A Goner

The next day came and so did an English pop quiz. It was expected of our English teacher, Mrs Henres. She gave out pop quizzes almost everyday.. It was nothing new.

As usual, Mia and I took the bus this morning, I met my brother in the hallway and we shared a brief glance before he looked away.

I guess he was still mad at me.

I haven't seen Harper since morning, and my head is starting to ache because I think I flunked my English test.

Great.

We were on the fourth period, the one before lunch when I decided to not attend class. The headache was starting to worsen, although I had already taken some aspirin.

"I just need some peace and quiet." I mutter to myself.

I walked to the school's courtyard and sat down on one of the benches.

I sighed, then rested my head on the table. There was a soft breeze blowing and I sighed in content.

The quiet surroundings, the soft breeze, the gentle noise, everything was softly rocking me to sleep.

"Why aren't you in class?" I heard a voice beside me.

I was already half asleep. Just gimme five minutes and I'd have already been in dreamland.

"What's it to you?" I ask back. This particular person was blocking the sun from touching my face.

"Well, someone seems on edge." The person says.

I was still half asleep so I couldn't particularly pin the voice to a face but I knew it was someone I'm familiar with.

I don't respond so he sits beside me, resigning from his job as my shade.

"Late night?" He asks again.

"Something like that." I mutter.

"That why you're skipping class?"

"Something like that." I repeat.

With each sentence, I was slipping away.

He chuckles which makes me open my eyes halfway. I couldn't see him clearly, just his figure. I couldn't make out his face because my vision was blurry.

"What's funny?" I managed to ask.

"Nothing. You alright though?" He asks.

"Yeah." I yawn. "I just need a recharge."

"Sure." That was the last thing I heard before I gave in to my slumber.

...

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I felt a little relieved. My headache had gone down and I felt refreshed.

I checked the time on my phone. Currently we're on the fifth period. The class after lunch. So technically, I slept for over two hours.

And no teacher caught me here??!

"Wow." I stand up and walk inside the building. I don't want to walk inside in the middle of physics class with all eyes on me. I'm like half of the class time late.

So, I'd just find somewhere to lounge around till physics class is over.

I check through the notifications on my phone and see three missed calls from Mia, one from my brother, and a message notification from Instagram.

Why would Alec call me?

I got to my locker to see my bag by the foot of my locker, slightly opened.

I seriously don't remember leaving that there.

I know I wasn't myself after English class, but I didn't leave my bag on the floor by my locker.

I walk to it and picked it up but in the process I catch a glimpse of a brown paper bag in it.

I bring it out and check the contents to see today's lunch in it. Three wraps of sandwich and a box of orange juice.

I guess Mia helped me with lunch. But why leave my bag by my locker?

I was tempted to call her cellphone but the bell rings suddenly and I jumped in fright.

In no time, the hallway was starting to get filled with students, so I decided to stay by my locker because I knew Mia would come by hers.

Like I said, a few minutes later, I could see her shadow walking towards me.

"You're up already." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

I could remember bits from before I slept off. But I don't particular remember the person who I was with.

It must have been Mia since it's seems she knows I'm awake and I didn't tell her before I wandered off to sleep.

"Thanks for the lunch by the way." I say and hold up the paper bag. "Although I don't get why you had to drop my bag on the floor." I add.

She looks at me confused. "Lunch?" She then looks at the paper bag. "What do you mean?"

"Weren't you the one who got me lunch?" I ask her, unsure already.

"No. I wasn't."

What?

"How did you know I slept off then?"

"Well, I was looking for you and I called your phone but you didn't answer my calls. Stumbled upon the porch and found you sleeping. I didn't want to disturb you since it felt like you needed the rest."

"Yeah. I had a nasty headache." I say absentmindedly.

If it wasn't Mia that got me lunch, then who was it?

"We didn't have a chat before I slept off or anything like that?" I ask again.

"At all." She shakes her head. "I started looking for you during lunch."

"But I had slept off during the class before." I finish for her.

"Did something happen?" She asks

"I feel like I had a talk with someone right before I slept off." I tilt my head in thought.

"Must have been a dream?"

"Dream?" I look at her.

She nods. "Yeah. You may have imagined it right before you slept."

"I understand, but if that's a dream then how do you explain this?" I hold up the paper bag again and she shrugs.

"Someone must care for you then. Someone knew you missed lunch, then helped you out."

"But who?"

"That's the multi million question." She says and shuts her locker. "C'mon, let's get to class."

"What class?"

"Literature."

Great. Another long boring class.

...

The closing bell rang, and I sighed in relief. I packed my books, my bag and rushed out of class.

On my way to the exit, Mia meets me halfway.

"Hi." She says with a sweet smile.

"Ready to go?" I ask her.

"About that, I have to stay behind."

"Why?" I ask in a whiny tone.

"As the class rep, I was told to help the class teacher in gathering some reports."

"Look at you," I poke her. "Already working as an assistant and bailing on your friends."

"It's nothing like that."

"Sure." I roll my eyes.

"You'll be fine alone right?" She asks.

"Yeah." I nod. "I have to head to work anyway."

"Oh that's good." She says in relief. "Now I don't feel that bad."

I hiss. "What a way of showing your relief."

She laughs. "You know I love you. Anyway, see you at home." She waves and walks away.

I sigh and walk outside the building but immediately I step outside, it starts to pour.

"Was it supposed to rain today?" I ask loudly as I step back to the front of the building.

I looked at the sky.

It's a sudden downpour. I don't even know I long it'd last.

"Maybe I should just go home instead." I mutter.

After ten minutes of standing in front of the building, and the rain still pouring, I make up my mind.

Run to the bus station in the rain and I'll be thirty percent wet if I'm fast enough.

"Yup." I nod to myself. "That's the way."

I take in a deep breath, put my hand over my head, then count to three before dashing under the rain.

No sooner had I started running, than I came to a sudden halt as someone suddenly stood in front of me.

I wasn't feeling the rain on my body anymore, so I looked up to see an umbrella over me.

I slowly looked at the figure standing in front of me and was left speechless.

Standing in front of me, holding an umbrella over me to stop me from getting drenched, is Matt Harper.

Everything went slow-mo at that moment.

I couldn't hear, see, think about anything except from him. He was all I could hear, see, feel, and think about.

He stared at me with an intense look and I couldn't tear my eyes away from me.

I couldn't move even if I wanted to. It was like he has some kind of force that was holding me down.

"I don't like seeing you wet." Was what he said that made me realize I was a sucker for him.

"It makes me worried" He continues. "And I hate getting worried." He pauses.

"Especially if it's a particular girl that won't stop taking over my thoughts." He finishes, his voice a little deeper.

Scratch that. This was the moment I knew I was a goner.