Incongruous'

Chapter 8

-Alaina-

I hear a faint vibrational buzz from my phone at the other end of my bay window. I reach forward and pick it up looking at the screen to see a new text from an unknown number.

heeeey, it's belle :)

I slide it open and add Belle to my contacts. I reply and put my phone down thinking about everything once again.

Belle showed up after my history at the end of the day. It seemed like she only came because of me, but that doesn't make any sense. She doesn't know me. Unless...she felt it too? Maybe I wasn't the only one who felt time reverse, maybe she did too.

We sort of just chatted for a while, I gave her my number. I did feel a little weird considering I was feeling weird all day thanks to that time change thing. But I had to act normal, she was being normal.

I push my thoughts about that crazy event to the back of my head and try to stop putting all my attention on it. It's been driving me crazy since it happened, always the top thing on my mind.

I stare over at my candle sitting on my dresser. It looked the same as it did before I lit it earlier. My left eye flinches as I can't seem to let this time reverse thing go. It looked the same because I never lit it. That didn't happen.

Groaning, I flip to the next page of my book. The words are just tiny letters printed in black ink taking up the pages. All I see is blurr. I hate this dumb book. I can't do this right now, I just can't.

I look at all the other homework I have scattered across the floor. Then I smile, I only have Spanish left.

I pull out my Spanish worksheets and get down to it. It's not that hard for me, I really love Spanish and I know it pretty well.

I finish in no time and grab my phone hopping back on my bed. Belle and I text back and forth for a while until I realize the time and a huge knot forms in my stomach.

Then just as before, the lights flicker out. It's the blackout. The storm was growling like crazy but I had no intention of watching it right now.

*

"Wait up, Laina!" I heard the voice of my best friend Siena call. I slowed my pace as other kids rushed past and turned around smiling. Jeremy was beside Siena and they strolled towards me.

"Hey guys" I greeted them as they reached me. They said hi and Jeremy walked us to Home Ec.

"Oh my god, look at Mr. Chanter's shirt!" Siena whispered to me in a disgusted tone as we sat down. I looked up to see him at his desk sorting through papers. His shirt was a normal work shirt, it was a baby blue men's blouse with a black and grey striped tie. For some reason Mr Chanter has always felt the need to dress fancy for school. He was nice though, oddly laid back. He doesn't care if you slack, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to complete an assignment, if it's done, he's happy. Not the best teacher come to think of it...

"What about it?" I look back at her confused.

"The coffee stain. On the right end of his chest." She insisted pointing with hey eyes

I looked back at him to see a little bit of a dark colored stain exactly where she said it was.

"So what?"

"So! He is such a clutz. Like jeez Mr. C, if your going to drink a crazy amount of coffee every day, you need to learn how to hold the damn mug properly." She spat.

I rolled my eyes, Siena can be very, very judgmental at times. And even that is an understatement.

"Okay class, please pull out last class's homework. We will be marking first thing today, then I have a short film I want to share with you." Mr. Chanter asked us and the class immediately over came with the sound of rustling paper as everyone searched through their notebooks for our latest assignment.

"Ugh, I don't want to watch another one of those stupid videos he shows us. I bet he only shows us them so he doesn't have to teach. I mean all he does during them is sit at his desk and go on his laptop. Who knows what he is doing on there, he could be watching porn for all we know!" Siena whispered-yelled to me.

"Siena, come on! You really think he'd be on porn during school hours? Or even at all? Look at him!" I argued.

We both turned our heads to face him. He has a long neck and hunched shoulders. He seems to be about mid 40's or so. He has clear, dull glasses and what I like to call a bustache. It's a beard that is also connected to a mustache. It was a little more than stubble, but not much. Then I noticed the shiny, golden ring on his finger. I already knew it was there, but it was even more to prove my point.

"Siena! He's married! Why would he do that?"

"Look, all I'm saying is; that just because he's married, it doesn't mean the donut co-operates with the banana."

We both burst out laughing.

"Girls." Mr. C warned us and we tried to hold in our laughter.

Kids were staring at us from around the classroom and I noticed Eliza from across the room.

In Home Ec there are 4 large tables in the room each containing 6 chairs around them. Eliza sat at the end of the line of chairs, further away from the others. She wasn't looking at us either.

I wonder if she noticed me, maybe she might remember...Excitement and curiosity washed over me. I felt a sudden urge to get up and talk to her. But I can't. That would be weird. Right?

Right. My mind answered automatically. You need to wait for her to come to you. See if she remembers. It concluded. What am I doing.

"Shut up!" I mentally scolded myself.

"Alaina!" Mr. Chanter said surprised. Everybody's head whipped towards me. Oh shit, did I just say that out loud?

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled.

"Thank you." he nodded and went back to his laptop as the others turned their attention back to the wall that the projecter played it's clip was.