Heart of Gold

CHAPTER 4

Alana's point of view

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I woke up with a jolt. I looked around in confusion. The room was dark and terrifying. Then I realized that I was still in my room. I clicked on my lamplight and grabbed my phone. With the click of a button it revealed that it was 11:00. On the dot. Strange... I thought to myself. My mind immediately traveled back to the moment on the field. I had asked Alexa for her number and she specifically told me not to call her at 11. I had wondered what she meant by "I'm not usually at my phone." I was very tempted to call her, just to see what would happen.

The numbers flashed as the last zero changed into a one. Technically it's not eleven anymore..." My temptation got the best of me. I rummaged around my bag and snatched out the not displaying her number. I dialed it in quickly.

The phone rang twice. With every ring I felt as if this was just a waste of my time. Suddenly, as the third ring began, she picked up. I immediately could hear the faint sound of voices.

"Alexa?" I tried. I wondered what the voices could be.

"What are you doing?" She whispered in a hushed voice.

"Uhhh..." I stuttered, realizing that I had no good answer.

"I thought I told you not to call me at eleven!" She managed to seem like she was yelling, but in reality she was still talking in a hushed tone. I shrunk back, even though I knew she couldn't touch me. I suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Listen, I gotta go," She said in a rush. The footsteps grew louder, sounding as if they were upon dried leaves. I thought I could faintly hear someone yell here name. The male voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I had heard it before.

"Talk to you tomorrow!" She whispered. I tried to argue but she had already hung up. I tuned off my phone, only to glance at it again in a few seconds. 11:23, it said. I saw the light click on in the hallway and quickly collapsed into my bed, my lights shut off.

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I woke up the following morning at my usual time. I walked through everything I had to do in a dazed state, still contemplating what had happened the night before. I couldn't wait to talk to Alexa about it at school. At the same time, though, I was scared to face her. How would she react?

I climbed down the stairs and almost died with shock. Standing there, dressed and ready to go, was Zeke. I stuttered as he stood there with a smug look on his face.

"Wha-d-h-how?!" I managed.

"I went to bed early." He winked.

"Zeke..." I said. There was something that he wasn't telling me. He shrugged and turned towards the kitchen. I silently grabbed a bowl and my cherished Cinnamon Toast Crunch and sat down.

"Oh, and by the way I have a ride to school today," He said. That was all the information I needed to piece together the story.

"Zeke, who is your ride?" I asked nonchalantly to confirm my theory.

"A friend," He said, detecting what I was up to.

"Zeke... tell me..." I said. I turned to look at him. "I'll tell mom and dad."

"Wow Alana," He tried to mask his unease, but his eyes told me exactly how he felt. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number. I hovered my finger over the green phone button. I glanced at him. Your move. He sighed.

"Malia," He stated. "She's picking me up. You happy?" I was. I heard a honk from outside. It was softer than the school bus'.

"There's my ride," He said. He glared at me on his way out.

A little while later I heard the familiar honk of the school bus. I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. The worn yellow doors swung open to geet me. I hopped on. As I was walking back towards my seat, I noticed that Alexa wasn't there. I sat down in my seat confused. where could she be?