Haley didn't want to be tutored. Just like what she said, she didn't need to pass the exam. She just needed to complete her task. She just needed Adrian to ask her to Prom so she can take his soul to the purgatory safely. And plus, she has no idea who gives tutorials in the class. She hasn't talked to anyone in the school yet except Adrian, Mr. Prunes and those mean girls yesterday. It would be hard, with Adrian having someone in mind. She sat in an empty table at the farthest corner in the library, sketching a flower on her sketchpad while she waited for a tutor she doesn't even know.
"Hello ginger head." A familiar voice greeted, surprising Haley. She almost dropped her sketchpad and pencil. She turned to see Adrian and his warm smile.
"You startled me, Adrian!" she exclaimed in a low tone. "What are you doing here?" Haley asked, closing her sketchpad and settling her pencil on the table.
"Finding my tutee." He said as he glanced around. Haley furrowed her eyebrows, as if sensing she knows something about it. "In Chemistry? Requested by Mr. Prunes?" Haley asked.
"Yep." He nodded. Haley was delighted. More time to at least lure Adrian to ask me for Prom, she thought to herself. It was as if a lightbulb lit up in her head. "That would be me, sir!" she informed gleefully with a grin. Adrian sat beside her, setting his reference book beside her sketchpad and other books. "You failed your exam?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. That's bad, I know." Haley answered. She wondered why he looked like he can't believe it. Did Azrael make them think she's an industrious and intelligent student?
"Don't worry, I'll help you out, Haley." He said and opened his reference book. "We should get started."
For the past thirty minutes of trying to concentrate on the things they were studying, she was just doodling flowers and birds on her paper instead of answering questions. Nothing came in her mind, and if she tried her hardest to understand the topics, her head only ached. The last thing she remembered that Adrian said was about mixtures of chemicals, formulas... and nothing else.
"Hey, can't you concentrate?" Adrian asked. Yes, I can't. She said. She glanced around, seeing the girls looking around her. Why are these girls glaring at me like they want to kill me? She thought. Oh, scratch that. They want to kill me.
"I really can't do this." Haley banged her head on the table as she buried it in her hands. She can't do it. She can't do it with all those mean eyes glaring at her. Oh well, I'm dead anyways. They can't kill me.
"Let's go out later." Adrian then stood up from his seat, taking his books. "I know somewhere you might be able to concentrate." He said. Haley looked up to him curiously. "Where?" she asked, pursing her lips.
"You'll see." He grinned slyly. "Let's meet at the school gate later, okay." Adrian went out ahead, seeing that lunch time is almost over and he might run late for next period.
Haley grinned, standing up as she shoved her books in her arms. She watched him leave the library.
"I sense something." It was Azrael. He landed down on a table gracefully, folding his wings as he sat down on the table. His ash colored feathers fell down gracefully as his wings folded. Haley tilted her head in confusion, "What?"
"Don't act innocent, Hales." Azrael leaned closer to her. "I know you're starting to like him." He whispered, "The way Jack liked Rose."
"You know, I don't really understand why you should take him already." She said. "I mean, he's kind and very cheerful. I think it was right that I saved him eight years ago."
"It's death's way, Hales." Azrael sat up right. "It's unfair."
"Yeah, you're unfair." Haley joked. "For example, there's me. I saved a life but I died." But it was true. Death is unfair.
"Well anyway, two more days and he's supposed to be dead." Azrael said, taking out a silver thing. "Here, my gift for you." It was a wristwatch made of silver. In the middle of the watch is a tiny hour glass, the sand inside it flowing down as I stared at it. I knew what it meant. Azrael wears this when he is waiting for dying people's souls. "When it runs out, your time is up too." He said. Haley took it and put it on her wrist. "You two automaticallyA
head to the purgatory when that runs out, That is of course when he's dead."
"Okay, understood, sir." She said as the bell rang and Azrael vanished, leaving incense sceneted smoke.
**
Haley ran to the school exit, brushing away the dust on her jeans. Adrian was waiting there, reading pieces of paper as he waited. In her mind, she was starting to form plans to make him ask her. If he will never ask, she'll ask him. If that so, Never mind the traditions, she said in her mind.
"Hey!" she called out to Adrian as he jerked up to look at her as she approached. "Sorry, I have cleaning duties." She apologized for being late. "Where are we going?"
"To somewhere." He said as she held her hand and guided her to their destination which she didn't know where.
As they walked, she felt uneasy with Adrian's hand holding her. They were so close, their shoulders bumping with each other. She can also feel his body heat, warming her as they walked.
She cleared her throat, attempting to start a conversation to shake off the uneasiness. "So, what were you reading awhile ago that you look so concentrated?" she asked.
Adrian pursed his lips. "It's nothing. Just Architectural Work." He said, as if shrugging off the topic. Haley's eyes widened. "Architecture?! What were you looking at? A building? A house?" she asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling with interest. Adrian smirked, "Oh, you're interested in Architecture?" he asked.
Haley nodded, "And in Structural Design." She grinned. "Always wanted to be an engineer or an architect." She added.
