The Timekeeper

Chapter Two

It was a typical Monday morning. I was up at seven to shower and get ready for school, while the rest of the family was rushing around to get to work on time. Mother was up first; she would wake up at six and was usually gone before I was even up. Patricia and Jacob were up the same time as I was, so it was always pretty crazy with everyone trying to use the bathroom or toaster at the same time. They would take their cars to work, going their separate ways out the driveway. Then, it was lonely ole' me; I was left to walk to school by myself every morning.

It wasn't too bad though- school was only a few blocks up the road. I didn't mind walking; it was calming and peaceful. I clutched the straps of my electric blue school bag as I walked along the footpath, kicking at the stones that were closest to my ugly school shoes. Our school colours were electric blue and yellow, a terrible match I know. I was wearing our summer dress even though it was Autumn, and the air had become a little fresher. I could see the top of the school building through the trees in front of me; the noise of school kids running around and laughing was just audible.

I stood in front of the open school gates, sighing as I went through them. A few moments later I spotted Claire reading Looking for Alaska, for what had to be at least the fiftieth time. She was a sucker for John Green novels. Her head shot up as I approached her, a smile plastered on her rounded face.

"Hey Cand. Oh, you won't believe what happened on the weekend!" She started, rambling on about her boyfriend Alex and how she finally lost her virginity.

"I mean, it wasn't that bad. But people make it sound as if it hurts like hell...I beg to differ." She was a very unique girl, I must say. She was one of the smartest people I knew; yet she was also popular.

It was quite strange, because even though I was her best friend, I wasn't popular. I could be with her all day, and people would come up to Claire and ask her who I was. To be honest, I didn't mind it. Being somewhat invisible was fine by me.

"So, how was your weekend?" Claire asked as we arrived at our lockers.

I was still surprised that she didn't remember that it was my sixteenth birthday, and what that actually meant. I wasn't much of a party girl. Most of the time, I preferred to sit at home and read or go on the internet.

I pulled my jumper sleeve up to my elbow and flashed my wrist in front of Claire's face, grinning at the numbers. Claire's eyes widened and she grabbed my wrist.

"Oh my gosh, how could I have forgotten? I'm so sorry! Happy sweet sixteenth girl!" She squealed, before examining my Timekeeper.

"Wait a second, this is like next week. That's so exciting. You're going to meet the man of your dreams and he's going to sweep you off your feet−it'll be love at first sight. Just you wait until you get into bed together...oh my. I can't begin to describe−"

"Please, Claire, no more," I groaned as the bell rang, signaling that class was starting.

Lucky for me, Claire was in my first class, which was English. And when I said lucky, I meant it with sarcasm. Every chance she got, she was talking about my soul mate. What he would look like, where we would meet, and then the more personal details, like if he would be good in bed and how big his junk was. Like I said before, she was an interesting human being, but she was still my best friend.

After double periods of English, it was time for recess, which just involved Claire telling more people about my Timekeeper. After our short break, we had psychology and math. Psychology was super interesting to me. At the moment, we were learning about mental illnesses like Schizophrenia. I found it to be a fascinating subject, but could never concentrate with Claire's high-pitched voice right in my ear.