What Was Missing

Chapter 12 - Alex

Song: Never Gonna Be Alone - Jacob Collier

I'm back in my room along with Scarlett for tutoring but my brain won't focus.

I know I said I would try to get along with Scarlett only for the sake of my Spanish grade but after all the fun we had the other day, I suddenly don't want it to become a chore to get along with her. I had forgotten how fun it was to be around her.

When we were kids we would spend hours playing video games or playing doctor, per my request. She was always the sick patient I would pretend to examine. God, the fun we would have and the laughs.

But maybe it was just memories of our childhood that were making me wish we could be friends again. She's changed. She's popular now and I'm a nobody nerd. We don't work as friends.

"Are you done with that worksheet?" She asks pulling me out of my thoughts.

"U-um, yeah." I stutter handing it over to her so she can check it.

She scans over the sheet before she speaks. "Mmm, there's a few mistakes but you're getting much better at spelling." She praises and I can't help the small smile that takes over my face.

I stare at Scarlett for a moment contemplating on what I'm about to say.

"Thank you for helping me again, Scarlett. I know I've already thanked you and I know you said I was going to wish you never said yes to helping me and at one point I did start to wish that," I chuckle slightly, "but I don't feel that way anymore. You really are a lot of help, so thank you." I say and smile up at her.

Her face is unreadable as she gives me a forced tight smile and hands me the paper back with the corrections so I can go over it again.

Should I not have said anything?

I shouldn't have said anything. I turn around in my seat and face my desk. I should've known. We are not going to become friends again. I should stop trying and just focus on getting my Spanish grade up.

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Saturday morning rolled around and I was exited to go hiking. Note that I said was and not am because what I am currently doing is looking for my favorite Star Wars shirt. I know to some it might be just a shirt but to me, it's my entire life. It was a limited edition one too!

"Mom! Are you sure you didn't accidentally take my shirt?" I yell to her from my room.

"I haven't touched a thing!" She yells back at me from downstairs.

Lately I've been loosing a lot of my things. First it was socks but socks get lost all the time somehow, so I didn't really question it. But then small things would go missing too. For example, the backup lighter I kept in one of my drawers and my Star Wars pens I kept on my desk. I thought maybe my mom had borrowed them but when I asked her she didn't even know I had them. Now my shirts are going missing and I'm starting to think there is a burglar coming into my room in the middle of the night to steal my stuff. I shiver just from the thought of that being possible. Creepy.

"I'll help you look when we get back home later. We gotta go now, stay safe, ok? Bye." I say bye back and keep looking for my stuff.

It's around 11 AM when I decide to give up. I've searched every inch of this house but I've found nothing. There's some manic fairies stealing my stuff, I just know it!

I sit on my bed trying to read a book to keep myself entertained. Movement to my right catches my attention. I turn to look and I can see Scarlett moving around in her room from where I sit. Huh, I had forgotten that the window in my room faces hers.