The Thyme Travelers

Chapter Three: Some People are Just Plain Stupid

Tuesday. It felt like this week was going to go by so slow. I was waiting by the side of the school for the bell to ring that signifies everyone can go inside and get ready for first hour. It was a brisk fall morning and the trees were these beautiful shades of red and orange and yellow. Some leaves had fallen, but not all. I wasn't doing anything, just leaning against the brick wall, thinking, as usual. Not about anything in particular, just thoughts. I liked my blue hair; with it people thought I wasn't a thinker and therefore I wasn't a nerd. Or a dork. I was just me. That would leave geek, which I guess you could say I was, since I'm in the marching band. I'm second chair clarinet, which is good because overachiever first chair is something I'm not. Band was my fifth hour, which was after lunch. We always march on full stomachs, which is also good.

In the midst of my thoughts I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I don't know why; they never did that. I looked up and I saw a dark figure, wearing all black...with a white t-shirt underneath his black jacket. The figure looked up and these bright green eyes met mine. I caught my breath.

"Zach," I said. I didn't have a loud voice, me being the quiet thinker that I am, but Zachariah Stone heard me, picked up his pace and walked towards me. I stayed leaning against the building watching him. He stopped about three feet away from me, his head blocking the sun that was getting in my eyes. He stayed silent, but his eyes were alert. "I did research yesterday after school," I began. I thought I saw his eyes brighten even more. "It was on bats." He stayed silent. "When they use echolocation, some sounds that come back to them are too fast for their minds to process. In order for them to understand, they stretch out the wavelengths of the sound, therefore slowing down time. Could this help us with the project?" I asked. We stood there for a minute in silence, processing the information.

"Maybe," Zach said.

"Do you know what we should invent? I know we still have a long time until the project is due, but it's a good idea to get a head start." Zach took a deep breath.

"Cassandra," he began. He says my name so nicely, I thought. "I want you to remember that we always have to keep open minds. If we don't, we'll never come up with an idea." This kind of scared me. What were we going to build, a teleportation machine?

"You sound as if you already have an idea," I said suspiciously.

"I-

RRRIIIIIIIINGGGGG!!!!!!! The shrill bell rang inside the school. I grabbed my backpack from the ground and started towards the door looking for Zach, but he took off inside the school. Wow. Fast walker. I ran inside looking for him, but it's like he completely disappeared. I gave up and went to my locker, but Zach wasn't there either. I got my science stuff and walked to my class.

"Cassandra," Mr. Hyde greeted me coldly.

"Good morning," I said quietly, not meeting his gaze. I set my stuff on my desk and sat down, staring at Zachariah's empty spot. Soon he walked through the door and sat down, and I stopped looking. I turned to face my table. They were all staring at me funny, so naturally, I asked, "What?" They all stopped staring and returned to their doodles and books.

* * *

Lunch was... interesting. I sat at my own solitary table and I drank the water I brought, and then took a bite out of the nasty turkey sandwich I made. I quickly threw the rest out and drank more water. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zach walking over and he sat down in front of me. He got out his water bottle and like I saw yesterday, he chugged the whole thing down. I didn't know what his problem was, but I let him be. I wasn't sure why he was sitting with me either, but I didn't care. Company was okay with me, just as long as they weren't annoying.