And Then We Danced

Chance Collisions

The moment my mom put her foot on the gas pedal, I thought my life was going to come to a close.

"Oh my god oh my god, slow down!", I yelled, gripping my seatbelt as hard as I possibly could.

My mom let off the gas pedal a little bit, but we didn't slow down as much as I hoped we would.

My mom usually didn't drive this recklessly unless it was an emergency, like going to the hospital or something along those lines, so it was safe to say that I wasn't very used to going this fast in a car. Sure, I'd been on a few roller coasters, and I've even flown in a plane a couple of times, but those things were built to be safe. My mom wasn't.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax a little. As soon as I exhaled, my mom crossed into the opposite lane going around a turn, and we came face to face, or bumper to bumper, with a huge truck. My mom instantly turned back into our lane, letting her instincts take over, and I screamed like a little girl for the entire event.

"Mom, please slow down!", I begged as we crossed back over into our lane. "I'd rather arrive at school in one piece than on time!", I said, my voice starting to crack. I'm not sure if fear or puberty was to blame.

My mom slowly eased off the gas pedal, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Sorry, I didn't want you to be late. But I just decided that being late is a very small problem compared to serious injury or death. We're almost there anyway", she said, taking a shaky breath.

I sighed with relief and very hesitantly removed my hands from the seatbelt. My stone cold grip had turned my knuckles white, and I flexed my fingers to try to get my blood to start flowing again.

"Thank you", I muttered, resting my hands in my lap. "I would've been fine with being a little late, yah know", I added.

She smiled. "Its your reputation, I guess", she said, still a little shaken up. "So are you nervous? About going to school, I mean", she asked, trying ease the built up stress and tension.

I shook my head. "No, not really", I said. And to my amazement, I realized I was telling the truth. I wasn't nervous, or scared, or even slightly overwhelmed about today. If anything, I was anxious to find out what the day had in store for me. I was ready for an adventure, and this was it.

My moms eyes widened. "Really? When I went to school, I had butterflies all day on the first day of school. I can't believe you aren't feeling any of that right now", she said, shaking her head.

I opened my mouth to reply, but she interrupted me with an excited shout.

"Ah! There it is! I knew we were close", she said, pointing at a building in front of us.

My eyes followed where her finger was pointed, and my mouth gaped open. The huge building we were headed to looked more like a modern museum than a school. It was made completely out of bright red bricks and clear glass, and dark blue stone shingles covered the entire roof.

"That's a school?", I asked, still slightly amazed.

"Yup", my mom said. "And thanks to me, you're only ten minutes late", she said, beaming.

She pulled up to the entrance and stopped in front a sidewalk that was bordered by freshly cut green grass. The sidewalk led to a brick staircase, and at the top of the stair case there were two sets of double glass doors very similar to the ones in my room.

I opened the passenger door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, slinging my empty backpack over my shoulder.

"I'll be back to pick you up at around three thirty. Good luck, I love you", she said, leaning over and shutting the door behind me.

I waved goodbye as she sped off. "Love you, too", I said, even though I knew she couldn't her me.

I quickly turned around and ran down the sidewalk and up the stairs, taking them three at a time. When I reached the glass doors, I tried to slide them open before quickly realizing that I had to pull them open instead.

'That'll take some getting used to', I thought to myself as I ran inside, the doors automatically closing behind me.

I ran down the empty hallway, trying to keep my footsteps as quiet possible.

I was supposed to check in at front office since I was new here, but there was one small problem. I had no idea where I was going.

I stopped running and took a deep breath. I assumed the front office was somewhere near the front of the school, but I didn't see it when I ran in here. It could be somewhere in the center of the school, but I didn't even know where the center was. In other words, I was lost.

I sighed and slumped my shoulders, thinking of what I should do. If I kept running down these empty halls, I might eventually find the front office, but that could take to long. Maybe I could ask someone where it is...

Before I could finish my next thought, something, or should I say someone, collided into me, sending us both hurtling to the floor. I landed on my back, and I felt the warmth of another body land on top of mine.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! Are you ok?", asked a female voice.

I looked up at my attacker and my eyes met a pair of warm and welcoming hazel ones.

"Yah, I'm ok", I said, trying not grimace. "Are you ok?", I asked.

She smiled, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I kind of tackled you, I should have been looking where I was going", she said apologetically.

"And I probably shouldn't have been standing in the middle of an empty hallway", I said, smiling.

She laughed, and I couldn't help but join in. It was strange to have someone land on top of you one second, and then laugh with you next, but at the same time it felt normal, almost comfortable.

Our laughter slowly subsided, and I noticed that was still sprawled out on top of me. Her eyes widened as she realized the same thing, and she quickly rolled off of me.

She stood up and offered me her hand, which I gladly accepted.

When I was finally on my feet, I dusted myself off. "Thanks", I said, looking over at her. She had light brown hair that fell over her shoulders, and her soft hazel eyes sparkled.

"Consider us even", she said, flashing me another smile. "Why were you standing in the hallway?", she asked.

"Um, I was looking for the front office, and I couldn't find it", I said, slightly embarrassed. "I was standing there trying to figure out what to do next when you ran into me", I said. "Why were you running through the hallways?", I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She brushed her hair out of her face. "Actually, I was looking for the front office, too. I was a little late today, so I was trying to find it as fast as possible, but to no prevail", she said with a sigh.

"Well", I said, walking over to door closest to us, "let's ask somebody where it is", I suggested.

She quickly followed behind me. "But what if we interrupt their class?", she loudly whispered.

I shrugged. "Then we'll make a small scene, I guess", I said, stopping in front of the door.

I knocked three times, and she stepped next to me.

After a few seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing a man that couldn't be much older than thirty.

I opened my mouth to ask him where the front office was, but he spoke first.

"Peyton Morris, Maddie Emerson, you're late".

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well, finally finished chapter 4! I know it took awhile, and im sorry, but half way through this chapter my iPod died and it didn't save anything I had written, so i pretty much had to re-write it all. But anyways, I was wondering if you guys and gals wanted to try something? after each chapter, ill read all the comments and pick one that best relates to my personality, and ill dedicate the next chapter to that person. just an idea, post your feedback if you think its a good idea. um, maybe 5 votes for the next chapter?;) Thank you for reading!!:)

~FreeFallingAgain