Shaken

Chapter three.

First period ushered past rapidly. Our Chemistry teacher, Mr. Kentley, made us take notes about our upcoming lab. It was five minutes before the bell rang to go onto the next period. Fia had jumped up as soon as the lecture was over, dragging me to the door with her.

"I'm so over this week. How is it only Wednesday." She mumbled grumpily as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

A cough came from behind me, I turned around, startled to see a tanned brunette standing there sulking. She was instantly recognizable, Jennifer Marina. A classic, too-good-for-everyone girl who reeked of synthetic daisy with just a twang of ingenuity. Captain of the dance team, our classes VP, founder of the Voices Make Music Club, all the roles she could manage to grab to make her poor gpa look better, she had.

Her brown bangs hung close to her eyebrows, and she looked at us with her squinted eyes. Her hands on her hips and her lips in a pout, she sat there waiting for me to speak.

We tried to ignore her as her breathing clouded over our conversation. After a while I turned around and sat there looking at her for a few long moments.

"You gonna say anything or just stand there looking stupid?" She snarled. Her long red hot claws pricked at her jeans. She was full of confidence and her expensive, undoubtedly real, gold hoops swung back and forth as she spoke.

"What'd you just say?" Fia stepped out from behind me. She was much taller than Jennifer, and looked down at her with a glare that even made me bite my cheek. The tension was so thick I was finding it hard to breathe.

"Do us all a favor and get a mint. Stank breaths. I can smell it from all the way down here." Jennifer spat at Fia and I.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Fia laughed and turned back around towards me as the dismissal bell rang.

"Get your head out of your ass, booboo. You have no reason to be this malicious in the morning." She laughed as she strutted out the door beside me.

Jennifer had had a infinite hate towards our friend group since freshman year. Why? I don't think any of us knew why, not even Jennifer herself. All we knew, was that she was was the one, unprovoked, person who would stop at nothing to try and make our time at school even more miserable.

That classically evil antagonist in a coming of age film? Jennifer would ace that audition. Fia had always maintained a strong personality though, and never took her nasty comments to heart. Me on the other hand? Well, let's just say I had already pulled out my gum by the time we left the science building.

"You know I'm a girl's girl but god, I hate that bitch." Fia practically yelled as we walked to our next class.

She continued, "Vi, you gotta stand up for yourself. One of these days she's gonna attack you and I'm not gonna be there to be your bodyguard." She looked over at me kindly and gave me a shove. "I'll give you lessons sometime."

We laughed together as Kelsey came out from the classroom she had been in. She waved us down and we walked over to meet her.

"Hey Kels," I said as she zipped up her book bag.

"Hey guys." She looked stressed out as she scrambled to type something into her phone.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's just my mom, she's freaking out. I guess the power went out at home." She sniffled.

"You know why?" Fia questioned and took a look at Kelsey's phone.

"No idea." Kelsey shrugged and slid her phone into her back pocket.

"That's weird." I said as we continued walking.
I left them as we approached the 700 hall.

"I'll meet you guys at the car for lunch!" I told them as they both gave me a cheery wave goodbye.

My next period was Pre- Calc. As I walked into the hall I ran straight into a large group of boys crowded around the water fountain. They were incredibly sweaty, and I could feel the heat radiating off of their backs. I guessed they had just gotten out of the weightlifting elective our health director had added to the class selections this year.

Every male junior who was remotely athletic was in that class.  I remember Kelsey ranting endlessly about how they had cut the band funding yet again to buy a new weight room.

That was our schools little motto, "why keep programs if they aren't bringing in funding?" Of course, it's easy to bring in funding when your parents have to make six figures in order to get you past try-out season.

Among those boys, stood Ford. His hair was messier then it had been in the morning but he still looked very clean-cut. I wasn't surprised to see him in the 700 hall at this time, he was in my next class. I dodged past him and his friends quickly.

When I walked into the class I was one of the first people in it. Our teacher, Ms. Wilson, sat at her desk typing frantically on her computer, she wasn't usually the frazzled type. She didn't look up as the door closed behind me.

While counting my blessings that there wasn't a seating chart, I sat in the very back of the second row.

A sophomore sat in the seat beside me, his big glasses kept sliding down his nose as he read his book. Every 30 seconds he would push them up, flip the page, push them up. He sneezed and pushed them up again. I smiled as I watched him.

I turned my homework from the night before into the basket she had in the front of the class, and settled back into my seat. She had laid a worksheet out on each desk and I looked over the problems with a wince.

The next few minutes passed quickly and finally more people entered the classroom. The smell of pungent indigo and musky cheap cologne filled the room as it became more crowded. Three girls walked in laughing noisily, they sat by the window together.

Ford came in behind them, and I looked down at my paper to avoid making eye contact with him. He paused for a minute and started walking towards my row.

My heart beat raced quickly as he sat down right in front of me. He never sat in the same place twice.

The final bell rang and the rest of the class filed in. I shifted awkwardly as Ms. Wilson stood up and started to lecture.

The boy with the glasses next to me had not looked up from his book. I yawned silently and looked out the window. Leaves were twirling on the cement outside and the bare trees stretched as the wind pushed them.

I drifted off into my thoughts as I stared out into the partially blue sky. The weather was beginning to heat up as the sun peaked. I watched as a grey mourning dove flew around in the breeze and dust. It flew speedily through the air, gliding up, then down, then in a big circle. It's movements quickened and it grew more and more restless.

I watched it puzzled, it looked frantic and fearful. I squinted to focus harder. That's when it slammed against the window and I jumped a foot out of my seat.

Everyone's heads shot towards the source of the thump, my heart was in my ears and my breath rapid. The dove fell to the ground in a heap, leaving a small amount of blood on the glass.

"What the fuck," I heard Ford mutter as he stared at the blood stained window.

"What on Earth?" Ms. Wilson walked towards that side of the room and stared at the dead bird on the ground.

Ford slightly turned in his seat and looked at me. "Did you see that?" He asked, his eyes were hard to understand. He definitely wasn't as shocked as I was, but obviously confused. I nodded slightly not taking my eyes off him.

"I'm sorry class, I'll just have to call up the office."

She rushed to the landline near the door and pushed a few buttons.

"...yes, a bird. I'm telling you! It just slammed into my window!" She argued with the woman from the office for a while.

The class was completely silent. The only sound was the quickening pace of our heartbeats and the ticking of the clock.