Encounter

It was another ordinary day at school. No change, except the new material at school, which I had already learned beforehand anyways. The same dull routine of listening to lectures, pretending to take notes, and waiting for the bell to ring.

As I stared outside the window, watching the snow fall softly, a voice interrupted my thoughts. Mr. Everett, the history teacher, who had just walked into the room. He was a tall man with graying hair and a serious expression that rarely softened, even on good days. He wasn't supposed to be here right now, so his sudden appearance caught everyone's attention.

"Good morning, class," Mr Everett said, his deep voice commanding immediate silence. "Before we begin today's lesson, I have an announcement to make."

He paused, glancing around the room as if gauging our reactions. Then, with a slight nod, he continued, "We have a new student joining us today. I expect you all to be on your best behavior and make her feel welcome."

He stepped aside, and a girl hesitantly entered the room. She moved with a certain timidness, her steps small and careful as if she were trying not to draw too much attention. Her long, golden-blond hair cascaded down her back, almost reaching her waist, and her bright blue eyes, framed by long lashes, flickered nervously around the room. She wore a simple, pale blue sweater that looked cozy and warm, paired with dark jeans that hugged her slender frame. She held a small, leather-bound notebook close to her chest, as if it were a shield protecting her from the prying eyes of the class.

I sighed in disappointment. I began fidgeting from the impatience, I had more exciting and important stuff to do to take care of a new student, especially that no one sat beside me and I could be picked as her companion. I just hoped I wouldn't need to take her on a walk around the school or something.

"This is Alyssa Mercer," Mr Everett introduced her, his tone softening slightly as he noticed her shyness. "She's just transferred here, so I trust you'll all help her adjust."

Yeah, I don't think I'll be contributing to that, I hope…

Alyssa gave a small, almost imperceptible nod, her eyes lowering to the floor as a faint blush crept up her cheeks. She didn't make eye contact with anyone, and it was clear that being the center of attention made her uncomfortable.

"Why don't you take that empty seat beside Lucas?" Mr Everett suggested, pointing right at my desk.

Oh god, why? I groaned inwardly. Of all the places, why next to me? It wasn't that I had anything against her, but I wasn't exactly in the mood to play the welcoming committee. I preferred my space, my solitude. Having someone new sit next to me meant potential small talk, awkward interactions, and just…bother.

Alyssa glanced in my direction, then quickly looked away, her face turning even redder. She seemed just as opposite to the idea as I was. She walked over to the desk, her steps hesitant, and sat down, keeping her eyes on the notebook she placed carefully on the desk. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, almost hiding her face as she settled in.

Mr Everett gave her a reassuring nod before turning back to the class. "Alright, everyone, let's get started. Open your books to page 94."

As the lesson began, I could feel Alyssa's presence beside me like a tangible weight. She was focused on her textbook, her hands clasped tightly together on the desk, but her posture was tense, and she seemed to shrink into her seat, trying to make herself as small as possible. I caught a glimpse of her face out of the corner of my eye—those bright blue eyes filled with anxiety, her pale skin a little too pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.

What's this one's story? I wondered.

As I walked home after those boring lessons, nothing much was happening around me. The peace was comforting, though it came with a hint of loneliness as always. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alyssa walking beside me. Peace…? Loneliness…? Well, it turned out she lives nearby. My house is placed on Maplewood Avenue, while her's is on Cedarbrook Lane. Her street is perpendicular that intersects with mine, forming a "T" shape. 

As I was getting my stuff out of my locker, she approached me—not to talk, but to grab her things. It turned out her locker was right next to mine. All these coincidences, huh? Sitting next to me in class, having a locker next to mine, and now living practically down the street… Is this what they call fate? She eventually spoke, asking me where I live, which is how I found out where she lives. Now we're walking home together in awkward silence.

As we noticed a boy walking out of the street I live on, she suddenly ran over to him, noticing that all he was wearing was a sweater without a jacket. Confused, I decided to follow her.

"Hey, hey!" she shouted, waving and running towards the boy, who was shivering in the cold without a jacket.

Did they know each other or something? I wasn't sure at this point, but judging from the boy's reaction, they'd never seen each other before. He froze, looking at her, not knowing what to say.

The boy had a slightly stooping posture, with dark brown hair that was messily tousled, as if he hadn't bothered to comb it in the morning. His green eyes had a certain intensity to them, almost like a hunter's gaze, though his demeanor was far from predatory–more like a cautious prey caught off guard.

