NAOMI'S BLAST

CHAPTER 4

The next day, I woke up early with a little excitement gurgling in my stomach, as I had cracked the code after working late into the night. I jumped out of bed and went to change. I sat dumbfounded for a second as I realized that I had dressed much faster than usual, which I think was because I was too excited to see Lexi and share what I had discovered the night before.

On the same note, I went downstairs to the kitchen, spread some peanut butter and jam, and smeared them on the toast. Not only that, but I even left a note for Mom so she wouldn't worry that I had gone out so early in the morning.

Furthermore, I sneaked out of the house, slowly closing the door behind me, and took a deep breath to notice the change in the surrounding atmosphere.

Not only that, but I felt a different kind of happiness in my soul than the usual kind I experience when I step out of the house.Likewise, I went to the park and sat on the bench near the entrance. Furthermore, I was scrolling through my phone when Lexi came and sat next to me.

"Good morning, Sam! You look excited. I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"Good morning," I said. "I am just feeling so happy because I cracked the code last night that was on the piece of paper," she said with a sweet smile on her face. "I haven't felt this kind of enthusiasm in a really long time." Now Lexi was really excited.

"Anyway, give me a little of your enthusiasm for me as well. I will tell you on the way, or else we will be late for school, and it will be useless to wake up early."

"Okay, so the language is Urdu, and as for the language, I think the person who wrote this might be from India or Pakistan."That guy may have known the language or might have learned it; you never know, said Lexi; it could be either way. We reached school earlier than usual, as the park is closer to the school.

I say let's find a bench to sit on and translate the phrases. There were two small phrases, so we decided to divide them between us. One I took, and Lexi took the other. We could do this until the parking lot is filled, said Lexi.

By the time the parking lot was filled with people and noise, we were halfway through the translation and decided to work on the riddle during the break since, by then, it was already late for class.

Just as the bell was about to ring, Lauren Wilson, the school's aggravator, came toward us, and we dropped the chits into our pockets.

She didn't like either of us all that much, so we thought the feeling was mutual. Always bothered about what everyone else did, she was always trying to create a scene. Not only that, but she must have seen us and gotten suspicious about what we were up to.

Luckily, we had our English textbooks out because our bags get heavy if the books are inside; for ease, we carry them in our hands. Not only that, but she stopped and then faced us. "What are you guys doing?"

Even though she was annoying, there was something intimidating and scary about her that made us reply to her right away."Oh, Lauren, right, Sam," she said. "Yes, yes, that's what we were doing," I replied with a tense laugh. The bell rang, and she went to her group.

We sighed in relief and noticed that we had both been holding our breath. Although we had come to school quite early, the ringing of the bell made us already late, and we rushed to class. We had different schedules for the same subjects, and both hated it since we couldn't discuss this riddle until the break, with each of us having different ideas about what it could mean.

It was only gymnastics together after the break. Not only that, but we still couldn't imagine where this riddle was leading; yet, both of us were excited. Time was passing even more slowly than a walking turtle, and I just couldn't wait for that break bell.

When I looked at my watch, there were only two minutes left until the bell, so I started putting all my things away and making sure that the professor didn't see me. I was setting down my last book when the bell rang, and since the time I came to this school, this is the first time I have gotten out of class before it was even dismissed.

I turned out to be the first one to leave the class—surprising both the professor and the students, as I am always the last to leave any class. I also ran out of the classroom, bidding them farewell without stopping to see their reactions. I was halfway to the cafeteria when someone bumped into me face-to-face, and it turned out to be Lexi.

We both realized that we had rushed out of class, and we couldn't stop laughing at the irony. We gave each other a high-five and made our way to the cafeteria, trying not to stop giggling but still very excited.

We went to the table at the end of the café so that no one could hear us. No one usually sat at this table, so we thought of occupying it, as no one would dare come and listen to our conversation. "Hey, let's eat first—I am starving," she said, and I agreed. As soon as I agreed, she started dragging me toward the food counter.

"Oh, Lexi, come on, let my hand go; I am behind you." "Just shut up and come."I know you very well; if I let go of your hand, you will just turn and go back to your seat. That is what you did last time when we came here because we were hungry.

Besides, the reason you gave me is so stupid. You told me that you lied to me, saying you were hungry just so I would eat. Then you didn't have anything right to finish the pending work, not this time. Hi Lexi, hi Rose, this is Sam, and Sam, this is Rose, my cousin.

Hi Rose, what do we have on the menu today?Lexi asked, and I stood behind her, trying to decide what to eat. There is fresh orange juice, salad, chicken nuggets, and sausages all over; sorry. It's Driva kuye, I told Lexi. "I will have some chicken nuggets, orange juice, and a bit of salad.

I would like to have some salad and fresh juice." We told Rose thanks, took our trays, and went to our seats. We had taken the stone and the translation, which we had made in the morning, and spread them on the table to see what was written.

The piece of paper said,

"ہر مردہ روح ناخوش ہے کیونکہ اس نے اپنی تمام خوشیوں کو تباہ کرنے کے لیے چھوڑ دیا ہے۔"

"EVERY DEAD SOUL IS UNHAPPY BECAUSE IT LEFT ALL ITS HAPPINESS FOR US TO DESTROY."

I clearly do not know what this means, Lexi told me. She stared hard at the paper, but she had no idea what it was. Next, her head started aching. "Whatever this means, I do believe it's going to bring us to some adventure," Lexi said."Are you up for the adventure?" "Of course," said Lexi.

"Me too, way too much fun! Now it is time to go to our gym class, or else we'll be late, and nobody should have the slightest idea of what we are up to. Our sports period finished a bit early as our sports teacher was on leave. We were very glad, and since our other teacher had taken leave, the last two periods were free, so we spent the time in the library.

Time flew by quickly, and while we were on our way out of school, I asked Lexi if she could come to my house after school tomorrow. I am going to plan a girls' night, and maybe we can discuss the details then. "Alright then, that works for me.

I will ask my mom about the stay and tell you if it is a yes or no. Just ask your parents at the same time." The bell rang, and we were the first to arrive at the parking lot because the library was close to it. The rest of the kids started coming out, and the lot quickly filled up.

We passed the children like the wind, so we stopped a little distance from the school and realized that we had been running all this time. We split up and went home.