The Thyme Travelers

Chapter Seven: Well, Just Read the Chapter and Find Out Why I Couldn't Think of a Title

School was the last place I wanted to be on Monday. The problem was, I knew my mom was never going to let me skip school for my sister. She didn't want me around that drama or whatever she had said. I was waiting against the side of the school like I normally do before class, just thinking.

"Can I sign?" said a familiar voice coming from behind a tree. The figure came towards me and I looked up to see Zach. He held a black sharpie in his left hand as he made a small smile.

"Oh. Yeah, um, sure," I muttered. He came and stood by me and gently took my broken arm in his right hand as he signed with his left. This was going to be the only signature on my cast, I was sure of it. I looked up at him as he signed, his head bent down at my arm.

"There," Zach said, putting away his sharpie. I examined my cast and it said, "Get well soon. Zach." For some reason suddenly I felt really warm, even though the temperature was 37 degrees with wind chill. "And your sister?" he asked.

"She's still... you know," I said.

"Oh." Zach bent his head, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Um, anyways, I got my aunt to bring the supplies from the car for the project. They're at my house. If you want Friday we can meet up again. I can bring the supplies over to your house." Zach shifted his feet.

"Actually I moved the machine to Parkdale elementary, you know, the abandoned school that our ancestors went to before they closed it." I chuckled to myself. I don't giggle.

"I can meet you there on Friday then," I said.

"There are separate classrooms adjoined with the main building. I put the machine in classroom 3A, the abandoned band room," said Zach. "Just so it's less crowded."

Suddenly I became more alert... I do that when someone I dislike is near me. I glanced up and there was-you guessed it-Jackson. And of course, he approached us. I noticed Zach began to shield up... metaphorically, no duh.

"I saw you guys making out. Ewwwwwww," sneered Jackson.

"BS!" I suddenly yelled. I felt Zach put a hand on my shoulder. He was the one who had punched Loom! And I felt a wave of warmth. Ugh.

"Ooh, who signed your cast? Your boyfriend?" continued Jackson.

"You know what? Go to he-

"Make me!" interrupted the twerp. He grabbed my broken arm to examine the signature and without thinking, I hit him in the chest with the rock solid cast. He fell back to the ground and stared at me like, "Holy...crap this chick has some fight!" Frankly I felt bad for hitting him. I'm not a violent person, but hey, don't mess with me.

"Don't you dare hit me again, loser," he said as he stood up, balling his fists. Zach stepped in front of me, looking like a giant compared to the three-foot-two jerk. No, he wasn't really that short, but it seemed like it.

"Leave. Her. Alone. She and her sister were in a crash, in case you didn't know," defended Zach, in a tone so cold it had icicles coming from it. "You want to fight her? You have to go through me first. And we all know how well that ended last time." Zach stood there, giving Loom a death glare that the devil himself would have been jealous. Jackson must've crapped his pants there because he ran away into the safety of the school, as we stood there motionless. Then Zach came back and stood against the wall, both of us silent. I rubbed my cast, sort of feeling the hit on my arm, and I looked at the lone signature. Zach's lone signature. And there was that warm feeling again. It was weird. Those are the warm and fuzzy emotions that are the ones that I thought I was above. No, I AM above those emotions.