Accident

Pounding on the alarm clock, Alexandria barely wakes up and gets out of bed with eyes half closed. It was too early for her to rise and shine. But then she remembered, the weekend was over.

"Beatrice, breakfast is served", Beth lets herself in and places a wooden tray on Alexa's bed.

Alexa was up and facing the mirror, she looked at Beth with sleepy eyes and mouthed a 'thank you' to her before she left Alexa's room. Nodding sideways, Beth left the room to tend to Alexa's mother and father.

Mondays were always so exhausting for Alexa. But she was excited to go to school. Especially because today was the day the results would be revealed as to whom got in on the school publication staff.

As soon as she got in her mother's car, she kindly asked their family driver to start the car. When they got out of the massive gates, Alexa saw Stacy walking towards them. She told the driver to stop the vehicle so she could offer her best friend a ride.

Stacy gladly took the offer and climbed on board. Alexa asked why she was so early today, since Stacy always used to be the late comer in class. She would sometimes arrive when the teacher has already started on his or her lecture.

"I stayed up all night", she replied without even looking at Alexa.

"What? Why?", Alexa asked, confused.

They had a fun talk last night and Alexa was sure that nothing was wrong when she hung up. She couldn't even think of one reason why Stacy didn't get some sleep.

"I was thinking about the other day at the mall", Stacy responded, this time looking into Alexa's eyes.

"What about it? I've already explained it to you on the same day it happened", Alexa was hysterical, thinking it was her fault.

"No, Alex. It's not about Kyle", Stacy was quick to reply.

"Then what is it about then?", Alexa asked again.

They were on their way to school. Stacy looked at the road for a moment and then returned her gaze into Alexa's worried expression. She breathed in and out and as she was about to say something, they came to a sudden stop.

The impact sent Alexa and Stacy bumping against the front seats. They hadn't realized what happened until they heard the door shut at the driver's seat. Alexa and Stacy stared at each other before peeking outside.

They both got out of the car and immediately understood the situation. Alexa's family driver accidentally hit an old lady who "appeared in the middle of nowhere" according to him. Stacy was in shock, while Alexa knelt in front of the old woman's unconscious body.

"Alex, her hand is moving", Stacy noticed.

"What are you talking about? Why don't you just call the ambulance, Stace?!", Alexa yelled, worried about the woman's state.

"I am so sorry, madame. I did not see her", the driver said once more.

"What's important is that we save her before it's too late", Alexa answered.

Stacy dialed 911 with shaking hands. She was certain of what she saw, but her best friend wouldn't believe her. As she hung up, Stacy looked at the old lady again. This time, her eyes were wide open and she was staring at her.

Alexa was still kneeling on the ground and so was the driver. People started crowding around them, murmuring and whispering to each other. But nobody seemed to realize what Stacy was seeing. Maybe it was only her who could see it. After a short moment of observation, Stacy was startled to notice the old woman's arm move again.

"Alex...", Stacy called out to her best friend without looking away from the old lady.

Higher and higher the woman's arm rised up from the ground, her index finger pointing to something or someone behind Stacy. She was hesitant at first, but slowly, she still tilted her head to see what the old woman wanted her to look at. As soon as Stacy looked behind her, she read a signage saying, "Stop before things get worse".

Stacy did not understand what it meant, but when she looked back to the old lady, she was already being put on a stretcher and into the ambulance. The police have also arrived the scene and was questioning her best friend's family driver.

"It's getting late, we're both going to be late for school", Alexa was worried.

Alexa never had even one tardy incident in her whole life and it hurt her to risk this one time of getting an imperfect attendance for the school year. They didn't have a choice. Stacy remained silent, analyzing the sign that was shown to her.

When Alexa noticed her best friend being so quiet, she asked what was wrong. Alexa asked if Stacy was still thinking about what happened at the mall, but Stacy nodded sideways furiously. This made Alexa really confused.

"What's happening to you? You're all sweaty. It's not that hot yet", Alexa asked again.

Stacy pointed at where the sign she read earlier was. Alexa immediately looked in that direction but all she read from the signage was "Stop". It was a normal road sign and Alexa didn't get why it made Stacy so stressed out about it.

After what seemed like an eternity, Alexa and Stacy were forced to take a cab so they can get to school. The driver apologized profusely to Alexa, worried that he might lose his job. Alexa assured him that it was okay, and then they left for school.

In the cab, Stacy was still very silent. Alexa liked the peace of mind it gave her, but it still bothered her because she was not used to Stacy being like this. Her best friend was never the problematic type. As they approached the vicinity of their High School, Stacy seemed to have come back to her senses and tried to act normal, as if she didn't just malfunction like a robot for the last fifteen minutes.

They arrived at 8:09 in the morning and they were sure that the bell already rang. Nobody was outside anymore. Even the hallways were empty. But before they could proceed to their classroom, Alexa stopped in front of the bulletin board.

"Oh my gosh! Stacy, I got in!", Alexa exclaimed.

"Wow, congratula—", Stacy wasn't able to finish what she was saying because she caught a glimpse of a familiar name.

"What's the matter?", Alexa asked, looking confused, again.

"Kyle Realiza, he's the school publication's official photo journalist", Stacy replied, staring at Kyle's printed name on the board.