章 2: 2. Curiosity killed the cat
I flopped onto my neatly-made bed, messing up the black linen sheets. My new house was nice and all, but it wasn't home. Not yet.
There were cardboard boxes filled with all my belongings littered around the floor. I was supposed to unpack but laziness had decided to make a humble abode out of my body.
The house was nothing fancy, being two-storied with pale blue colored walls and dilapidated furniture. It had an old musty attic which was apparently said to be haunted. I definitely was going to stay away from that one.
Sighing, I turned on my side and pulled my diary out of the closest cardboard box. Flipping to the last date that I had written, I tried to reminisce what had happened. I didn't even know why I tried keeping up with journals. But I had interesting things to fill in on today, so I quickly scribbled today's events down.
Hours passed as my scrawls filled the pages and golden sun rays bathed the room in a warm glow.
My mother walked in just as the sun went down, carrying a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She placed it on my bedside table and peeked over my shoulder at my diary as I slammed the book shut, sticking my tongue out at her.
She placed her hands on her hips and her opened her mouth as I raised my hands up in surrender, sitting cross-legged.
"How was your first day?" she asked as I sipped on the coffee.
I shrugged in reply.
She sat on my bed and gave me a "give me details" look.
I rolled my eyes but smiled, "I met this really peppy girl called Kat, who immediately decided that I should be her friend before first period had even started." I let out a fond laugh at that. "And the teachers were nice enough and the lessons were of the usual, monotonous kind and yeah...how was the shift?"
"Oh, the usual," she waved it away.
"Mom..." I started. "I was thinking that I want to work too."
Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Why?"
"I want to earn my own living. I'm already 18 and I think it's time that I do something."
Her face turned down at the last bit and I shook my head.
"I'm not going anywhere but..."
She nodded, "you don't have to, but if that's what you want, then go for it. Your mother would be proud of you."
My expression closed up when she mentioned her and she winced but I was glad she didn't bring up my father.
"I don't care if she was."
"Evelyn..." Mon trailed off, helplessly.
"No, mom. It's fine. Don't."
"I know it's been hard for you, losing your father but you need to talk to me—"
"I think Brandon is home," I interrupted her, feeling guilty when her face fell but not enough to withdraw my words. She sighed but patted my hair and left.
Brandon was Mom's new tryout boyfriend and so far so good, but you know what they say, only when people get overly comfortable do they show their true sides.
I sighed and lay back down, counting the number of cracks on the ceiling as I did. Finally, hauling myself out of bed, I began the tedious job of unpacking. I completely evaded the box filled with pictures and tapes and memories and placed everything else into its correct places.
Hours passed and it was almost time for dinner when I sat at my study table, my journal in hand, my mind whizzing with ideas for a new book. I jotted it down, my grin widening as I was sucked into my own enchanted world of fantasies. I was broken from my reverie when mom sneaked up on me, scaring the living hell out of me while she fell back on the bed in soft laughter.
I narrowed my eyes at her and huffed, stomping downstairs, a smile encasing my features from the sound of Mom's moment of merriment, even if I was her source of whim.
I greeted Brandon, who was sprawled over the sofa, watching and aggressively cheering on a football match. He nodded back at me, not really taking his eyes off the tv.
I heard my mom walking down and calling Brandon for dinner. I snorted, as if that was going to happen.
Finally reaching a conclusion from their bickering, we ended up eating together on the sofa while we watched the match.
I had no interest in football but Brandon's cheering could get anyone hyped. As I watched Argentina score another goal, a ping alerted me of a message.
Unknown number,
Hey stranger.
My brows perked up.
Me :
Um hi?
Unknown number,
I can't believe you had
the nerve to forget me.
Me :
Do I know you?
Unknown number,
No. I can't believe this.
Me :
Ok, wait what?
I looked at my phone in confusion.
No answer.
I rolled my eyes and placed my phone back on the table, enjoying my dinner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked through the main doors, tugging on the sleeves of my hoodie. I kept my head down as I made my way to my locker. The school was bustling with excitement today. Apparently, there was some kind of annual dance taking place on Friday, which was two days from now.
"Hey!" Kat greeted as I took out my books from the locker.
"Hi," I smiled.
"Planning on attending that dance, right?" she immediately demanded, not holding back.
"Not really," I shrugged.
"Why not?" she whined.
"Because I would rather curl up at home with a book?"
"Oh, c'mon. Don't be a spoilsport! It'll be fun!" Kate said, smacking my arm.
"Ouch," I said sarcastically. "I don't have a date anyway."
"Well, you haven't really tried," Kat pointed out. "And," she continued, "Don't worry, if you don't get a date by tomorrow, I'll go with you!"
