Evidence of Foul Play

Chapter 3- Paige

The bell rang. I dumped my full tray in a trash can and headed to my last class of the day: AP Biology. Back in my old world, AP Bio had easily been my best subject. I loved doing hands-on experiments, writing hypotheses, and doing what Jonathan called "science-y stuff". No, I mentally corrected myself, his name is Max. Damn, this name stuff was confusing.

I grabbed my bio textbook out of my locker and found myself face to face with a blonde girl and her posse of friends. "Hey loser." She said. "Stay away from my boyfriend." I blinked.

 "Jon- I mean, Max is your boyfriend?" I asked, astonished.

"Not yet, but soon. Just stay away from him." She took a step back, studying my face. "Not that you have a chance anyways." She bustled away, sashaying her hips as she walked. I watched her go, quiet rage filling me. Everything about her demeanor screamed 'look at me, I'm a bitch'. She was not unlike one of the girls who tormented me in the old world, really.

Max was waiting for me in AP Bio and indicated for me to sit in the seat next to him. I had no choice but to sit there as it was the only seat left unoccupied in the room. The blonde girl glared at me from the other side of the room. Our science teacher, Mr. Morrison, came into the room. "OK, kids. As you remember, tomorrow is the field trip. We've been invited to tour Oscorp's facilities as a result of Miss Paige here winning the state-wide science fair." I blushed as all the eyes in the room turned to me. Part of me, however, had registered a small alarm when the name "Oscorp" was said. Where had I heard that before? Mr. Morrison launched into a speech about behavior and responsibility as Jon- I mean, Max, leaned over to me.

"Why are Desiree Sanders and all her friends glaring at you?"

"Something about the fact that I needed to stay away from her boyfriend."

"Who?"

"You."

"But... I'm not... we're not..."

"I know, but she seems to think she knows that you will be... romantically involved with her soon."

"Mr. Watson, will you please stop distracting Ms. Parker?" Mr. Morrison interrupted us. We both jumped and sat up quickly, flustered. A few snickers echoed across the classroom. Mr. Morrison resumed talking, but I wasn't listening. Jonathan- oh god. This is bad. Max passed me a note. I opened it. It read: Is it just me or have you heard the name "Oscorp" before?

I scribbled back me too. And deja vu here probably isn't a good thing. I passed it back while the teacher wasn't looking. He looked it over, then shrugged before writing something and thrusting it at me again.

To be honest, I've been feeling various degrees of deja vu ever since I woke up.

I wrote back, saying Really? I wonder why?

He read my note before shrugging and scribbling back a hasty reply. I know just as much as you do. It's anyones guess. All I've got is questions and no answers.

Are there any real answers to anything in our lives at all? I asked.

Definitely not at the moment. I don't even know the way home.

Walk with me. The drunk man, who I can only assume is unfortunately your "father" is most likely still at your house. I replied.

He wrote a simple thanks in return. I nodded at him, then tucked the note away in my folder and tuned into Mr. Morrison's lecture. "...if, for some reason, there is an emergency, listen to me and do as you're told. If the folks at Oscorp tell us we need to leave, then we will leave. No questions asked."

I pinched the bridge of my nose; my attention span was so fleeting today that I was already tuning out the lecture. Oscorp. Oscorp. Oscorp. I inwardly screamed in frustration. This was so incredibly infuriating! Beside me, Max had taken out a piece of paper and written it down, as if seeing it printed would somehow jog his memory. Oscorp. Oscorp. OSCORP. The name was important, we both knew that much.

* * * * *

When the bell rang, I kept my head down as I nearly sprinted out of the room, trying to avoid the angry glares directed towards the back of my head. To "stay away from Max" was easier said than done. Sure enough, when I grabbed my things for my free block, I found Desiree's colourful face glaring back at me.

"OK, loser. I don't see how you could have possibly misunderstood me, since you're the biggest dweeb in the whole school. Stay. Away. From. Max. It's not a hard concept." I simply pushed past her, ignoring her to the best of my ability. Paige Parker was the biggest dweeb in the school, huh? Just my luck.

I made my way back to the cafeteria, along with just about everyone else with a free block. Max was already there, waiting for me. With a sigh, I sat down at a different table and tried to ignore him. I didn't have time to try to deal with an angry bitch, especially not now with all this crazy stuff that was happening. I pulled out my calculus, resigning myself to forty-five minutes of tortuous, boring math homework. Just because I was good at something, didn't mean I enjoyed the class. Math got on my nerves.

Then, just as I picked up my pencil, Max decided to take matters into his own hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him sigh, get up, and make his way over to where I sat, diligently trying to pretend he didn't exist. He sat down, directly across from me. We sat in silence for about five minutes, before he finally spoke.

"I can't believe you're actually listening to her." He said, studying my face. "The old Thea wouldn't have."

That really pushed my buttons. "Well, 'the old Thea' died, in case you didn't notice." I spat, my hands clenching. The tension building all day was finally boiling over.

He was silent, then after a few seconds, murmured a quiet "sorry." That was all it took. A single tear leaked out of my right eye, rolling down my cheek. It fell silently onto my open textbook, smudging the ink. More fell, and soon I was crying silently into my arms. Max sat there uncomfortably, not sure about what to do. He tried to put an arm around my shoulders, but I shrugged it off. I cried hard for a solid minute, letting all my emotions out. Finally, I managed to pull myself together and dry my face off. Then I picked up my stuff and moved to a different table where I sat down, alone once more. This time, Max didn't follow me.