Genius

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

A bird and a stained window pane

    I arrived at school early. Wednesday is early day after all. But there is barely anyone on campus when I arrive, doors are locked and the parking lot is empty. Perhaps I misinterpreted the phrase? Nope, I just went a little overboard and came too early, school starts at 7:20 and its only 5:15.

    "Gwen, I'm bored."

    "Why are you calling me, go back to sleep." Gwen's staticy voice shouts through the receiver.

    "You're being too loud, my phone is making weird noises because of you." A huge wave of interference that I assume to be the phone's rendition of a dramatic sigh precedes Gwen's response,

"What do you want? If you're not being murdered or close to it then I will strangle you, also I feel like I should make sure that you know to call 9-1-1 in emergencies. Not me."

"You just created a paradox. If I am not currently being almost-murdered then I will be close to being murdered by you which means you can't murder me because I called and then I was almost murdered but then-" My phone beeps aggressively (loudly and in quick succession) and the background static from the call goes silent.

"Gwen? Gwen, hello?" I look at the screen of my phone, it's gone dark.

"Ah, the call ended." So I call again but it doesn't go through. Fifteen failed attempts later a profanity riddled message from Gwen appears: "Stop [fudge popsicle]-ing calling my you god[darn] [witch]! I need my [fudge popsicle]-ing beauty sleep or I'll look like [shenanigans] in the morning!" My fingers are quick to text back, "But it's early day, you have to be at school early. Why am I the only one following the rules?" Five minutes later her reply comes in the form of an audio file. An audio file of her screaming for five minutes before a grumpy man's voice in the background yells something about excalibur and beheading people who are too loud in the morning. I send her one last message "Okay have fun!" and then return my focus to the school. A light in the front office has flickered on and a few more cars have appeared in the parking lot. Finally.

I don't discover anything interesting on the campus, despite my exploration, but I do finally memorize its layout, it's surprisingly simple for a building with so many hallways. The sun is threatening to rise by the time I'm done looking around. Only a few students are milling around campus and all the teachers are locked away in their classrooms. So much for early day.

A dull thump startles me out of my lament (why don't public school students follow the strict rules set in place to make their learning experience as effective as possible?) and I spin in a circle, analyzing my surroundings (and making my pink polka-dot dress swirl in the process, because twirling in dresses is strangely satisfying) before noticing a feathered lump on the ground near some glass doors. I kneel next to it and pick it up. A bluejay, one of its wings is bent, slowly becoming stained purple. I glance at the window, a smudge was left by the bird's impact, is that all it will ever amount to? A smudge on the glass and feathers stained with it's own blood? I stand up, still cradling the bird in my hands, and looking through the glass. What was it he thought he would accomplish? Why did he want to get inside of the school so badly, was it worth it? No, it's not that he wanted to go inside. He was just sick of being stuck on the outside and wanted to see what it was like to look out instead of in.

I look down at is limp form, he's still warm, maybe he can be saved. An ironic thought crosses my mind as I retreat from the school grounds: it looks like even I will be late to early day. And I ignore the fact that the sound of footsteps retreating aren't only mine.

I end up at the library, passing by the librarian at the front desk, who gives me a curious look since school has started. They just opened so nobody is in the bathroom when I create a nest out of paper towels in the sink and lay the bird in it.