The Hidden Sun

Chapter IV

I woke up the next morning with a horrible headache. My eyes felt puffy from crying the night before, and my shoulder was throbbing in pain. I wasn't ready to face another day of school so soon, but I knew I had no choice. Besides, it was better than being alone with my thoughts the whole day.

I quickly hopped out of bed and headed towards the bathroom for my shower. For some reason, the water wasn't as soothing as it normally was. After about five minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I grabbed a towel and headed towards my room. I quickly pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt, and threw my still wet hair up into a ponytail without even brushing it.

As I stumbled down the stairs, things felt different. I couldn't exactly put it into words, but I felt like things were never going to go back to normal. This was the moment where everything finally sunk in. What are we going to do now that I know? Why would Jessie tell me now? Am I supposed to move and go to this Realm in Canada?

"Alice, honey. Are you alright?" I heard Jessie ask. I suddenly realized that I had reached the bottom of the stairs and was just standing there.

"Uh, yeah," I responded slowly. Jessie stared at me for a moment before speaking.

"Well, come to breakfast," she said. "I have something to give you." And with that she walked towards the kitchen, leaving me to collect my thoughts.

I slowly made my way to my normal spot at the table as Jessie set down a huge plate of pancakes for us to share. Where's my bagel? I thought to myself. Oblivious to my unspoken question, Jessie sat down across from me and and set an old-looking book on the table.

"I know that yesterday was a hard day for us, but I want you to know that everything is going to be fine," she started. "If you ever have any questions, just ask me. Hopefully you'll get answers from this book."

"What is it?" I asked hesitantly.

"It's your mother's diary," she answered slowly. "She sent it with us for you to read when you turned 18. It's supposed to tell us what to do next, but I'm not sure after what happened a few years ago..." she trailed off quietly as I thought about the horrible accident.

After a short moment, Jessie slid the diary over to me along with a tiny key on a chain.

"You can look at it whenever you feel that you are ready. There is no rush, okay?"

I stared at it blankly for a minute until I finally answered her.

"I'm going to go get my bag ready for school," I replied before grabbing the diary with its key and escaping to my room.

I shoved the diary onto my bookshelf, pocketed the key, and grabbed my bag before heading for the door.

"I'm leaving now, Jessie," I called out as I grabbed my car keys and ran out into the rain. It had been pouring since yesterday, and didn't show any signs of stopping. I had listened to it pound on my window all night. Usually rain made me feel happy; something about the feel of running in it. Now it was suffocating. I longed for the sunshine to shine again and for things to go back to normal.

Just 24 hours ago, things were normal. I wish things didn't have to change. Why couldn't I have just kept my normal and boring life?

The sound of feet slapping on the pavement brought me back to reality. I looked up shocked to see a jogger running by. Who would be running in this weather? I had never met anyone else who enjoyed running on the rain. Most people thought I was weird for it.

Shrugging it off, I unlocked my car, sat down, and realized that I was soaking wet. I sat there for a moment wondering if I should go back inside and change, but I couldn't bring myself to face Jessie. Instead, I put the car in gear and headed to school.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I realized just how empty it was. What time is it? I wondered. Picking up my things and exiting the car, I headed towards the front door.

Looking up at the clock, I realized that I was an hour early. How did that happen? I was usually late. None the less, I headed towards the locker rooms to put on some dry clothes.

Like the rest of the school, I found the room dark and empty. Wasting no time, I clicked on the light switch and made my way to my locker. I pulled out a clean pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before replacing my wet clothes for them. Not much of a change. I thought to myself.

Realizing that I had an hour to kill, I decided to do homework in the gym. I pulled out my copy of Hamlet and began reading the assigned chapters for English. With so much on my mind, I couldn't pay attention to what I was reading so it wasn't long before I fell asleep against the hard, cold bleachers.

RING!

Startled, I shot up to realize it was the first bell. Groaning, I grabbed my things and dragged myself to first period. English.

Being the last one to enter the classroom, Mrs. Cain shut the door behind me as I took my seat by the window.

"Okay everyone," she started. "Put everything away except for a pencil. You're having a pop quiz on those chapters I assigned over the weekend."

Everyone seemed to groan in unison as she handed out the first test. And thus began my day of cold, hard misery.

***

By lunch, my day was not getting any better. I couldn't concentrate on anything. School had always been really easy for me, but that day everything just seemed wrong. All I wanted to do was take my frustration out on the track. I had a big meet coming up and I wanted to do well.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't think about anything except running. I wanted to run until I couldn't anymore. When sixth period finally came, I changed as fast as I could and headed for the track. Without stopping to stretch, I bursted out into a full on sprint. I could feel the mild pain in my ankle from when I fell yesterday, but I just kept running. I knew that the bell rang at some point, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. If I did I would have to think about my birthday.

I've always been a very active person. When I run, I can lose myself. I needed this now more than ever. I ran until I couldn't think about anything. I ran until all I could feel was my feet slapping against the pavement and my labored breaths. I knew it was still pouring- I could hear the rain pounding in my ears- but I couldn't feel the pellets fall down on me anymore. It all became background noise as I sank deeper and deeper into my peaceful state.

Eventually, I did stop. I realized that Jessie was probably worried about me since she knew I didn't have practice today. It was the thought of Jessie worrying about me again that made me decide to head inside for a quick shower.

As I grabbed the doors to the gym I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and realized I should have stretched first. I was going to be sore for a few days.

Once inside the locker room, I showered, grabbed my things, and headed out to my car to deal with Jessie's wrath. Looking at my phone, I realized that I had six missed calls from Jessie. Sighing loudly, I hit the call button and pressed the phone to my ear. She picked up on the first ring.

"Alice?" She sounded worried. "Are you all right? Where are you?" Jessie asked frantically.

"I'm fine Jessie," I replied guiltily. "I was just running and lost track of time. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

I could hear her let out a long sigh of relief before answering. "Okay. Just make it back safely. Dinner's done. I'll make a plate for you and heat it up."

"Okay," I responded hesitantly. "I'll be there in ten."

As I pulled into the driveway, Jessie came running out to meet me. I was unbuckling my seatbelt as she opened the door and pulled me into a big hug.

"I was so worried!" she exclaimed breathlessly as she squeezed me harder. "I

thought something had happened."

I was silent as that sank in. Is this how it's going to be from now on? I could lose track of time and someone would automatically think that I've been hurt or kidnapped?

"I'm fine, Jessie," I mumbled as I stared the ground down. "Let's go eat."