Chapter 32: Niki

As I feared we were late for Spanish but Ms. Hernández was cool and let us join the class. After entering the class searching for her and thankfully for me she wasn’t there so l let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

“So as I was saying, get in pair and do the exercise.” Said Ms. Hernández.

Everyone had already found his partner except for Jason and me so I assumed we would be partner so I went to sit down on the empty chair by his side.

“Where are you going Sybil?” Asked Ms. Hernández.

“To seat by Jason side, everyone else already had a partner.”

“No need.” She said in that melodious voice of her, it makes everything seem more interesting and attracting. “You will work with Niki.”

Ms. Hernández signaled a girl by my side, the other Nicole. Today her hair was different from last week, she had it smooth, but today she seemed to have wrestled with a bird and her hair had pay the price.

Also she had puffy red eyes like she had cried recently, when I looked at her she gave me a little that didn’t quite met her eyes, I did the out of habit.

“Hey, I think we will be partner. Do you know what we have to do, truth be told I’m a total failure in Spanish.” I said trying to be fun but it did nothing to change her mood she still seemed as sad as before.

“It fine, I will explain it’s not that hard.”

So did she for the next thirty minutes and I had to assume that at that moment all that she said seemed really easy. When it was our turn to expose in front of the class it wasn’t that easy anymore, in my heart I pray that the bell started ringing in that moment but I couldn’t except to have so much luck.

I get up and my partner did the same, our seats were in the front row so after three steps we were I front of everyone, I avoided to make eye contact with nobody.

My hands were damp with sweat and I was starting to hyperventilate what made me felt light headed.

‘You can do it ...you can do it’ I repeated in the inside.

Niki had to go first, the exercise was to make a dialogue in which we act as two friends who tell each other what they had done last weekend. In my case I had to invent it all.

‘Hola...’ Niki started but her voice was raspy like if she was about to start crying, her eyes was full with unshed tears and her face was reddish. After that she couldn’t stand it and run out the classroom.

What happened to her? I wondered.

Everyone else must had thought the same, they all were looking at me intently like waiting for the answer for what had just happened. I wanted to answer that ‘I don’t know her , like you I wonder what happened to her.’

I looked at Ms. Hernández she too was looking at me with uncertainty written all over her face. Jason was seated there like nothing had happened, like it was normal for him to see a girl bursting into tears in front of the class.

I had to do something but what?

I went after her that seemed the only coherent thing to do. The corridor was empty when I exited the class and neither I did heard her footsteps.

‘Toilets!’ I thought and went there first but they were empty. After returning into the corridor I didn’t knew where to go, as I was pondering if I should take right or left suddenly he appeared.

“Ah!” I cried out loud because of surprise, he was the same I saw the first day. “Huh! It you.” I said relieved. ‘This is not normal, a normal person now would be freaking out but I’m just relieve that it’s him.’

“Did you see a girl running around here? Did you see where she headed?” I asked him and the next second I found it stupid because if she has just appeared he couldn’t have possibly seen her. “Never...” I was about to say never mind and to go and try to find her by myself and stopped when he raised his right hand and with one finger signaled my left.

“She headed in that direction?” I asked just to be sure but he didn’t respond as quickly he appeared out of no air he disappeared into thin air. “Wait!” I said to late and he didn’t came back.

A door opened behind me, a teacher poked his head out and looked at me suspiciously quick think about an excuse!

“What are you doing here talking to a wall?” He asked, now he was looking at me I’ve lost a screw.

“Oh I’m talking to a friend, she wasn’t feeling alright so I came after her to be sure things are alright but she was running and I couldn’t catch up with her that why I was calling after her.”

“Fine then.” He said and went back into his classroom.

I went to my left and soon came to the gym door, there were no one I was about to go on but a muffled sound of cries caught my attention. The sound where coming from the inside of the gym.

I get in, she was no where in plain view and I finally found her seated bellow the bleachers. She had her hands on her mouth to muffle the sound.

“Hey, ...” I said and stopped because I didn’t knew what to say next. Truth be told never before I was in that position seeing someone crying in front of me, so I didn’t knew what to do or what to say. So I did the only thing I could, I went below the bleachers me too and too a seat in front of her and stayed there waiting.