Theories of Global Warming

~Arum~

(Her mind is a drastic mess that may be confusing at times, so bear with me.)

Impatiently, I tapped my fingers on my desk. A cold chill ran up my spine as I thought about how long I would have to be in this class. My eyes darted to my Texas Instruments calculator that was neatly placed on my desk, facing myself. Currently, we were just waiting for more people to finish the Math test, but I was already done, so I supposed that doing some calculations of exactly how much time of class we have left wouldn't hurt. I quickly punched, hopefully, accurate numbers into my calculator. In the end, I got 43 minutes and 55.9 seconds. One thing was for sure, I couldn't stand being still. Not for a single moment. I have never been sure why.

Thoughts are weird. Weird like a telescope. Yeah, Telescopes are hecka weird. First off, they only work efficiently during the starry time. Secondly, they are long and annoying. Yeah, Telescopes are weirdos. I wish I had my old one back. I had lost it when I was three years old. My mom said that it ran away. I've never been sure whether I should trust her on that one or not though.

Suddenly, I got the strong urge to brush my teeth. I enjoyed brushing my teeth. It was an odd sensation of bubblegum flavor going around in circles on your mouth bones. Occasionally, I would get the pleasure of it going down my throat, but I was usually really careful of that. Whenever I go over to Lee's house, I have to use minty Crest toothpaste. Apparently, according to him, it's "adult toothpaste" and the stuff I use is "bad for me". Also, apparently, It's unacceptable to swallow it. I always get the kids and adult toothpastes mixed up. Instead of just keeping the crest toothpaste in my mouth, I'll let it go down my throat, just for laughs. Vice versa for the bubblegum toothpaste.

I could slightly feel a weight being put onto my shoulder. A hand? Possibly. I really couldn't tell because of my seemingly numb body. Every sound sounded like a person talking under the water. Muffled and distant. When I was in my zone, it was hard to get me out of it. So difficult, that sometimes, I would have to be taken into the hospital. It was like a form of brain being paralysis. All my focus was on one thing, and then, without even thinking, it would go on to another topic.

My body started to vibrate. Mostly at my torso and my head. This was enough for my brain to focus on it. Everything cleared and above me, I spotted my teacher, Ms. Gregory, with her hands on my shoulders. Her henna eyes were widened, causing the lines on her forehead to mash together, and her lips were pursed.

"Arum, are you okay?" she questioned, her voice stiff and urgent.

"Uh, I don't know," I admitted. I lifted a shaky hand and swooped the platinum mop that I call hair, out of my face so that I could see her clearly, but everything was still slightly foggy.

The teacher beckoned to Daryl, who was seated right next to me. "Lead Arum to the office, please. Remember, keep her body straight and take the short route." Daryl nodded as he stood. This wasn't the first time he had to do this, and he knew the drill without even being told.

Daryl and I have known each other for almost as long as I've known my friends. Which has been my whole life. I don't even talk to him much. Occasionally, when his dad is in jail and when his mom works long shifts, or perhaps when our family would decide to have dinner together, he'd come over for a few hours and we'd play the Nintendo that had been collecting dust in my basement since the last time he had been over. When we do hang out though, I always question why we don't do it more often.

When we made it to the hallway, everything was dead silent. The only thing that could be heard was the muffled instructions of the teachers inside their classrooms. Daryl's arms were around my waist, in attempt of keeping me steady.

His motions were fast, and his breaths were not steady. They sounded I was like he was trying as much as possible to get this done and over with. It's not like I blamed him, for he had to do this task practically every week.

My feet shuffled. I didn't even realize I was falling until Daryl hoisted me back up and murmured the brief usual, "C'mon, Arum."

We finally arrived to the office. The usual beeping sound and of children moaning flooded my ears. One must not forget, the iconic rubbing alcohol smell that made even those who couldn't smell noses burn.

Provence and Lee were crouched down on the waiting chairs, their eyes threatening to close, until they saw me. Provence shot up out of her seat and took me from Daryl's grasp.

"Arum, are you okay?" she questioned, knowing that this was not unusual, but worried nonetheless. Lee didn't move from the blue felted chair. He sat with his head in his hands, his feet kicking at the floor.

I ignored her question and scanned the room. There was no sign of Terry. No surprise there. The only time when that kid would get in trouble is when he cries too much. Teachers try to encourage him and try to cheer him up, but it always would just make snot come out of his nose.

Daryl shuffled out of the room, leaving all of us to stare at the door.