Our Wild Hearts

Chapter 3: Casts And Imaginary Friends

Chapter 3: Casts and Imaginary Friends

"Damn Allie, what the hell happened?"

This is probably the tenth time I've been asked this very question ever since I've stepped into the school. Zoe, a few teachers, classmates, heck students I've never even met came up to me and asked me about my arm. A very kind gesture, I must say, but when you gotta explain the same story over and over again, in just a span of a few hours, it can get irritating. And lunch only just began. God knows how many more people I'm going to have to narrate this story to.

Yesterday, when Jack left me at the hospital, mom arrived within ten minutes. I was taken for an X-ray and it turns out I sprained my elbow. It's nothing serious - just a little injury on the elbow, which is cured by wearing a sling and resting. Even though it's nothing serious, I'm required to wear a cast for a week for the elbow to fully heal.

I struggle to take my books from my tote bag and shove them in the locker. Caleb is standing next to my open locker, watching me cautiously. His mouth is slightly ajar and his eyes are locked on the sling stretching from my elbow to my wrist. He notices my struggle and takes my books from my hand and shoves them into my locker, shutting it in the process.

"It's not even your second day here and you've already managed to break your arm? Care to explain how it happened?" Caleb smirks, his eyes dancing with amusement.

I know how I said about repeating the story can get annoying, but Caleb is the only guy I'm actually excited to tell the story. Well, him and Zoe of course, who wasn't very pleased to hear the story but rather mad for I didn't tell her yesterday night. She, of course, got over it.

I let out a soft chuckle and open my mouth to tell him, but before I could respond, Jack appears from behind Caleb. He looks at me and then at Caleb, his face scrunching with confusion. "You both know each other?" he asks perplexed.

"Yeah. She's the girl who moved next door," Caleb answers, his eyes not leaving me. With a confused expression he then looks up at Jack and asks,"wait how do you know her?"

Jack awkwardly rubs the back of his neck and shrugs in response. Caleb turns to face me and his gaze travels from my face towards the cast on my left arm. He then whips his head in Jace's direction so fast, that for a second there I thought it was going to fly off. This goes on for a while and then it finally dawns on him.

"No way Jack," Caleb announced, his jaw dropping, "don't tell me she's the person you almost ran over yesterday?"

That's one way to introduce someone.

Jack's lips purse into a thin line and he shrugs. Caleb shakes his head and gives him a disapproving look before facing me again. "Damn Allie, you need to be more careful. Knowing Jack, he could have almost killed you."

"But I didn't," Jack retorts at the same time I say, "But he didn't."

Caleb rolls his eyes at us.

"Nah, it wasn't Jack's fault exactly. I got distracted," I continue.

Caleb blinks at me. "How?" he questions, bewildered. I laugh at his shocked face to which he shakes his head before continuing, "Well on the bright side, you can get everyone to sign the cast," he scans the cast before continuing, "Oh would you look at that? Looks like I'll be the first one to sign it. Got a marker?" He directs his question at me, but when I shake my head he looks at Jack with a hopeful expression but is met with disappointment.

"Hold on I'll be right back," he says, taking off in the opposite direction and leaving me behind with Jack.

Rocking on my heels, I smile up at Jack. He takes a step towards me and for the first time makes an attempt to talk to me. "How's the elbow?" he motions towards the cast.