Free Falling

deux

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Elise," Rebekah heard herself mumbling although she couldn't be sure it was her. "Elise, turn your alarm off."

"Mmph," came the response.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Elise."

"Asdfjnrgoi."

Beep. Be-

Silence reigned for a few moments after the snooze button was hit. Far away, Rebekah could hear the sounds of other students waking up and shuffling around in the corridors. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she saw sunlight streaming through the blinds, creating a striped pattern on the floor.

"Elise?"

"Hm?"

"What time is our first class?"

"Nine." There was a brief pause before Elise added, "I think."

"What time is it now?" The words were hardly out of her mouth when Rebekah heard a shriek. She turned her head and realized that Elise had leapt out of bed and was currently scrambling to change out of her pyjamas. Her glasses were sitting on the edge of her nose and in critical danger of falling off, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Shit, Beck, we're gonna be late," Elise garbled. Rebekah watched her with mild amazement; that girl had gone from zero to hundred in about half a second. It was a wonder how she could find so much energy when she was still half-asleep. Slowly, Rebekah eased herself out of bed and rubbed her eyes. It felt too early to be panicking.

"Beck! I'm serious. It's five minutes to nine!" Elise was like a whirlwind, grabbing books and files and shoving them into a backpack whilst simultaneously trying to pull on some socks. She hopped past Rebekah, knocking over her bedside lamp as she went. "C'mon!"

Sighing, Rebekah picked up her pre-packed bag and a pair of sneakers. By the time she caught up to Elise, Elise was already halfway down the stairs. Her hair had been shoved into a messy bun atop her head and even though her jeans were crumpled and she was in a state of utter chaos, she still managed to look presentable. Rebekah grimaced at how unfair it was. Her black hair was still tangled and she was pretty sure that it looked like a rat's nest on her head.

"Oh good, you're here," Elise said absent-mindedly. "We need to run if we even hope to make it to class on time. I heard Professor McIntyre is a real ass about being on time." The words were hardly out of her mouth before she had taken off across the compound. Caught by surprise, Rebekah broke into a run in an attempt to catch up. 

The air was cold as Rebekah darted around other students. Her fingers felt numb and she couldn't feel her toes within her shoes, but she kept running. She could see the glint of golden hair a few metres ahead as Elise sped along. Once or twice, Elise had looked back to make sure that Rebekah hadn't gotten lost but she hadn't bothered to slow down to let her friend catch up.

"Elise! Are you su-" Before she could get any further, Rebekah found her body clashing with another. The impact threw her off balance and she stumbled backwards onto the concrete, her elbows taking the brunt of the fall. The shock of the collision had temporarily winded her, but she managed to clamber to her feet. The other person, however, had not been so fortunate.

He was sitting on the ground, wincing as he massaged his arm. His books were scattered across the ground in a kaleidoscope of colours, amplified by the early morning sunshine. His eyes were shaded by a pair of sunglasses and lying in the grass a couple of metres away was a black and white stick.

"I-I am s-so sorry!" Rebekah heard a voice like hers stutter. "I didn't see where I was going. Are you okay?"

The stranger made a face. "I'm fine," he replied, his voice low and gravelly. "Could you help me find my walking stick please?"