|When Two Worlds Collide - Book II

~A long way from home~

Miriam stood by a second-floor window and watched as her schoolmates left the school grounds. Every end-of-school day was the same, she was always the last to leave. Every day she waited for Mr. Branson to pick her up at the exact same time, he was never late nor was he early. The car always pulled up at the gate at 4.15pm. Miriam knew why she had to stay behind, it was for her own protection as while on school ground, she was protected by her teachers who always kept an eye on her. Her favorite teacher, Mrs. Wilder, would always stay behind to keep her company as they waited for Mr. Branson, but this afternoon was not any usual afternoon. Mrs. Wilder had unfinished work to attend to, therefor she had to leave Miriam to herself.

As Miriam was about to sit down on one of the chairs, she spotted Peter Pevensie walk across the school yard about to leave the property and without thinking, she quickly grabbed her bag and jacket and hurried out the classroom. She ran down the school corridor, down the stairs, pushed through a crowd of students and then out the front door in hopes of catching the boy she hadn't spoken to since they returned from Professor Kirkes' house. She spotted Peter as he was about to cross the busy street. She tried to call his name to get his attention but to no vain, the traffic drowned all sounds. As she watched Peter reach the other side of the road she made a quick decision to follow him, to cross the busy road and defy what she'd been ordered to do, stay on school grounds. She figured she would be back in no time, no one would notice her absence.

She stepped out into the busy traffic, hoping to get to the other side quickly and catch Peter before it was too late.

"Hey! I'm driving here!" An angry man yelled from his car as he honked the horn, making Miriam stop and look directly at the driver. 

"And I'm walking here!" Miriam yelled back before continuing walking across the road. However, what she wasn't expecting was Peter waiting for her on the other side. He had heard the commotion and turned around to see what was going on, only to see Miriam yelling at a stranger. The scene reminded him of when they were in Narnia and Miriam would raise her voice to anyone who disrespected her or anyone she cared for. She was not like any woman he had ever known, she was lively and fiery without even trying. It was second nature to her.

"You stopped." Miriam said as she approached Peter. 

"I heard commotion. Never thought you would be the cause of it though. What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine. That was nothing, don't worry. I actually came to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I, I want to apologize for not speaking to you since we returned."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It's not like we spoke before all of this."

"To my defense, we didn't know each other then."

"Well, it's not like we know each other now either."

"I beg to differ, but okay. I really just came to say I'm sorry and was hoping there wasn't any bad feelings between us but...." They had entered the underground station by now and were descending the stairs when a boy bumped into Peter. 

"Say you're sorry." They boy said. 

"Excuse me?" Peter gave the boy a confused look.

"You are supposed to apologize when you bump into someone." The boy said and a few of his friends came up behind him to support him. They were all laughing but not in a friendly kind of way, Miriam felt uneasy around them and grabbed on to Peters arm and silently asked him to walk away. 

"I'm not apologizing for something I didn't do."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Peter, let's just go." Miriam said in a hushed voice.