Of June

2- High Speed Collision

I reach the school at 8 o'clock, sharp. My legs are numb, arms and shoulders aching from the heavy backpack. Keeping aside the fact that I accidentally stepped on muddy water near the school gate which stained my pristine new shoes, I'm glad I did not slip on the way.

Making it to the entrance, I rest my palms on my knees and breathe heavily. "Enough excercise for the day," I think to myself.

"Madison!", comes the shout of my best friend, Amelia. I lift my head and wave at her among the sleepy crowd of students, still trying to catch breaths. With the usual books in hands, she jogs towards me like a bunny, her short, auburn hairs catching rays of the morning light. On approaching closer her condition pretty much matches mine just a few seconds ago, except I even hear her whispering "I'm never ever going to run again."

"Glad to see another fellow student who's going to fail P.E."

"Come on, you know I have a better stamina than you." She counters, clutching her backpack strap, still huffing for breath. "Care to join me? We're getting late for class."

"Are you saying you came to me and are going back again just to prove the teaspoon full of stamina you've got?" I laugh. "Besides-"

"Shut up." She rolls her eyes, making me snicker. Typical Amelia.

As we walk together inside the school hallway, she keeps on ranting about everything I missed, including the bullying incident which took place the previous day.

"I feel so bad for that kid! They kicked a soccer ball at his belly saying it was a mistake, but others claimed it was obvious. Thanks to Mackenzie, who immediately rushed to the principal's office for help. They managed to reach the spot on time and those bullies were given detention for two week straight. Good for 'em!" She explains, walking down the hallway.

"Yeah. . ." I respond weakly, pretending I was listening to her. A moment later I sense mild pain spreading through my arm and instantly turn left with a scowl to face a piqued looking Amelia.

"Atleast show some sympathy idiot!" She chides, her features later softening when she meets my gaze. "Wait, is something up?"

"No-"

Before I can go on I'm crashed into by someone, and it makes my head bounce back. I rub my forehead with two fingers and, seeing that it's a boy in a hooded jacket who's now crouched down infront of us, hectically scrambling to pick up his stack of paper now lays scattered on the ground, I bend down to help with his work.

"I- I'm so sorry!" Riley stutters an apology, simultaneously looking up at me and trying to rearrange his belongings before flashing a sheepish, apologetic smile. A blinding beam of light slices through my vision and I find myself squinting my eyes. When his wrist moves to the back of his neck along with the discoid light source, I realise it's nothing but sunlight reflecting off of his watch.

"Oh hi, Madison. Didn't. . .didn't see you there."

"It's fine," I say casually, staring blank.

"A-absolutely not! It was my fault. Now don't say any further, I know it was." He beams back while standing up, adjusting the rim of his glasses with the back of his finger. "Thanks for the help in Chemistry yesterday. I think I almost got all of the answers right, but it was just the last one that-"

"Redox," I interrupt, blinking. "It's a redox reaction, the principle of an electrochemical cell."

His wide, hazel eyes instantly light up behind those circular lenses like a night full of twinkling stars. "You're brilliant. Thank you!"