Breakthrough

Chapter 2: After School Confrontation

The next day. 7:30 am.

It was the next morning, the air was humid and birds were tweeting out as if to wish everyone a good day. The bustling street traffic was as busy as ever, a mixture of people trying to get to work and school kids.

Luke's eyes slowly twitched open, his body felt numb and brittle, and his senses were all unresponsive as he tried to get up. His brain was foggy, all he could remember was taking the woods as a shortcut home after realising how late it was. After his eyes adjusted somewhat, he looked around and saw that it was daytime.

"I-I've been here all night?" He grunted as he sat up against the tree.

While feeling came back into his legs he checked the pockets on his jacket, locating his house keys and phone rather quickly. The phone appeared to be dead, great. His clothes were muddy and cold, a result of him being here all night and laying in the middle of the woods. The pungent smell of mud assaulted his nasal passages and made him feel sick.

His memory wasn't clear yet, but he managed to pick himself up off the broken twigs and start walking home. His trip was short, he had already walked most of the way last night. As his feet treaded over the path home he tried to rack his brains onto what had happened last night. A strange shooting pain coursed through his head as a flashing image of a small rock, almost like a meteorite appeared in his head.

Now he remembered, he had seen a shooting star, almost like a comet that crashed into the trees near him. After approaching it he had been violently slammed into a tree by an unseen force. It's not like he could exactly explain what the hell had happened, but it didn't stop him from theorising. The obvious answer would've been this was all some weird fever dream, which Luke would be half inclined to believe if it weren't for the migraine that had rudely awoken him. He may not know a lot but he was sure dreams couldn't replicate pain like that.

The overhead sunlight burned onto his face fully as he finally left the canopy of trees overhead, his cheeks had a small red tinge to them from the heat already. Normally hot weather wasn't a huge deal, but to burn this bright was a rare occasion. Luke assumed to himself that Rosie and Ava would've bunked off of school. (With heavy convincing from Rosie to get Ava to go through with it)

It wasn't like Rosie was a massive rebel, in fact, it was the opposite. However on hot days, the girls tended to go to the mall and relax, it was typical for them.

A feeling of dread flooded Luke's body and sent shivers up his spine when he realised the lecture he was going to receive upon returning home. He considered going straight to school from the woods, but the last thing he wanted was for people to think a homeless person had taken his place.

'I don't look THAT bad... Oh who am I kidding I look a mess'

Deciding upon ignoring the events of last night he continued the path home and planned on getting a shower, a fresh set of clothes, and escaping the clutches of his parents before they could let loose at him for making them worry. The thought of the rock that had full-on assaulted him was still weighing heavy on his fragile mind, so he resolved to ask one of the science club kids about it after school in an unsuspecting type of way.

His house looked the same as usual, his parent's car was parked in the driveway and he could see Rosie's window wide open, showing off her room partially. This definitely wasn't a dream. Fumbling with his keys, Luke slotted them into the lock and turned them, swinging the door open after unlocking it. The scene that greeted him was a complete mess that left him shell-shocked.

There were a couple of police officers interviewing his parents in the living room, his mother was crying profusely while his father was conversing with the officers. Had his disappearance disturbed them so much? Sure, it was unlike him, but he thought this was a bit excessive. Before he could go over and announce his return, he was assaulted by a small and surprisingly forceful object. The sweet scent of lavender wafted into his nostrils and his T-shirt suddenly felt slightly wet.