Not Alone

5

My entire body is shaking, not only from fear but the temperature of the water. As I meet my oncoming death, time seems to speed up and slow down at the same time.

I imagined seeing my life flash before my eyes as I died. The defining moments of my life that made me who I was up until my last moments on earth. Every memory contained inside my head playing out like a movie.

But, for some reason, it isn't anything like I had imagined.

One memory, one thought, crosses my mind as I crouch in the freezing river. A memory that holds no sentimental value, no significance in my timeline. And yet I am thinking about it in my last moments.

~

My chemistry teacher's voice cuts through the multiple conversations taking place amongst the students. We all immediately face the front, not daring to talk out loud in fear of discipline.

Over the years, we have come up with our own ways of communication without being caught. Discreetly passing notes across the room, tapping pens against desks in Morse code, and even sign language (but only when her back is to us).

My best and only friend, Robin, and I communicated with our eyes, and facial expressions. We knew each other well enough that we could understand each other.

'There won't be school once the aliens come' Robin points to our teacher with a look of amusement spread across her face.

'They're not going to come,' I shook my head. I was suspicious of the news casters, and didn't believe a word they said.

'Do you really think that?' She sits back in her seat, crossing her arms, one eyebrow raised.

I glanced at the front of the room, paranoid that we would get caught. But our teacher was too immersed in the periodic table to notice anything else.