Restore Leah

''We have to restore her, there's no other way,'' you say after some time.

''Dude, you sure?'' Jimmy holds the skin up.

''We can't let her 'go missing'. Think about their family,'' you take the skin from Jimmy's hands.

''Yeah, but,'' Jimmy pauses, ''Well, I guess it'll be fine. After all, no one will believe her anything she says about these pens right?'' Jimmy chuckles nervously, ''Everyone's gonna think she's bat-shit crazy.''

''Exactly, '' you nod in approval, ''We'll just have to be more careful from now on.''

''I know, I know. Stop bringing it up alright?''

You hold up the black pen and aim it at the lifeless skin that was once and will again be Leah, before Jimmy stops you.

''Not here,''

''What? Why?'' you look at him incredulously.

''What if she gone crazy and wrecks my place?''

''She won't.''

''You can't guarantee that.''

''So, where?''

''Let me think,'' Jimmy paces around the room, ''The school's empty at this time.''

***

You sling the duffel bag you're carrying over the fence that separates the school's boundaries from a local park.

''Come on,'' Jimmy urges you from the other side.

''Fucking hell,'' you mutter. Of course you can go through the front, but that will risk you and Jimmy getting seen by members of the soccer team who's using the school grounds for practice, some which are your friends. Instead, the two of you opted to enter from the rear side where there's a lot of buildings that would usually be used for various extracurricular subjects during school hours.

You land with a soft thud and swiftly move to Jimmy's position behind a wall after he gave the thumbs up.

Making doubly sure that no one sees you, you take out Leah's skin from the duffel bag. You and Jimmy have tried to dress her up as well as you can. Of course, it was hard going as the clothes just seem to 'wrap' around the skin with no body to hold them in place.

You set Leah's skin on the ground and wait as time takes its course and Leah's skin starts to fill. Thankfully, her clothes remain in place and cover her body.

''I think we should just go,'' Jimmy fidgets nervously whilst looking around the perimeter.

''We need to tell her,'' you state. It feels like you've been waiting for an age.

''Still- '' Jimmy protests, but he doesn't get the chance to finish as you silence him.

''She's stirring,'' you whisper.

***

Leah wakes up with a jolt and stares at you and Jimmy wide eyed. Just as she is about to open her mouth, you whip out the black pen and point it at her. Leah flinches as if you're holding a loaded gun aimed at her head, slowly her lips shut together.

''We've got the pens back now,'' you say in slowly, ''I'm sorry about what this dick did to you,'' you motion to Jimmy, ''But we promise to leave you alone, if you leave us alone.''

''Yeah,'' Jimmy quips.

The defiance on Leah's face fades slowly and she bobs her head down and then up again.

''Good,'' you whisper.

You and Jimmy then exit the school the same way the two of you came in.

***

''Dude, that was fucking cool!'' Jimmy chuckle, '''We promise to leave you alone, if you leave us alone''', he repeats the line you said just minutes ago, although with some exaggeration that makes you look like someone from the mafia in a really crappy movie.

''I'd rather not do it again,'' you take a bite from your burger.

''Don't worry about it. I'll be careful from now on.''

The weekend, or what's left of it prove to be quite fruitful and rather calm. You're able catch up on your date with the girlfriend and get a decent amount of work done for a school project you have been neglecting while the pens are relegated to the bottom of your desk drawer.

***

''Am I interrupting anything?'' Jimmy says with a sly smile as he introduces himself to your table.

''Jimbo,'' John raises an eyebrow at your best friend, ''Depends on what sort of trouble you gave Ms. Martinez this morning,'' but he scoots nearer to his girlfriend to give some space for Jimmy.

''I haven't. I've been behaving.'' Jimmy says in faux innocence, which elicits a snort from Eric who now sits in front of him.

It's lunchtime and you're in your table, with some of the usual suspects.

There's John Fletcher and his girlfriend, Samantha Brown. You are fairly close to the couple, having gone through some double date with them. Samantha is actually Jessica's best friend, or BFF as they like to refer themselves as. You got to know John better when he transferred over to your school and joined the soccer team as the goalie.

There's Trish whom you've got to know well since years and years ago.

Then lastly, there's Eric Nguyen. The only person in your clique that wears glasses.

In many sense, it's as if things are back to normal. That's what you think before your eyes catch Leah's. She quickly averts your gaze and settles to her own table, with fellow cheerleaders. There's an unspoken convention in the school that there are some tables in the cafeteria 'reserved' for the A-listers.

***

''You thinking to use the pens?'' Jimmy speaks after the last class ends.

''No, why?'' you say in-between packing up your things. You have practice with the rest of the soccer team after school.

''Let me borrow them.'' Jimmy gets straight to the point.

''Fine,'' you grab the pens from the bottom of your bag. You've been **** to leave it at home, for the fear of someone accidentally finding it.

''Great, thanks!'' Jimmy couldn't snatch the pens fast enough from your hands and bolts out of the class.

''What's gotten into him?'', John approaches you. ''It's just some pens.''

''I don't know,'' you shrug.