Wildest Dreams

se v e n

S E N I O R   Y E A R

The study hall, as far I knew in the common meaning of the public's mind, was a place or a room intended for students and teachers to focus on their work, studies, and projects. Usually, it's a quite place due to said intended actions, but chattering between tables can't be avoided. Still it was welcomed in the four ceiling high walls with wide windows looking out the street outside.

In my case, chattering was an understatement, and more catastrophies were more than welcomed. Tables were full of students acting like wild animals who escaped the zoo. There were some knocked out and snoring, while some might end up in either detention or the small space cell in jail. You get the idea. Not an eye willing to read nor a brain absorbing new knowledge, except for when I look in the mirror.

I wondered how did I even I excused myself from my table and left the room unscathed. With my bag lazily hanging from my shoulder, I walked the almost empty corridors, almost quiet but it was better than where I came from.

The school courtyard turned out to be a quieter place than the rest of the school, with only a few students occupied the benches and some sitting on the grass. The sun was hiding behind the clouds so the heat wasn't really bothering, rather it created more serenity.

Disturbing serenity for a month that should be stormy and thundery.

I sat myself on a plantbox's wall under a tree's shade and took out my notebooks to read and write. Again, it filled my mind like putting fillings into a donut, or air pumping into a tire. But the tire had a hole and the air was leaking.

My mind started to slip out of reality when I found the place awfully quiet. I could hear the voices of the other people but they seemed distant, and there was the sound of metal scraping in the background. My hand just stopped writing because I don't know what I was writing anymore.

Wait, what was I thinking again?

"Maple."

I turned around in a whim, causing me to lose balance and fall back towards the ground behind me. But someone swiftly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards them, like it was a natural reflex. I hit their chest with an unexpected force and we both dropped to the ground.

I rolled around groaning, squinting my eyes to the sun that revealed itself. I let out a breath, just as the same time the person beside me did.

"Are you okay?"

The voice caught my attention like how a kid would react to the music of the ice cream truck.

The person beside me was a person I thought I'd never talk to again. We have some similar classes and usually see each other at lunch and free periods, although we never talked outside school. At least not casually. What he doesn't know more was that  I always watched and supported him play football during the games. I might have looked at his way a couple of times, his face was just... it kind of stands out when I know there's always more to him and his presence when we're in the same room. Albeit, I never caught him looking back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Glen said, helping me up then brushing the dirt off his pants.

I cleaned off the dirt on my clothes as well and picked up my notebook and the papers that went with me when I fell. I stayed silent as I stood in front of Glen. His eyes, always curious and wide, glanced at the papers in my hands. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"So, how are you doing?"

Of all the things he could say, he picked the one I had to lie to as a response.