Vi Presento a Athea (Introducing Athea)

XIII

Monday came like a breath of fresh air. The weekend had dragged itself by after Athea's bad dream, with Patrick constantly worrying about his daughter and waiting on her every second of the day. Although she felt loved and taken care of, she also couldn't help but take into account the feelings of helplessness as her father kept looking at her like she could fall apart again at any given moment. She didn't blame him – breaking down like that was something that hadn't happened for well over a year. He worried she'd become seriously sick again, she'd have to end up in a hospital again.

Athea secretly worried about that, too. But she didn't think much of it.

She woke up for school still with a numb feeling across her – the excitement wasn't there anymore, nor the fear, nor anything; it was just automatic. She showered and dressed normally and demure, looking deep into her eyes on the mirror afterwards.

"Snap out of it, snap out of it, snap out of it, snap out of it." She kept repeating to the reflection.

She walked downstairs with an uplifted façade, hoping that the pretending would eventually settle into truth (as it would, occasionally) – something she was used to doing in these situations, by now. Her dad welcomed her with a warm smile and some tea, and she tried to keep conversation minimal. 

Patrick did not force her to talk more, as he knew by now this was her way of dealing with things – introspectiveness and silence coexisting and balancing the chaotic, loud havoc inside.

At school,  Jason couldn't help but notice the girl's odd aura. She was quiet, yes, as she had always been – but this time, it felt... different. She paid attention to class, took notes, and was generally as normal as she could ever be; but something was off. He was well on his way to wish her a good morning after first period (since he had arrived late once again, thanks to his parents), when a very attentive Cyrus noticed his moves and intercepted the jock on the corridors before he could reach the girl. His friend stood between him and his target, as he tried to see, over Cyrus's shoulder, where she was going, all the while inattentively answering his questions and jokes. Jason noticed her walking their way, towards the lab, and his body moved faster than his mind.

"Athea!" He called. She didn't look. "Hey, Athea!" Her gaze still stood blankly fixed at the end of the hallway. "Hey." He grabbed her softly by the arm as she walked past them, making Cyrus stop mid-sentence. The girl flinched slightly and her eyes seemed to light up once more, looking at his face, wide open. "Good morning." He smiled. She blinked once.

"Good morning." She answered almost in a reflex.

"So, heading for Chem?" He turned his front to her and his side to Cyrus, who grunted, lifting his hands up in the air, muttering one "what the hell" after the other.

"Yeah." Her mind tried hard to adjust back to real life in the background.

"Sweet! Let's go, then." He started making his move towards the lab when Cyrus pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

"Dude, weren't we going to kill Chem to play some ball?" He didn't try to hide his annoyance, side-eyeing Athea.

"Sorry, bud. I'll go next time." He gave him a tap on the arm. "Shoot some hoops for me." And walked away before he could answer, calling for Athea with a nod from his head.

"I-I didn't know you took chemistry." Athea, trying her best to stay in reality, bravely started conversation after seconds of silent walking that felt like hours.

"Yup, I do." Jason put his hand in his jean jacket's pocket. "I'm taking every class possible, actually." He chuckled.

"Really?" She was genuinely surprised, slowly grounding herself more and more as the conversation with the boy continued.