The Whisper (Wattys2014)

Chapter 7: A Not-So-Fun Saturday

I partially opened my eyes to check the time on the clock.

3:30.

At dawn.

On a Saturday morning.

I went to sleep at nine yesterday, and I have been tossing and turning in my sheets for the past hours.

Questions have been popping in my brain while flawed solutions were flooding in. Mostly speculating on what that envelope contained.

Or questions like : what would I do about Oliver? Then the solution my brain would come up with: I'm going to get his backpack and throw all of his books on a trash can!

Of course I could do that. But people may think I'm paying him attention. Then consequences would come, like twisted rumors. So not the best option.

I also kept thinking about Charlotte and Isabelle. What do they think of me now? Are they spreading rumors about me? Sharing my secrets? Were they really even my friends?

Speculation is a horrible thing. All it does is bring you anxiety and worry.

It went on for several hours. I couldn't even drift off to sleep for even a minute. I decided to open my eyes for a little bit to check the time.

8:17.

Good enough. What's the point of laying in bed when you can't sleep?

I got up and took a shower. Right after, I walked to the dining room, and opened a cabinet which had my breakfast. I got a bowl, and took a carton of milk from the fridge and set it on the table together with the cereal box. I poured the milk in the bowl and started eating.

My eyes felt heavy from lack of sleep, and my brain is so tired. Yet, when I lie down, my brain is so awake. I couldn't focus on much of anything. I spilled some the milk when I poured it, since I poured it on the table instead.

When I finished, I headed to my room.

As I entered, I glanced at the sealed white envelope in my side table.

I'm so not opening that now, I thought.

I opened my backpack for my planner. I took it out and looked at the things due on Monday.

English project.

Chemistry homework.

I slammed my planner shut, and took out my chemistry notebook. I most certainly didn't want to write about that douche. Though I knew I eventually had to. I was simply delaying it.

The first question,

What is the redox reaction?

Give an example of a redox reaction?

Redox is a portmanteau of what words?

And the list went on. So it took me about several hours to finish all the questions. Partly because it was really hard, and second, I was taking all the time I needed to delay.

Inevitably, I finished the last question and rechecked my answers. Then again, stalling.

When I finished, and had no way to stall even more, I closed my notebook and rested. That homework really racked up my brain.

I went to the balcony, and stared out just looking at the empty road and our garden. I looked to the right, and saw our gardener, Linda, planting some seeds in the pots.

I called out, "Hey, Linda!"

She turned her head and called back, "Hey, Cameron!"

"What are you planting?"