The Girl Across the Street

Monday, December 3rd, 6:30 in the morning. Groaning, I get up and stride over to my connected bathroom. I turn on the shower and get in.

6:45, I'm out and brushing my teeth. I walk into my room once more and slip on the shirt and pants I had laid out last night.

By 7:00 I'm walking downstairs and buttoning up my shirt. I kiss my mother on the cheek and grab the peanut butter toast she made for me, thanking her. "Have a good day at school honey!" She calls as I walk out the front door.

Simon beeps his car horn. "Come on Barnes!" He shouts.

"Oh shut up. I'm perfectly on time; as always." I holler back. I glance across the street and do a double take. In the driveway is a moving truck full of boxes, the For Sale sign is gone.

I gape at the spectacle and Simon beeps again. I shake out of my trance and jog over to the car. I slide into the passenger seat as Simon questions me about the house.

"I have no idea man. But it's weird. How long has that thing been on the market?" I respond. Simon simply shakes his head in disbelief. "Come on let's go get Nathan." He nods and we tear down the street. Simon is practically famous at school for his fast driving. It worries my mom, but ironically, Simon is one of the safest drivers I know.

We pull up to Nathan's at 7:13, off schedule. He looks up from his book, jogs down the walkway and jumps into the car. "What's up? Three minutes late. We've had this schedule all year."

"Dylan over here took too long gaping at the moving van across the street from his house." Simon explains, rolling his eyes. I give him a shove but soon regret it as he purposely swerves a little, just to remind me who is driving.

"There is no way someone moved into that place. That thing was on the market for forever. Everyone knows it's haunted. It's too creepy not to be." Nathan gasps.

I wave my hand. "Dude, you know they just say stuff like that to keep all the teenagers out."

We pull into the school at 7:25, five minutes late. We pile out and walk to the gym. We pull open the doors of the locker room and grab our workout clothes.

Simon and I walk out to the track while Nathan does some basketball in the gym.

Simon and I jog around the track until we've run two miles. We do a cool down half mile before jogging back inside to shower before school.

The cold water rushes over my face, waking me up and cooling me down. I step out of the showers and get dressed. 7:45 my watch displays, back on schedule.

I wait for Simon and Nathan to be ready. Together, we walk down to home room.

We step into class, 7:50. Ten minutes before the bell. Almost everyone else is there and no one glances up to see who it is; they all know, or can guess. They continue to talk, text, sit on desks, listen to music and just generally waste time. Nathan sits down and starts to read his ever-present book, Simon is frantically scribbling down his math homework, as always. The routine is the same boring one as ever, so why does today feel different?

Then, I realize it. The answer walks right through the door. A strange looking, but beautiful, girl with long brown hair, pink highlights, purple converse, teal jeans and a white shirt. She walks into the room two minutes before the bell and the silence that spreads across the room is deafening as people realize there's someone new. She doesn't seem to notice or care as she strolls toward the only empty seat left. She drops her bag on the floor, the soft thud breaking the silence as the thundering hum starts up again.