Coincidences

Act VIII

I waited outside, standing on the dripping pavement. The school bus is off schedule, and I was already late. The humid weather sapped my stamina out of me; it rained furiously last night.

A few minutes later, Zoey followed, probably fully aware that she, too, was late. She closed the door behind her and stood beside me.

I want to greet her, but all that came out was, "Hey...." She didn't hear anything.

After a long silence, the bus stopped to pick us up. Inside, there was only an available seat, so we both ended up sitting next to each other, without saying a thing.

The bus revved forward, tires grinding against the concrete street, on its way to its destination. It fled through the city while emitting a horrendous noise. The driver, now recklessly guiding the wheeled box, fought the battle, that is the uphill slope.

Already slowing to a halt, the students rose, ready to go. We dismounted and went to the places we had to be at. The teachers were meddling with their stuff, impatient, then started classes.

I found myself staring constantly staring at her. Unsure why, I wondered. Maybe it was her adorableness, the relation between us, or simply just my act as a stalker. Why am I talking like I like her or something?

The ball rang recess, and the kids flooded the path once more. I remained seated to prevent being stomped on by the parade of steel legs.

Technology class was next, meaning that the whole class had to move to the computer lab. We had to bring our stuff along, so we could all have a better understanding on software and hardware, said the teacher.

Coast clear. I began to head to the lab, till I saw a technology textbook on top of Zoey's desk. Having to know common courtesy, I assumed she forgot it, and I bent over to pick it up and decided to deliver it to her.

After a long descent, I made it to class and handed the book to her. I said, "You left this."

She, realizing the fact, got the book and said, "Thanks. I forgot. She rested it on the keyboard.

I powered the desktop and waited for it to load. The speakers sang the Windows tune. After signing in as a guest, I clicked on Chrome. I ended up typing the YouTube page and watched a few fail vids. A group of boys from my class copied me and laughed at the hilarious mistakes humankind can make.

Our break ended, and the next instructor started quickly. I couldn't keep up to what he said, thus almost snoozing during the lesson. I became lightheaded because of the videos. I immediately took off after an hour of charts and diagrams and tried to get some fresh air.

I came back home with a light headache. I flopped onto the sofa, closing my eyes and taking it easy with myself.

A jingle of keys can be heard from outside. Dad stepped inside and ordered, "I have something to do. Can you take the groceries from the car?" He threw the keys at me, and I caught it in my hands.

I wasn't feeling well, but I still did so. I put on my shoes and headed outside. The car, somehow, was parked in the street between the houses. I open the back trunk to discover a mountain load of plastic bags. I took one in each hand, and they were as heavy as a whale. After a generous amount of trips back and forth, I carried the last and heaviest bag: the bag that contained a giant watermelon.

I was seeing stars already, and I was about to make a run to my room, until I remembered to lock the car. I scurried my way there and saw Zoey, with something in her hands, headed towards me.

That's when it occurred.

The Hudson residence didn't have a garage, so they parked the car on the same street as ours was, too. This blocked all points of view, if you have to cross the road. A car was speeding through the street, and, as you might recall, the road was a slope, so it's hard to break in time.

She was crossing the road, and the car didn't stop at all.

I was motionless, at first, only seeing a blur, until I found myself already wrapping my arms around her and shielding her from the moving vehicle.

A horn blew, a light blared, and I don't know what else happened.