Perfection (Red Wrists 1 REWRITTEN EDITION)

Part Three

(Emma)

"Nice to meet you, Emma May," he said rather cheerfully, smiling a bit. "My name's Timothy. Timothy Smith. Now could we pick up the pace before we got to explain to Mr. Oliver why we're late?" I nod slightly and he grabs my arm, pulling me with him as we made our way through the streets towards the imprisonment of school.

We got there in time, rushing into the classroom as the bell rang. There wasn't any time for us to have gone to our own lockers, so we still had our book bags on our backs. "You were almost late," the teacher said, a smug expression on his wrinkled face. Timothy lifted his chin and muttered, "But we weren't and that's all that matters." A hushed whisper passed over the crowd, and I could hear the soft murmurs of "Are they together?" and "Who are those two?" rush through the voices. Yay, how wonderful. People must have thought we were a couple now.

Timothy shrugged off the whispers, walking to a seat right in front of mine. I stare at him as he sits down, shocked. Since when was he in this class? I've never seen him in that seat before. I followed him slowly and took my seat behind him, thinking to myself, Why does this strange guy seem so familiar? I tried answering that question for about ten minutes, but no good reasoning came to mind. Sure, he was in front of me most days apparently, but that doesn't mean I'd see him as such a familiar person. He asked what my name was, he couldn't have known me before today. Right?

The thought made me feel slightly more comfortable, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right. Throughout the class hour, Timothy kept staring at me. It freaked me out. So the second the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and ran for the door. A wave of students followed me, but as I exited the classroom, Timothy had still been in his seat.

(Tim)

I remembered her, I knew her; I just couldn't remember how or where from. My thoughts trailing, it took until the bell rang to notice that I've been staring at her. My cheeks heated up a bit but she rushed off too quickly to notice. Thank god! Shaking my head and watching everyone else leave, I let my eyes travel to the window facing the woods outside the school.

A man stood at the edge of the trees. Tall and thin, his skin unbelievably pale. With his age brought dark bags under his eyes, and thin silver hair. He didn't move an inch, he just stared at me for a few moments before slowly turning his gaze to the teacher. The teacher saw the man almost immediately after realizing where I was staring, and he looked terrified. Deciding to add fuel to the fire, I stand from my desk.

Clearing my throat, I call out, "I'll see you tomorrow, Mister Teacher Man."

I didn't look in his direction, but his voice sounded horrified when he replied, "Wait, Timothy, wait, hold on a second-" Boom. Door closed as I exit the room. The hallways were empty, the echoing of my footsteps almost deafening as I walked down the hall. As I made it to the front door of the school, the roaring scream of the teacher echoing through the school. There was a soft twinge in my chest, but I ignored it. It couldn't have been his time yet.

(Emma)

"Emma," my mother called from the kitchen, "You're home already?" I took in a deep breath, the smell of freshly-cooked bacon filling my nose. "Yeah," I called back, a frown growing on my face. I knew I'd never get any of that chewy, greasy bacon.

Trudging up the stairs, I walked into my room and threw my bag onto my bed. My head was throbbing, my legs hurt, and in the silence of my room, the memories of this morning came rushing back to me. Another ten seconds alone with that man, and I don't even want to think of what would have happened. Tears slowly began streaming down my face as my legs went numb in shock. I collapsed onto my knees, the floor beneath me giving off a quiet thunk as I sat there in silence. The tears felt natural, but also unreal. Not a single sound escaped my mouth as I cried away the bad memories of today.

My limbs strained in denial as I pulled myself together, dragging myself onto the mattress. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be in this house. There was a tiny light of hope and joy in my life, and that was all the way back in kindergarten. With-

Timothy, I thought, sitting up instantly. What happened to him? I remember being best friends with him in kindergarten, but then there was just a blank. I don't remember him vanishing or running away, or moving away. He just vanished from my life without a trace. But even with that in mind, it just felt better with him back in my life.

A small smile crept onto my face, the better mood slowly drifting me off into a peaceful sleep. Something I haven't had in a long time.