Unlucky

Four | Staring

I woke up to the familiar smell of Felicia's blankets and started to smile, before remembering what happened. The smile dropped from my face in an instant, and tears brimmed in my eyes. Drying them, I sat up and trudged out of bed, walking into the living room to turn on the TV.

"Local resident, Felicia Hardy, died as the result of a head on collision, her sister Gwendoline Hardy only living relative-" I turned off the TV, glaring at the spot where my face had been, before going back to my room to get dressed. I wore all black, as custom when in mourning, (though it wasn't much different from my normal outfit) wearing one of Felicia's plain black oversized hoodies. I put on my headphones, and let my Spotify playlist play. Everybody knows by Sigrid started playing, as I grabbed my stuff. I opened the door to see a small package there, along with the news. I picked up both items, and set them on the kitchen counter, neglecting the package for now.

"Car crash claims three, Felicia Hardy, Vanessa Fisk, and her son Richard." I read aloud. I'd don't bother to pause my music and House of Memories by Panic! At The Disco played as I walked out the door locking it behind me. I walked down the hall to the stairs, pulling my hood over my earphones and head before shoving the stairwell door open. I started down the stairs, staring ahead, trying to steel myself, everyone would either want to offer their pity, or just stare and whisper. Centuries by Fall Out Boy started paying when I was halfway down the stairs from the train station. Once I crossed the football field, went up a mid-sized flight of stairs and walked inside, I could feel everyone's eyes on me, as though I might explode into tears.

To them, I was a walking bomb, ready to blow at any moment. Everyone stared, falling silent when I passed. I made it all the way down to my locker (1182) before whispered conversations started up again.

'Stare and whisper it is...' I thought grimly, opening my locker. I put my stuff away and walked to my first period class, Physics. When the bell rang I took my usual seat as our teacher cleared her throat. I could hear some of what people were whispering, and tidbits of conversation about my father's trial reached my ears, confirming my earlier suspicions.

"Morning class, today we're going to be continuing our work on calculating linear acceleration" I let her drone on, not paying attention. I had already finished my homework and one extra credit project, which would leave me at either an A or an A+. I had taken up sketching (something MJ had recommended) and since I had nothing to do I pulled out my black sketchbook, absentmindedly doodling a picture of Ms Warren.

As the day went on my classes blended into each other, the same odd stares and whispers every single class, teachers glancing at me every so often as if waiting for me to break down.

"Alright, today we will be reviewing an experiment on Cause and Effect done by Dr Otto Octavius." after the documentary was done, a good half hour later, our teacher began talking about Cause and Effect.

"Another example of this is a car crash, if two cars are driving down a road and they hit head on, what are the differences between this collision and others such as a t-bone..." I stared ahead blankly, hearing what was being said but not registering the meaning.

"A head-on collision would have a larger chance of being fatal." someone spoke up, and few people began to whisper.

My head was starting to hurt, as my mind made the connection. I put a hand to my temples and managed them, trying to make my sudden headache go away. It was as if my brain had begun the process of scarring the memories over, and now that work was being undone in seconds, causing a resoundingly painful headache.

"Correct, Mr Adams, much like the accident that happened last night-, am I boring you? Mr Parker, Miss Hardy?" Ms Warren asked, and I stood, effectively toppling my desk, and a few people gasped. I picked up my bag which I hadn't bothered to unpack, and stood, mumbling some half-assed excuse about needing to use the restroom.