To My Dearest Enemy

Daydreamer

October 26

Matt stopped in his track as he walked into history. He used to love history class. Matt hated history, but loved the class. He missed screwing around with Hayden and Jill while Hayden cursed at him under his breath while she was trying to do her work. He missed Mr. McLaughlin yelling at Matt and Hayden or Matt and Jill to stop talking.

"Hey, you okay?" Matt turned to see Jill standing beside him. 'Of course not' he thought. Matt shook his head as he walked to his desk and sat down. Jill walked over and sat beside him. Matt was still not used to the empty desk beside him. Hayden never missed a day of school, until she went missing. Every day, Matt would walk into class, thinking Hayden would just show up and her disappearance was just a bad dream. Matt kept looking at her empty seat, something Mr. McLaughlin had adjusted to. Mr. McLaughlin grabbed a stack of papers off his desk as the second bell rang.

"You have fifty five minutes to complete twenty five multiple choice questions, two open ended responses, and an essay. Take your time and you may begin when you get the test." He said as he began to hand out the tests. Matt sighed as he was handed his test. He completely spaced. Jill glanced at him.

"You forgot?" Jill whispered. Hayden always studied with Matt. Matt ignored Jill as he looked at the first question. 'Which Battle was the first to happen after the secession of South Carolina? A. Fort Sumter B. Battle of Vicksburg C. Gettysburg D. Saratoga'

"Okay, get this right and you can go out with the team." Hayden said as she looked up from the textbook. She was sitting on the edge of Matt's bed and Matt was sitting in the chair across from her. The Matt sitting in the chair was grinning as he thought of the answer. His face was free of facial hair, he seemed well rested, and he looked clean and happy. The Matt that was dreaming was standing by the door. This was a memory from sophomore year.

"Hayden..." Dreaming Matt stared at her speechless. Even if it wasn't reality, it was nice to see her.

"You know I'm going out anyways." Happy Matt said.

"Mm, not if you want to fail. What is Avogadro's number?" Hayden replied.

"Six point zero two times ten to the twenty third. Bye!" Matt leapt out of his chair.

"I'll be back tomorrow! We have a history test Friday!" Hayden called after him as he left the room. Hayden always cared for him. Matt snapped back into reality and looked at the clock. He wasted ten minutes, but it was worth seeing Hayden, even if she wasn't really there.

———

"Matt, eat." Stella said as she dropped a lunch tray in front of Matt. He looked at the suspicious plate of mashed potatoes, gravy, and a chicken leg on the tray. She plopped down beside her and placed her own identical tray on the table. Jill sat beside Stella and Alana. Ethan sat down beside Matt and Alana, but left a gap between him and Matt, where Hayden would be sitting.

"So, did you meet Lucille's boyfriend yet?" Alana looked at Jill.

"No. She made another excuse last night." Jill replied. He didn't end up going over to her house Sunday night either.

"That's so hard to believe. Lucille having a boyfriend." Stella said.

"I know." Jill said. Lucille was over protective, had a horrible sense of humor, uptight, and mean.

"Ash has been seeing a guy too." Stella said.

"Now that's not surprising." Ethan scoffed, hinting at how Stella and her sisters all had multiple relationships. All of Stella's were hookups, of course.