Knowing that she wasn't going to let it go any time soon, I nodded just for her benefit.
"No, you won't," a gruff voice said from behind Kat. She rolled her eyes and sighed, not even having to turn around to know who it was. "Cause you're coming with me, baby doll."
Kat fake gagged at Luke's smirk.
"In your dreams, jackass," she replied, but her eyes had considerably brightened.
Cyrus stood quietly beside Luke, looking bored and mildly annoyed.
"There's a lot more that happens in my dreams darling," Luke winked.
She shuddered, "Do I even want to know?"
"No," Cyrus answered impatiently for her. "Now, can we go?"
"What climbed up his arse and died?" Kat whispered to Luke.
Luke shrugged in reply.
"Let's make it a double date!" exclaimed Kat suddenly. "Cyrus and Lyn. You and me."
"I thought you didn't want to go with him?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
"I changed my mind," she brushed it away, quickly hiding her traitorous flushed cheeks.
"I already have a date," Cyrus interrupted and all of us looked up at him in surprise. Almost as if the moment was taking place in a movie, a black-haired girl jumped into his arms.
Kat wrinkled her nose at them, "You're going with her?"
"Yes, he is. You have a problem Katherine?" sneered the girl.
Kat bristled and moved forward, but she was pushed back by Luke.
"Word of advice," Luke said to the girl. "Don't ever ever call her that."
"You call her that though," the no-name-girl pointed out.
"I am special," Luke said, making a whole act of flicking his hair back.
Kat slapped his chest, "No, you're not."
The bell rang, saving us all from another confrontation between Kat and the girl.
"Who is she?" I asked as we walked to class.
"Just someone annoying."
At my deadpanned expression, she groaned and said, "Fine. She's my cousin."
"Your cousin?" I said surprised.
"Yes," Kat sighed. "But she's worse than Cinderella's step mothers and sisters combined and thinks the whole world revolves around her so..."
I nodded understandingly.
We took our seats as Ms. Isla strolled in. Her smile got everyone excited. She placed her phone down on the table and clapped her hands.
"Okay class! So today we are going to be doing something a little different. Any guesses?"
Everyone shook their heads and looked at her in expectation.
"We are going to have a debate." She continued, "On whether standardized testing should be abolished."
Everyone groaned at the topic and she let out a soft laugh.
She divided the class into two groups and my side of the class turned out to be the opposing team; that exams shouldn't be abolished. Our groans heightened as we created a circle and started discussing. The class turned out to be surprisingly fun and by the end of the class, we were satisfied with our exhausted brains.
"And that was only the first period!" Kat groaned.
"I have had worse," I said and proceeded to tell her one of my infamous little stories from back home.
As I spoke animatedly with hand gestures, I walked right into someone. Again.
"Sweetheart, I know you can't stay away but you really need to stop crashing into me," Cyrus smirked but there was a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.
"Maybe you should watch where you're going." I quirked a brow, surprised at my own demand.
Cyrus's lips curved into a barely there smile and he shook his head. "We are getting late for class. I hope you're not planning on barging in again," he directed his words to Kat.
She glowered at him but didn't answer.
"See you later then," she murmured and stalked away.
Okay, weird.
Cyrus made a you-first gesture as he moved for me to pass. His long strides matched mine and we were quiet as we strolled towards the next building. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Cyrus run a hand through his hair and let out a tiny huff, his cheeks puffing out slightly.
An unintentionally giggle escaped me which inevitably turned to full-blown laughter at the expression on his face.
"What?" he asked, amusement flickering in his eyes.
When I didn't answer, he said dryly, "Anyone ever tell you that your laughter sounds like a dying seal?"
At that totally unnecessary comment, my laughter faded away and I gave him a small glare, quickening my strides.
"Geez thanks," I muttered and pushed through the doors of the class.
"What?" he raised his hands in surrender.
I rolled my eyes at him and took a seat.
He flopped down next to me, causing his hair to fall on his face again. My hands itched to push it back and I frowned.
What's wrong with me?
I could feel his stare on me throughout the lesson, burning a hole through the side of my head, giving me creepy shivers. Finally, not being able to hold it in, I snapped,
"What?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"It's rude to stare."
"It is?" I couldn't tell whether his expression full of surprise was sarcastic or not.
"Yes," I confirmed anyway, turning away.
"Mr. Silverstein, Miss. Hans, would you like to share your conversation with the class?" interrupted a very annoyed looking Mr. Benson.
"No, sir," Cyrus said smoothly.
Surprisingly, Mr. Benson didn't take the bait and just turned back to the board, droning on about some equation that was apparently hard to solve.
