Spring break gave me enough time to recover from my injury. This whole month felt like a roller coaster ride of events and emotions. I had wanted to end the whole James problem forever, but I failed to do that.
The accident took more time out from my life than I expected it to. Though I am thankful that I can walk to school, there are a lot of things I still have left to do. After that day in the hospital, I have not spoken to Dad at all. I do not regret it in the slightest. With what attitude should I talk to him now? And what should I call him? Whenever he wanted to talk to me, I pretended that I was sleeping or busy with work; this was the only way to show him I was not ready to talk yet.
Most of my time was spent learning and revising for the school curriculum, and finishing my homework.
Susan came over to help me whenever possible, but she never asked me about that night again. I am thankful that she understands not to bring it up.
Ethan also used to come by, usually with food to remind me to stay healthy and not skip meals. He made me truly happy. I liked him and he liked me back - although we had not spoken about the topic yet. Two weeks was enough time for a break before I could start fresh. I was ready to face the questions that people had.
Was I? Yes.
I stood in front of my locker and loaded it with all the books that I needed this semester. In six months, my first year of high school will be over. Looking back on the first day, I never imagined that I would make it through even this far. My class schedule is almost the same as before - only the subject timings are different on some days. My locker looked cleaner than other lockers because I hardly had time to use it – I was busy focusing on my problems outside of school. I have somehow survived the first few months of high school; I hope to carry on and survive the rest too.
"Anna!" Susan called at me, as I was closing my locker door. She ran to me, waving her hand in the air; she had a huge smile on her face.
Susan was wearing a white crop-top with high-waist ripped jeans. She had on long hooped earrings and a black mini-backpack. Her outfit looked perfect for the first day of our second semester. I, on the other hand, chose to be comfortable in a black hoodie and blue light-wash jeans. I also wore oversized glasses so that I would at least look ready for a load of studies that was about to come my way.
"Good morning," I replied, leaning towards my locker and sounding as happy as I could. Susan had taken care of me pretty much 24/7 after the accident. I have recovered well, so now she needs to stop worrying.
"My schedule looks tough already." Susan never liked to study, so here we go again with her whining about it for another six months.
I felt a déjà vu moment when some girls nearby started staring in my direction - at someone behind me. Susan smiled too, which made me want to turn and see if it was Ethan; the first time I saw him in school, it was almost an identical situation.
"How are you, Annabeth?" Ethan smiled.
He looked dashing as ever, in his all-denim outfit. He does carry himself really well. I wondered why he hasn't been offered to model or walk the ramp yet. He had even used hair gel to comb his hair back into a neat slick. Looks like he prepared his outfit this time.
Girls were still staring and whispering to each other. Like, come on already! There are many other good-looking guys so why make such a big fuss when Ethan arrives? After looking around, I already got my answer. There was no guy who looked as cool as Ethan. He knew exactly how to excite girls... I wonder how?
"I am good. Walking," I answered, pointing to my legs as proof. He nodded in agreement towards me.
"Tell me your schedule, Ethan," Susan asked in excitement. I looked at her closely; her lip-gloss complemented her outfit very well. I should have also put some on.
When people find out about Ethan and me, I don't want them to laugh and think we are incompatible. Starting tomorrow, I will start wearing lip-gloss.
"Today I have Biology, then Chemistry, then English," said Ethan, looking at his timetable sheet. It was stamped with the school logo and had been handed out to each of us when we entered school.
"Oh my God. Your schedule is the same as Anna's. And almost the same as mine - except for Chemistry, because I took Economics." Susan literally snatched both mine and Ethan's timetable sheets to compare them. She sneakily peeked at me and smirked, to show she understood what was going on here. I rolled my eyes in response.
That was a good enough comeback to silence her stares. But of course, her mouth can never be shut down; she continued, "I wonder if this is a coincidence, or purposely planned?"
I wanted to reply saying 'no.' Because when the form-filling day had come, Susan and I were together and Ethan was not with us - he had had some important work to do. It must be a... "Coincidence." Ethan read my mind and replied.
"I envy you two." Susan sounded cheeky as ever. She returned the papers to each of us and started walking towards the class.
Ethan and I quietly followed her to class. After thinking it through, I realized that it was a bit odd that Ethan and I had the same schedule - these subjects were not so easy to get, especially for someone who was a transfer student.
On the other hand, he was a top-three student, so I had to consider that as well. Susan made it through class, thankfully, and so did I. Science has always been my favourite subject. Classes went smoothly and much quicker than I anticipated, and soon it was lunchtime. The three of us sat at our usual table from the first semester.
"You guys, I forgot to tell you..." Susan started gossiping as soon as we settled down to eat. I took a bite of my cheeseburger - it was especially on the menu today - and listened to her carefully.
"Remember that guy who disappeared from the party where I was super drunk?" Oh, yes. Please reveal the truth going on in my life, I thought sarcastically. I completely forgot about that guy. I hope they found him alive and that he is recovering well. I stopped eating and looked at her in expectation of what she was going to say next.
"He... returned back!" she said, sounding like a dramatic news reporter – just like her mother. Oh, thank God! He is back. I closed my eyes in relief and smiled.
"Speaking of the devil, here he comes" I turned to face Ethan who was busy looking at Mathew entering the lunchroom.
I didn't know him very well, but it was quite obvious that he had changed somehow. He was wearing a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, and black jeans. It looked as if the incident had had no effect on him. I guess that's a good thing, but since it has only been four days, it was surprising. He had no sign of being weak, and actually had a wide smile on his face. He passed by us to sit at his gang's usual table and started talking to them about baseball.
"He looks pretty normal," I commented. I looked at him with a squint so that I could properly analyse his behaviour.
"He was found returning to his house in the same clothes. Apparently, he was quoted saying "I don't remember a thing." Susan knew everything about everyone at school.
"That's good, isn't it?" Ethan questioned. Yes, it is good. But it leaves our town in danger again. Since the person behind all this - James - is not yet known, he will come back again to take someone else. James had said that I will regret it.
Does that mean that Mathew is a werewolf now? It would explain his changed behaviour and looks. I need proof, to confirm my thoughts. Jumping to conclusions will only make things harder for me.
"Yes. Ethan is right," I said, nodding my head so that Susan wouldn't interfere anymore. She has helped a lot anyway.
Classes got over on time. I told Susan that I needed to go to the library to do some research for my Chemistry test.
This was a good opportunity for me to go alone to a place that I had long forgotten - the magic book shop. I did have work to complete so after the library, I will visit the shop. I think some of the questions I have left, could be answered there.
That old lady is hiding something from me. I even carried the purple necklace to show her, just in case she does not remember me from the other day.
I walk towards the library, which is on the fifth floor of our school building.
I feel like someone is following me. I turn around and see nobody behind. Most of the students had left school since it was only the first day. Was I just having an illusion, or was someone really following me?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHEST RANK IN ROMANCE #127
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GIVING THIS BOOK A CHANCE.
DO VOTE AND COMMENT IF LIKE THE STORY!
YOUR FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED.
CHAPTER 19.2 COMING SOON