That day I learned not only things on the subject of science, but that time is not the greatest of all thief’s. His eyes were not white, they were an irritated red, and they were not his own eyes even, they did not dart about in that curious way, instead they bore into the textbook. Nor did they shine, but were dull like a gloomy summer day. “Daniel” I spoke his name once softly, yet on the inside I was screaming “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel! Where are you? All I see is this sullen skeleton of a boy where the man I love should be sitting”. The melancholy school bell rang, beckoning the students to their next class.

He was only worse the next day. I was enveloped by a deathly hopelessness as his sunken face looked at me, with eyes so emptied of life. I hung my head down at the desk as a tear escaped my big brown ones, and tumbled down my freckled cheek. He couldn’t help but notice the miniscule puddle, and asked “what is wrong?” the stench of the one who had stolen my loved ones life assailed my nostrils with its smoky smell, as I shed yet another silent tear.

The early morning air was icy like my heart as I walked across the school lawn. Rounding the corner, I saw him. He was standing in a circle with some other boys, who, despite their clumsy laughter, I could tell were dead as well. The thief was there to meet me, its scent making my eyes water. “I’m sorry that I am not the high you wanted” I said, my words bitterer than the drugs that had stolen the one I loved.