"That's going to be 1.25 sir," I interrupted, not being able to hold back any further. "And x should be substituted with y, not the other way around."
Mr. Benson nodded as he realized his own mistake. "Thank you, Miss Hans."
The class turned to give me weird looks and I had to suppress the urge to hide behind my curtain of hair.
A hand rested on my thigh and I looked at Cyrus in surprise and he smiled and tapped my leg twice to motion the reflex restless tapping of my leg.
I let out a ragged breath and managed to calm down. I did not bode well with attention. At all.
The rest of the day went by and before I knew it, we were headed to the cafeteria. Kat was already seated at one of the tables in the centre. She waved me over as her eyes caught sight of me.
I flopped down on the chair and looked at my plate in disgust.
"Does the food here always look so inedible?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.
"Yep, but the taste's actually not all that bad," Kat shrugged.
"Try this," a hand waved a sandwich in front of my face and I turned to face the owner. Cyrus dropped into the seat beside me while Luke sat beside Kat, wrapping a casual arm on her shoulders.
She scowled and slapped his hand away.
"So, Lyn," Luke started conversationally. "What do you think about joining us at our table for lunch from today?"
I nibbled on the sandwich that Cyrus had given me, which was surprisingly good and looked at Kat who was shaking her head furiously at me.
"Um..." I trailed off, not knowing what to do.
"Yes! Thank you, Lyn," Luke winked at me.
"She didn't say yes, you doofus," Kat's scowl deepened.
"Well, at least she didn't outright refuse the way you did," Luke glared and I realized that her rejection had actually hurt his ego.
"I'm good sitting on my own," Kat snapped back. The tension between the two continued.
"Yes, of course, no wonder no one wants to be your friend."
Kat froze up at his words and Luke realized his mistake.
"I didn't—" he started but she was already swinging up from her chair.
"I have to go to the washroom," her voice was taut as she stalked away.
Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"You messed up, dude," Cyrus told him.
"I know," Luke huffed. "She's just so stubborn."
"I'll go check on her," I said, giving my half-eaten sandwich a longing look as I walked in the direction Kat had gone.
The latter was staring at herself in the mirror dejectedly.
"Hey," I said softly.
"Hi," she replied, washing her hands as if nothing was wrong.
"He didn't—"
"It's okay," she smiled at me tiredly. "He wasn't wrong."
As my mouth opened to protest, she continued,
"Why do you think I never sit with anyone? Never introduced you to anyone who I can actually call my friend? Cause I don't have friends and that's the sad story of my life. And yes, my reference to One Direction was totally on purpose," she flashed me a smile but I could still see the saddened look in her eyes.
"Well, I'm your friend," I said. "And you're a fan of One Direction, so I don't think this could go wrong."
"We'll see about that in a few weeks," she said and exited the washroom.
For the entirety of the break, an awkward silence hung in the air as Kat causally ate her untouched food and struck up a conversation with me, completely ignoring Luke, who had an extremely guilty look on his face.
Poor fellow.
Cyrus meddled with his phone, clearly disinterested in our topic.
The break ended and we headed back to our respective classes. Kat didn't seem fazed by Luke's question but I saw her flex her jaw every minute or so.
We had human biology now and I was excited for our lesson today; which would be dissecting frogs.
Note the sarcasm.
We took our seats and eyed the slimy, greenish-grey creatures distastefully. Kat wrinkled her nose at her frog, poking it with the end of her pencil. Our teacher quickly recapped us on the type of frog it was and how we had to carry out this task.
We groaned but set to work. After a long hour, we had finally had enough of the stink and sliminess of the bullfrog and had scribbled down whatever notes we could take.
I sighed irritably as I cut my finger again. Maybe I had a thing for blood. But this cut seemed to be deeper than the last and the bleeding refused to stop, even when I wrapped a cloth around the cut.
I excused myself and headed to the infirmary to get some ice.
A woman sat before a laptop, typing furiously.
"Uh, excuse me, I need some ice," I said.
"Do I look like a freezer to you?" she snapped.
Geez woman, what got your panties into a twist?
I rolled my eyes at her and muttered under my breath,
"Please, save your breath. You'll probably need it to blow up your next date."
Her head snapped up and she glared as she flipped me the bird. I walked further in to see a set of rooms laid before me. My feet almost automatically took me towards the room on the left, two doors down.
Is this how an infirmary is supposed to be? I thought incredulously.
I opened the door nervously and it creaked as it swung open, making me flinch automatically.
A shiver crept up my spine at the sudden change in temperature as I stepped in.
The room was dark and I couldn't really make out anything but my ears picked up a faint buzzing and ignoring the stink, I moved onwards, driven by curiosity.
It was just sad that curiosity killed the cat.
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