November 1st

Chapter Three

I walk down the deserted halls, my school bag snugly over my shoulders. Knowing that there's two minutes left of school, my teacher for AP History, Mr. Marvin, allowed me to take my school bag with me. Tightening my grip on the strap on my shoulder, I can't help but speed-walk faster than before when I see the door to the bathroom. I had purposely chosen to head towards the girl's bathroom on the second floor. I don't think I could've beared to be in the room while Mr. Marvin was lecturing us yet again about the law of Time.

Especially with all of the illegally repeating kids at my school in that class, including Kristen.

In the girl's bathroom on the first floor, I splash some cold water on my face. Science... was utter torture. I stare at myself in the mirror. Sighing, I brush some of my chestnut brown hair away from my face, trying to separate the water running down my face in droplets from my strands of hair. I did not need to learn about the law of Time once again. "Even still, they decide to teach it at least once a year," I hiss under my breath.

My hands on the sides of the bathroom sink, I groan and let my head hang down, my hair falling to cover my head like a curtain. "If only it could go away," I whisper to myself. Knowing with a pit of dread, that it'll never go away, I back away from the sink helplessly.

When I see my reflection, I can't help but scoff as I ask myself, Do I always look that miserable when I'm by myself..? Shaking my head, I plaster the fakest smile I've ever seen as I look down at my school bag, when slides down the wall I had placed it against. Just like how I feel, I think to myself with a bitter tone when it crumples to the ground.

But when I actually begin to sling my school bag over my shoulder, the bathroom door slams open. When Kristen pokes her head into the bathroom, I shriek and jump back, accidentally dropping my school bag onto the tiled floor once more. My heart beats so fast that I'm expecting it to jump out of my chest. Letting out a sharp exhale, I bend down to pick up my bag again.

"Sorry!" Kristen apologizes, holding the door open for me. "You didn't come back to class, so-" Suddenly, the final bell rings loudly throughout the hallways, signalling the end of school for yet another day. In the hallway that Kristen and I are walking down, all the classrooms' door slam open simultaneously, kids filing out too orderly to be normal.

Because of the sudden increase of background noise, I find myself being forced to speak louder to be heard by Kristen. "Really- it's fine!" I assure the blonde loudly, even though I was surely lying. The only good thing was that Kristen didn't see my miserable self lamenting the law of Time. "Sorry that I took so long!" Yes, because people usually take a few seconds to go to the bathroom, I think sarcastically, mentally facepalming myself.

Waving all of my friends goodbye, I take a large breath of fresh air before making my way back to my house... great. Even then, I'm chatting with passing students and neighbors as I'm nearing my house. Before I know it, about half an hour has passed after school has ended and I just get to the front of my driveway.

Taking a deep breath, I begrudgingly take one step, and then another, until I reach the front door. I try to move as slowly as I can to reach my pair of keys to the house. Unlike most of my friends, Sidonia and I had used our time at lunch to finish up any remaining homework that wasn't completed entirely in class, which wasn't much, to be quite frank.

Suppressing a groan when my fingers close around some metal in my pocket, I take my keys out, my hand holding the correct key by some sheer, and unwanted, coincidence. Turning the key, I wince when I can hear the locks inside the door clicking, unlocking the door for me to enter.

When I enter, I gently close the door behind me, hearing the door softly click into place again. I let my school bag drop to the ground before taking my book out again. Closing my school bag, I bring it over to the dining table and set it down before sitting down myself.