After the rain

The sky was clear

  The first few weeks of school came and flew past in the blink of an eye. The morning trees remained rooted in the soil just as I remained rooted in my social standing. I could hear the usual chirping of birds echoing in my ears and it seemed to mimic the never ceasing voices in my head.

  The sun shone brightly over the campus, it signaled the beginning of a new day. 

  Teachers have often told us that a new day means new opportunities.

  I wish that were the case.

  The clouds seemed to drift further and further away from the campus. As days prolonged they seemed to disappear, leaving only the sun and its harsh rays. It warmed our earth. But was such warning really necessary in an era of global warming? 

  The sky was a shade of clear blue. It sparkled like the sea. It was the overarching dome that covered the buildings in the distance. It was an untouchable entity, you could not understand it. If you touched the sky you'd feel nothing, if you looked at it through a microscope you would see  air molecules floating about. Mostly nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor. Nitrogen was rather useless, but plentiful. Oxygen was the giver of life. 

  If all you saw in the sky was air and water droplets, then was the sky not a mixture of air and water? They mixed but never combined.

  Just as no man can touch the sky. Because all men have limits.

  As do I.

  The usual ritual of assembly was over. I marched to the classroom in a tie and neatly tucked in shirt. The teacher greeted us and the lesson began.

  Around me, the air was full of nitrogen, making up 78% of air. Oxygen contributed to 21% and carbon dioxide 0.039%. There were 20 other pupils in class, just like molecules in a solid, they seemed to vibrate about their fixed positions  but with differing levels of kinetic energy each. Some seemed inactive except for their snoring, others were shooting questions and answers at the Teacher.

  The class was an alloy. The teacher was the carbon atom in the steel. I was the impurity in the alloy. The extra Neon atom that seemed to wander around the solid steel like a lost puppy with no where to go.

  Halfway through her lesson on isotopes, someone knocked on the door.

  'Come in,' the Teacher said.

  A petite girl walked in. Her hair was an unusual shade of dark brown. The light seemed to dance on it, dying it in streaks of yellow- brown where it walked. Her fringe barely touched her eyebrows, it appeared to form a sort of veil that could partially protect her. Her hair was fairly neat, with no loose strands sticking out of her pony tail. There was light dancing in her brown eyes. It gave her soft eyes depth, and beauty. 

  There was something about her that drew me in. I wondered if it was her radiant smile or her soft demeanor. Or perhaps it was her aura, that aura of kindness that seemed to radiate from her.

  I think it was primarily because of the past. It has yet to be severed on my side.

  I looked around the class, I could guess what the other males were thinking. I don't think it's worth mentioning in this story. It could put off some of you. It was something even I was guilty of at times, but of course not as much as my peers.

  She greeted the Teacher with a polite smile. Then she turned to the class.

  'Good morning everyone, I'm Skye, and I just transferred here this year because I had some freak accident and my parents decided it was better for me to transfer to this school,' she spoke with such clarity, and it impressed everyone.

  The Teacher motioned Skye to sit down. She walked down the rows of desks, turning heads as she glides through, then settled down on he empty desk next to Jenni. 

  'She's quite pretty, and she has the kind of personality most guys like,' Daniel whispered to me.

  'What do you mean? She's just another person,' I replied.

  'Yeah well, you're really unique. Then again, you seem to see her differently from all other girls,' Daniel muttered with a slight smirk on his face.

  Impossible.

  I grinned at Daniel, only to be shot a glare by our Teacher.

  I resumed my usual daydream.

  I looked outside the window, the sky was clear, so clear. There wasn't even a single cloud in the sky. It was completely transparent, yet it was blue. The leaves rustled as the wind blew past. I could not hear it, but I could see it. Did I really know it?

  The oxygen molecule sat next to me. He was the only oxygen molecule in our classroom. Or was he?

  Ruffled black hair, dark brown eyes.

  Top in physics, 4th in chemistry, 5th in mathematics. Total score was 45 points. Daniel was an exemplar, the best science student this institution could produce. 

  He was popular, for both his grades and looks, yet somehow we became friends.

  Lessons seemed to fly by while I gazed into the sky. Just as the birds slowly left the campus as mid afternoon came. The sky had not changed. It was a complex mystery of dark and light blue, sometimes turning red, grey and black. Regardless of its shade, it was always beautiful and untouchable. It was desirable, yet no one could understand why they loved the sky.

  I loved the sky, but I never knew why.

  Everyone seemed to love Skye. She was an instant hit. On her first day, she was surrounded by an entourage. 

  It was something I could never do. The sky is the limit, and we have surpassed it.

  Yet I could never see past the sky. I could never see the whole Milky Way.

  Neither could I see an amoeba, because it was too small.

  Daniel came and set next to me. We were the only ones who stayed in class. He gave me a suggestive smile and pointed to Skye's seat.

  'Infatuation, Len,' he said.

  'No, I love myself, and myself only,' I responded.

  'What about me!'

  'Yes and you too, as a friend,' I sighed.

  There were only two birds flying in my sky. Both were high fliers, but in different areas. And two birds were all that was needed. It was all I ever wanted.

  The sky darkened, a storm was coming. Some birds would seek refuge in my sky. 

  Two birds would come, in such unexpected ways. And they would brighten up my sky.