Only the Beginning

Chapter 3

||Carmen Anders||

As I listened to Mrs. Shadmin drone on about the Civil War, it dawned on me that I really hated Mondays.

I'd always known I disliked them but today I really hated them.

Maybe it was Mrs. Shadmin that made me hate them. She was one of those teachers that you could just tell didn't enjoy their job.

"Carmen?" I heard an echo.

Not only that but she seemed like a really boring person all throughout.

"Miss Anders?" I faintly heard Mrs. Shadmin's voice.

I wonder how she'd managed to get married. Maybe she somehow bored her husband into falling in love. If that's even possible.

Or maybe he's just as boring. Maybe even worse.

"Miss Anders!"

My head shot in Mrs. Shadmin's direction. "Yes?"

"Do you know the answer?"

I looked down."Uh no."

"And why is that?" She raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"Is it not obvious?" I didn't mean to sound rude.

"Enlighten me." She looked like an angry baboon.

"Because I don't know the question." I told her.

Her left eye twitched. "Get out of my classroom!"

I jumped and quickly grabbed my stuff and scurried out.

I didn't know exactly where she wanted me to go so I just stood in the middle of the empty hallway like a dingus.

I finally walked over to a nearby bench, sat down and sighed.

Dylan was right. I should stop daydreaming.

This has to be the third time I've gotten kicked out of Mrs. Shadmin's class for daydreaming this semester. I keep going off into my own world.

I buried my face in my hands as my arms rested on my knees and sat there in silence.

I heard the bench squeak as someone sat down next to me.

"You too?"

I leaned back and rested my back on the bench without looking at him. "Me too what?"

"Got kicked out for daydreaming."

"No." I lied.

"You don't have to lie to me, Carmen. I know you."

I turned to him."Asher, what do you want?"

"Nothing. You just looked lonely."

"Well I'm not," I informed him as I got up and started walking away.

I don't know what it was, but seeing his face and hearing him say my name brought back memories I wasn't fond of.

"Hey!" He called after me.

I ignored him.

I felt him grab my arm and spin me around.

"Carmen, talk to me." He demanded, his face close to mine.

"Why would I wanna talk to you?" I asked him distastefully.

He stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You think it's my fault, don't you?"

I tore my eyes away from his. "No, I-"

"You wouldn't be wrong, you know. But if it's my fault then it's your fault too."

"Asher-"

"We killed him, Carmen. He's dead because of us."

I stared into his grey eyes.

"I hate you," I whispered.

"I'd hate me too if I were you but we should have stuck together. He would have wanted us to. You cut me off so quickly. I could never understand how Dylan did it, how he managed to not lose you."

"You didn't lose me because you never had me in the first place!"

"Carmen-"

"Or maybe you did," I spat, "Maybe you had me the way you had her!"

He looked away.

"But you know what? Shame on me, Asher, shame on me."

His eyes shot back into mine.

"I may have used Jason's death as an excuse to get you out of my life before but this is me getting rid of you now."

"Carmen-"

"I don't want you to look at me, I don't want you to touch me, I don't want you to even glance my way. Ever."

He shook his head. "You don't want me to do that, you've never wanted me to do that."

"There's a first time for everything."

~*~.~*~.

I yawned.

My dad looked up from the quiz through his glasses."You look tired."

"No, no. Keep quizzing me, I need to pass this quiz if I want to prove to Mrs. Shadmin that I've been paying attention in class."

"Well have you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Dad." I gave him a flat look.

"What? I wouldn't know, I'm not in there."

"Yes and no," I told him,"I just need to quit the daydreaming."

"Mrs. Shadmin called today."

I sighed.

"You're lucky I picked it up instead of your mother. Imagine how that would have gone."

I chuckled. "Wouldn't have gone too well."

"You're right but, Carmen, I'm still your parent, I'm still your dad and I want you to pass."

"I know."

"This only started just a few months ago. What happened?"

"Jason happened."

"Now you can't just go blaming-"

"No, no I mean he used to stop me. He'd throw little paper airplanes at me every now and then to bring me back to reality."

He put the quiz down on the coffee table.

"But he's gone, and there's no one left to throw little paper airplanes at me."

"Honey, you're right. There's no one there to throw those little airplanes so you gotta throw some airplanes of your own."

I chuckled. "So you want me to make paper airplanes and throw them at myself?"

"You'll get it pretty soon,"he told me as he got up and kissed my forehead,"Go get some sleep now, Hon."

~*~.

(A/N): FUDGIES!!!

Question(s): So Asher was introduced, what do you think of him? What do you think happened between Carmen and him?

Don't forget to vote, comment, and share with your parakeets!!!!

~ M.