"It's one of our company's projects." Adrian said, pulling out the paper he was looking at awhile ago from his pocket. "Well, not exactly our company." He unfolded it and showed it to Haley.
"Not exactly your company but it's your company?" Haley asked for a clarification. "What do you mean?" She giggled.
Adrian suddenly had a grim face. " It was sudden actually." He said, as if his thoughts were in space. "I fell from a stairs in the construction site being managed by The Castor Properties Development Corporation, had my whole body injured, then when I woke up, part of The Castor family's shares were given to my me and my family even though my dad is just an assistant engineer." He shared. "Then, I'm going to take over as Vice President of the company once I finish my studies."
Haley's eyes widened. Before she died, whenever she goes to her dad's office in their mansion, he will always tell her that one day, she'll inherit the position of the Vice President of the Company. She didn't understand fully what he meant at that time. She was just eight afterall. She just knew she was going to own the company with her brother and build buildings and houses. Now, she fully understood what that meant. It meant taking over the company, inheriting part of it, the other part is for her brother. And since she died, obviously, her brother will inherit everything.
But her parents gave her part to Adrian. To the boy who was the reason of her death.
"But you're not a Castor, right?" she asked in disbelief. "How-how come you're having part of the company?"
"Engineer Castor told me it was for his daughter who passed away." He said. "But he didn't say anything about how she passed away. He said it was too hard to talk about." He said.
"Of course it's hard to talk about it." She said, folding the architectural plan. She gave it back to Adrian and he slipped it in his pocket.
She knew her dad did it for her. He did it so that her death would have some meaning to it. She saved a boy she didn't know. Now, she saved the boy who will take over part of the company.
Finally, their walk ended. Adrian brought her to a huge, colorful, flower bed. It looked a bit just like the one in the purgatory, only this flower bed has a live aura on it. Haley walked nearer to the flower bed, slipping her hand away from Adrian. The flowers swayed slightly as the breeze blew. Petals of different colors floated around the place. Haley adored the scenery with her hands itching to sketch the place.
"You like it?" he asked. "Come here, let's sit over there." He took her hand again and led her to a nearby fire tree. They sat on the grass just below the tree. One by one, red petals fell from the tree in slow motion. A few other fancy flowers grew under the tree where they sat. Daisies, dandelions, tulips. Name the flower and it's present.
"How did you find this place?" Haley asked. The place was far from the main city, she bet this place can only be found when you're lost.
"This place was Mr. Jonathan Castor's idea." He said, gazing out to the flower bed. "They stopped the construction procedures of the building being built here because..." Adrian stopped for a moment, as if not sure of he should say more information.
"Because?" she asked for the continuation.
"Haley Therese Castor died in this place." He said, his voice very low in volume. "They made this for her."
Haley gazed at the flowerbed. She stopped her tears from falling, avoiding Adrian's suspicion. She didn't know anything about this. Most likely, the building was too painful to see for their family that's why they demolished it. She had seen a lot of families grieving for their loved ones who passed away.
They should have built a building for me instead, she thought.
Time passed, they were laughing at her for weird mistakes. Writing Carbon dioxide as CO2 and combining chemical names the wrong way. But they had fun studying. It has been a while since Haley laughed this loud, and acted this loose. She has never felt so alive and happy since her first day in the Purgatory. For a moment, she felt like she wasn't an illusion. And also, the more sand that fell in the hourglass, the more closer they got. The more they got to know each other. And the more she felt Adrian should not die.
"And that's a wrap!" Adrian cheered as she answered the last question for the review. "Good job, I can tell you're going to pass the exam this time!"
"That's thanks to you!" Haley said and kissed him on the cheek. Adrian blushed very red. "Why did you kiss my cheek?"
"Thank you." Haley said as she put her books in her bag. "That's my thank you for making today wonderful." Adrian smiled at her. "Don't mention it. I'll do everything for you."
Haley giggled. "Do I mean that much to you?"
"Yes." He answered in a serious tone. "You're important to me. Very." He added. Adrian looked at her with hopeful eyes. Haley was strucked with the seriousness.
No Adrian, don't fall for me. She cried in her thoughts.
"You're joking me, aren't you?" trying to crack things up. But Adrian kept his serious face at her. "You're important to me, Haley."
Haley shivered. She's dead. She's an illusion. And she's the person who's going to kill him. Why would he fall for her? What did she do to make him fall for her? She just did her best to get his attention. "Why? Why do you like me?"
"You're the only person who didn't take me for granted. You loved me as me, not because I'm an heir of the Castor family. Not because I'm the most intelligent guy in school. Not because I'm great, popular, or whatsoever. You're the first person who was able to crack up Adrian Gale Lewis." He said, looking at her with dancing eyes.
She tried to get the attention of Adrian Gale Lewis. Not the attention of the hottest guy in school. Not the attention of the heir of the Castor family. Not the attention of the guy who tutors his failing classmates. It came to her that because of these good qualities, people surrounding him only liked him for these. The real Adrian is inside of this great guy, waiting for someone to like him as he is. He was waiting for someone to break the wall society created for him. Adrian hasn't found his best friend, or his first love yet.
It's not yet his time, she thought.