Watch The Skyline [Hiatus]

Chapter Four - Fourth Period : Pre-Calculus [Rewritten]

Mackensie's school day started off as normal. She sat in homeroom, skimming through her textbooks. All around her classmates were chatting and going on about whatever was of interest at the time. Thirty minutes of idle chatter was met with the ringing of the first bell, to which Mackensie promptly made her way to first period: AP English Literature. Ah, they were reading yet another Shakespearean play.

She had nothing against Shakespeare but a part of her wished that the class would focus on other writers as well. After an hour and thirty minutes of that she was on her way to her second period, AP European History, where she spent the majority of her time passing notes to her friend Alyssa. Being a history geek had its perks, as she already knew everything the teacher was covering.

And then came the dreaded third period Health class. She tried to pay attention to her teacher's bellowing voice as he went on and on about different psychiatric disorders. Depression, Schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder... Mackensie ended up falling asleep on her desk, but thankfully her teacher was too distracted to even notice, despite the fact that she sat in the second row to the front. Or maybe he just ignored her. Either way she was glad she didn't get in trouble, she would have felt terrible if she got assigned detention for simply sleeping.

She was now currently sitting in her fourth period class, Pre-Calculus, blindly copying down everything Mr. Davis was writing on the board up front. Though she was happy she was able to sleep her Health class away, she desperately wished she could get out of this one as well. Math was definitely not of interest to her, but she had to force herself to pay attention because she would easily get behind otherwise. Mackensie and her friend of three years, Tanya, were sitting at adjacent desks in the very back corner of the room. Strategically picked out at the beginning of the semester to guarantee safe exchanges of notes and whispers without getting caught.

"So I went and got the watch yesterday," Mackensie spoke up quietly after a while, trying to keep a hushed tone so that Mr. Davis wouldn't hear anything. Tanya looked up from her notes with interest.

"Oooh," she said, her mouth forming a small circle.

Mackensie smiled before bringing the watch out of her pocket to show her. Tanya reached out and took it, examining it in her hands. "Wow," she said. "It's really pretty."

She turned it over and back again, bringing it closer to her face to examine the decor before pressing down on the top to open the huntercase. Not surprisingly, her eyes were immediately drawn to the photograph.

"That came with it," Mackensie whispered. "Isn't it cool? I took it out last night and on the back there's writing."

"Cool," Tanya said, nodding. "What did it say?"

"It was their names. Arthur and Helen Pierce, and the date is 1917!"

Smiling, Tanya closed the watch and handed it back to her friend. "You're such a dork," she said, referring to Mackensie's obvious excitement.

"Shut up, I think it's awesome. Don't you wonder what they are? A couple? Siblings?"

"So romantic."

Mackensie sighed, "You don't understand how amazing this is." She slipped the watch back into her pocket, slightly pouting as she picked up her pen again. Tanya was never one for history, being the artistic type and who preferred drawing over anything else. She and Mackensie had vastly different interests as well, despite being good friends.

Even though they loved different things, Mackensie would be just as enthusiastic about Tanya's interests as she was. Tanya, on the other hand, would simply shake her head at Mackensie's enthusiasm and give a small laugh before moving onto something else. Sometimes it would become annoying to Mackensie, since she felt that it wasn't fair she was getting "blown off," but she just ignored it after a while, telling herself that it wasn't worth it. After all, Tanya was a good friend otherwise.

The two spent the rest of the period whispering about random, teenager things like boys and the latest 17 Magazine. Although that was mainly Tanya, who was also a freak for fashion. Mackensie listened to her friend, smiling and quietly laughing, as she expressed her love for the latest fashion trends, though Mackensie honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

In her mind she was thinking about the photograph and fantasized about what type of relationship the couple in the photograph had. They probably were lovers, she concluded, wanting to pick the most romantic option simply because it made her heart swoon with the thought of a war romance. This was more interesting than listening to the new fashion trends. Mackensie wasn't one for fashion and style, unlike her friend. Tanya often scolded Mackensie for mix-matching colours on her outfits or for simply not looking chic enough. She bought and wore clothes that were comfortable and that she personally liked, not because it was the current trend. Besides, half the things that were considered 'good deals' in the magasines Tanya read were way out of Mackensie's price range. And after having bought the pocket watch, she had little to no money left at all.

Eventually the bell finally rang and fourth period was over. The two friends grabbed their things and made their way towards the door to exit into the hallway. It was lunch time.