Little Miss Babysitter

-- 31 --

"This test is not completed." He whispered lowly, his glasses now off of his nose. That action reminded me so much of Perry and a hollow pain took over my blood and spread throughout my body. My entire mood changed and I felt my jaw tremble. I nodded once, and took my seat again. Hearing him audibly sigh, I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt.

Soon enough, the bell rang, and the majority of the students handed in their tests. I scrambled for the door and was the first in the halls.

Outside, the winds whispered their gentle sorrows. Mom was supposed to be outside, waiting for me to be finished with school. I told her, '3:00 on the dot!', and yet she's not here. It doesn't really surprise me. She's always forgetting everything.

School, at least nowadays, was a constant struggle, whether it be for my straying mind or the curious stares of my company. Apparently, I was a hired gunman for some absurd FBI task force, and got shot on the job. And while being transported to the hospital in my billion dollar limousine, it crashed. Yeah. My peers have very... active imaginations.

I wished Perry didn't die. I really did. I felt without his help, the wind would easily overpower me and brush me to the side. My legs felt numb beneath my waist, save for a few scabbing burns.

I loved him. And although our ethnicities differed, I was raised to appreciate life where I saw it. And he was life. Sure he was closer to death than I was, save for 50 year age gap. But he had a 10-year old neice, Mary. I remembered her name.

"Hey, Ela!"

I cringed.

Jason saddled up next to me, a maroon hoodie on his shoulders. His hair was damp and his eyelashes were glued together, making his eyes look wet.

I eyed him from head-to-toe and cocked my head to the side. "Why are you wet?"

"It's raining, if you didn't notice." He joked, setting his flat palm in front of us. It caught multiple rain-drops, all splattering on his peach colored hand. I furrowed my brow, and peered at the sky. Sure enough, it was raining. And I hadn't even noticed, I was too engrossed in my trivial flashbacks. "What's up?"

"Waiting for my mom." I shifted my weight awkwardly between my feet. "She's supposed to be here..." I drummed my fingers on my watch as if that lone action would speed up time.

"Have you been avoiding me?"

Bingo. He just went ahead and asked one of the many questions that I desperately did not want to answer.

I had been avoiding him. At lunch, I took my food into the library, making the shitty excuse of 'I uh... Have work to do.'

"Um." I coughed, glancing around us. Maybe someone will come and save me! Negatory. That wasn't going to happen. "I, uh-"

"I'm gonna pop some tags! Only got $20 in my pocket!" My phone rumbled in my back pocket, and a breath of relief carried out of me. My saviour!

It's probably my mom calling to tell me that she's not coming. Then Jason would give me a ride home, come in, and demand a bunch of answers that I can't give him.

I'm just too psychic.

"Hello?" I answered the phone in record-time, shushing Jason with the wave of my hand.

"Ela, hi. It's nice to hear your voice."

I could physically feel the breath slip from my lungs, and the ground underneath my sneakers started to shake.

I wanted to scream and cry and shout and fall to the floor all at the same time. Why was she calling me?!

"Hi, Rosie." I spat out her name, the word making a bile taste well up on my tongue. "Why are you calling?"