Star Flies

Chapter 3

Loud knocks awoke Alina and persisted until she did a final stretch and got out of bed. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and opened the door, but no one was there. That's weird. Alina stuck her head out in the hallway, looking here and there for any sign of life. Everywhere was still, like the aftermath of a pandemic. Alina emitted a disgruntled sound from the back of her throat. She was about shutting off the world when she noticed a piece of paper at her doorstep.

Her brows creased. Taking another quick sweep, she reached out to pick the paper and slammed the door behind her. Alina hesitated for a moment before reading through. It didn't take long, the corner of her lips tipped upward in wonderment. A certain Kev was requesting for her to get dressed and head out in ten minutes. He was waiting for her at the lobby. Alina's face scrunched. It was her first day for hell sake. And who the hell was Kev anyways?

Her shoulders fell; her chest tightened like it was being pierced by a stake. Alina wasn't ready to leave just yet. A nimble glance around the room told her that Sallie had gone out to school.

Her bed was freshly made and her corner spick-and-span. Alina took a moment to wonder if she'd imagined the numerous scraps of paper by her bedside the night before. Heaving a sigh, she went about changing her clothes, dreading what awaited her outside the enclosed walls of the dormitory. As she grabbed the towel she hung on the cupboard handle, her eyes fell on Sallie's freehand sketch spread out on the desk. Against her better judgement, she leaned closer, peering at the beautiful drawing.

It was of a mother, looking out on the ocean tide with two kids standing by either side of her. One was a boy with hair cropped so close to his forehead. For a moment, Alina thought he was bald. But there was a stubborn streak of brown and black on his head. He was on a pair of shorts with a singlet, leaving his small muscles bare. Alina chuckled. She knew he'd be cute when Sallie started shading most parts and colouring. For now, it was only a rough outline. The other was a girl who looked very much like Sallie with tufts of hair framing her face.

She was a funny character. Her sundress flowed about her in the wind and her smile danced around her eyes. There was a touch of sadness about the drawing though. It was as if both kids were worlds apart, sharing only a link with nature. The sky around the boy's side was different, cloudy with gloom hovering on the horizon. Maybe that was Sallie's sibling.

Her brother—he had been drawn with little details on his face, the sketch was rougher, as though Sallie wasn't sure how to draw him. Alina studied the mother. Her tall, lean build made her look tough. A single mother of two. Alina smiled. It wasn't a very happy smile, but she loved how Sallie tried to keep her family close to her. Even if it was just a drawing.

Alina filed the thought away, rushing out of the room to have her bath. Ten minutes was far gone. About fifteen minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in her school uniform, Alina hurried down the stairs, but stopped at the officer's desk to sign out. Mrs. Poll's orders. She quickly went through the process; her eyes scanned through the schedule for her first class. When she saw the time her lecture was scheduled to start, she gasped.

Someone cleared his throat from behind Alina, causing her to turn. "Took you long enough," he said, pushing back the mop of black hair falling over one side of his face.

Alina cracked a nervous smile. Who was he again? "You must be Kev. I'm Alina."

Kev ignored her offered hand, slipping his into his trouser pockets.

"Are we supposed to be enemies?" Alina asked, wearing her bag properly.

There was a stone-cold look in his defiant blue eyes that swept over her, as if measuring her worth just by a glance. Judgemental. Alina didn't get along with those kinds of people. She fell into step as they began walking away from the dormitory, away from her safe place.  "Um, did Mrs. Poll send you as a fill-in?" Alina couldn't resist asking.

"I'm not going to answer that because you disobeyed my orders and now, you've got us in trouble." From Kev's tone, she could tell he was trying to control his anger. Or frustration.

"Trouble? How?" Alina briefly glanced past the garden as they pushed through the same doors she'd taken with the mistress.

"Don't ask." Kev blew out a breath, the muscle in his jaw working.

Alina bit her lips in regret, it was her fault—lazing around on her first day of school. Or her first day in hell. Now, it sounded more natural. More her style. Realizing she was going down the sarcastic train of thoughts, she kept mute, settling her gaze instead on how snug the sweater was on Kev. The colour, a greyish-brown, matched with his trouser, showing off his chiselled thigh. Alina made a mental note to ask why he wasn't putting on the school uniforms.

After turning around several hallways that all looked the same, and up a flight of endless steps, Alina was about ready to give up. There was no way in hell she would make it out of this place even if she could come up with an escape plan. "How much longer?" She panted, bending to catch her breath. Her head was spiralling, as was her stomach, whining and rumbling every now and then.

"Come on. You're the one who got us late in the first place. Now, you're complaining? The security doors are already locked. So, we'll just have to follow this route." Kev didn't stop; he continued to ascend. Alina stared hard at his back, a puzzled look on her face.

"Ooh. But it's exhausting." She raced after him, trying to keep up with his long-legged stride. It was as if he had grown used to it—like he was late often. Finally, they got to the second floor and took a right turn. In the distance, a bell rang, signalling the end of the first period. Alina began to note little details she missed because of the disappointment in her mother. The building had wide sweeping windows and was devoid of ornate decorations to mar the beauty and uniqueness of the architecture. Huge white columns rose towards an arched ceiling that was also a polished white.

Everything looked magical, from the sunlight beaming through the windows, which acted almost like a kaleidoscope, casting colours along the hallways to the wooden-polished floors that created a striking contrast to the steel doors peculiar to Greendale college. As they walked down the seemingly endless hallway, sandwiched in-between bodies, rushing to their next class, they halted at a door with the inscription, 'Thermodynamics.'

"After you, princess," Kev drawled.

She could feel the sarcasm dripping from his words. Alina chose, for the first time, not to fire with a comeback. She gave herself some seconds to settle her nerves. Then, she breathed, pushing the door open.