Fragments

0.7

0.7

            By the time I reach Adam in the front lobby of Elizabeth Roe, I’m already over ten minutes late. It turns out that a school so large and ancient isn’t easy to navigate through and I blame my tardiness now and for my classes on the lack of a school map.

            Adam doesn’t see me when I walk across the mix of tile and carpet. He’s standing facing the door, his gaze staring out the front windows as his hand taps on his regular jeans impatiently. Only knowing him for a day, it’s strange to see him standing there, dressed normal in a casual t-shirt and a sweater.

            I look down at my plain navy skinny jeans and tank top before he notices me. He looks better than me and for some reason, I feel like I didn’t dress for the occasion.

            Since when did I start caring about what I wear?

            “Piper,” Adam smiles when he spots me. He closes the few steps between us and nods towards the door. “The others left to grab a table so we should hurry and meet them.”

            I finger a wave and fall into step beside him. “Sorry for being late. I got lost on the way.”

            He shrugs and holds the door open. As I pass, he grins. “Get lost in any secret passages?”

            I shoot him a puzzled look over my shoulder as he exits the school behind me, not a single staff or headmistress noticing my disappearance.

            “There are tons of them around the school,” he explains as we walk the busy sidewalk in the chilly, cloudy evening. “Most of the teachers and administration don’t even know.”

            “And you know?” I wonder, raising my eyebrows. Adam seems like he’s full of secrets which never turn out to be one-hundred percent real.

            He drops his shoulder as we turn a corner and pulls me to his side by my arm as a bicycle zooms by. “Google can be helpful. I’ll show you sometime.”

            I give him a smile as the wind picks up, causing his jacket to whip in the wind along with our hair. For the first time in weeks, I feel different, maybe even something close to happy. Shaking my head, I wrap my arms around myself and decide that no, that’s not it. Maybe I’m just feeling free.

            Free from the town where it happened. Free from the newspapers, the news and the photographers. Free from the people with their knowing eyes. Free from the place that the accident took part. Free from the memories.

            “We’re almost there,” Adam says as we cross another block of busy people. The neighbourhood starts to become shadier, and the people begin to look more and more like the ones that only come out at night.

            “This seems like a nice place,” I mutter to myself as a hooded guy bumps into me, causing me to shove into Adam. He steadies me for the second time today.