could afford to buy motorbikes and to an extension,cars. Both of which my parents couldn't afford as they were expensive.
In no time we arrived at school , slightly disheveled and dusty.
"Damn it. It's inspection day" - Josh muttered beneath his breath, his eyes widening in horror.
I stopped in my tracks, pulling out a spare uniform - my movements were calm and unperturbed at all.
"You brought a spare?!" - Josh stared at me,his eyes widened in shock.
I sighed watching him for a few minutes.
" You forgot yours?" - i asked, watching as he scratched his unbrushed hair with his hands awkwardly.
I exhaled - that was all the answer i would need. He had obviously forgotten to pack alongside a spare cloth.
I handed mine over to him - his eyes moistening with gratitude as he pulled me in a tight hug.
"You're going to choke me to death at this rate - let go of me you big brute" - I struggled, desperately clasping for air- only for him to let go a few minutes later.
"What about you - what are you going to wear?!" - he said, drawing my attention to my dusty shoes.
"It can be adjusted" - i said shrugging my shoulders.
We headed out into the field, watching as everyone filed into two straight lines. The physical ed teacher stood in front - with his stern face and a long cane made of a tree branch that he had made us buy, ourselves.
"You done changing?!" - i whispered behind me, knowing fully well that Josh was right behind me.
"Yep".
"As you all know - today we would be heading for a field trip. I hope that everyone has prepared thoroughly for this event."
" It's going to be a long journey and i hope that you all packed up the necessary items that you would be needing -"
We stood, listening to the female arts teacher,Miss Swan, speak as her sharp eyes scanned the crowd for any possible offenders.
Her hands folded beneath her big boobs as the phys ed teacher stood next to her - as the enforcer of discipline with that huge fat cane of his.
No one dared to step out of line with this duo, everyone paid careful attention as she listed out the rules. With the promise that she would make us adhere to it.
After being briefed,we were asked to go into the large school bus. I took a seat next to the window and Josh sat right beside me.
After everyone was in - it was noisy for a while before actually being quiet. And that's was because, Miss Swan had threatened to place a D- on the project if they kept on making noise.
My eyes stayed out the the window, with every minute that passed and with every distance we closed - that familiar feeling of foreboding haunted me.
I closed my eyes with the hopes of escaping it - no matter what i did,that voice remained still, silent and persistent.