"What are you doing out here without a jacket, in this freezing winter, silly!" she scolded him in an instructive tone, crossing her arms.

"Uh… well… there was an 'emergency' where I had to immediately get picked up by my mom from my friend's house. Since I didn't really need to walk any distance, I forgot my jacket. But now, she's gone because she has an appointment, and since my jacket was a little torn, we were supposed to take it to a tailor. But we didn't realize I had forgotten it, so now there's no other option but to go back to my friend's house, hoping she would be there since she wasn't answering my calls. But she turned out to not be home, so now I'm just heading back…" he explained, his awkward smile fading with each word. After finishing his story, he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

What a dumbo. There didn't seem to be any holes in his story, despite it sounding like some made-up nonsense, and he didn't seem to be lying either. Ah…

"Oh dear! Does your mom know about this?" she asked the boy, slightly concerned.

"Nah… well, she told me to just let it go, and that we'd schedule the tailor for another time, but I decided to go anyway," he replied.

"Awww, you were just trying to be a good boy, weren't you? You're definitely a really nice person…" she said in a comforting tone, patting him on the head.

I widened my eyes. She wasn't all that kind before. Where did this come from now? Where's the shy, awkward Alyssa I originally met?

"Right…" he whispered, clearly embarrassed.

"Very well… this is for you!" she said, taking off her jacket and handing it to him.

"Oh? But—" he began, but Alyssa interrupted him.

"Shh…" She covered his mouth with her finger. "My friend over there will help me, and I'll pick up my jacket later, alrighty?" she said in a cute tone, stepping back a little, anticipating my response.

"Yeah, of course." I snapped back to reality as she did that.

"By the way, what's your name?" she leaned forward, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes.

"It's Julian. What about yours?" he responded.

"I'm Alyssa! Great to meet you, Julian. Nice name," she said, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she extended her hand for a handshake. 

"Thanks a lot, Alyssa." He shook her hand and smiled at her.

"Well then, I'll be seeing you around, Julian! Bye-bye!"

"Bye!" he said, walking away, grateful for the jacket she gave him.

"Didn't know you were such a good Samaritan, Ms. Shy Girl."

"Ah, well, something just builds up inside me when I see people in need whom I can help. I can't resist it, and it brings me a lot of joy too!" she said, her joy radiating from her, but I noticed she had started to shiver from the cold.

"Yeah, right. Also, here," I said, showing her a side of my jacket she could get under.

She somehow managed to squeeze in, but our bodies were very close this way. Extremely close… 

This also made walking a little bit harder, though, as sometimes one of us would trip and cause the other to almost fall too, which was quite funny indeed, I can't deny that.

It was pretty peaceful. Just Alyssa and me, walking in the empty, white, snowy world. The only thing that disrupted this tranquility was a figure I could see walking in the distance, but it wasn't enough to bother me if I just imagined they weren't there. They… well, judging from the body language and movement, I'll assume the figure was female.

As we were passing by my house, I glanced at it and noticed that a small tree I had planted was lying on the ground. I stopped walking suddenly, causing Alyssa to trip, and she giggled, but my face remained expressionless.

"Is… everything okay?" she asked with slight concern, then shifted her gaze toward my house and noticed the fallen sapling as well.

"Wait," I said, as I went over to the little tree, leaving Alyssa wearing my jacket.

I proceeded to inspect the sapling, carefully lifting it a little while kneeling down to examine the leaves. I noticed they were somewhat torn, indicating that someone had struggled to take it down. I looked up along the line of damaged leaves, trying to estimate the perpetrator's height. It seemed to be about 165cm…

I also scooped some snow into my glove, checking if the snow could have caused the tree to fall, with the torn leaves being just a coincidence. The snow was heavy, but I considered that it could be a misdirection from whoever did this. Then, an idea crossed my mind.

I ran out of my yard and onto the road to see the figure I had noticed earlier. I took into consideration the distance between us and tried estimating her height…

"165 cm!" I shouted. "This is it!"

"Umm, what's up, Lucas?" Alyssa asked, leaning forward with curiosity in the direction I was looking, as the figure disappeared into the fog. "Oh… I think I get it," she broke the silence as I was too busy thinking about why she would have done this and who she even was.

"See that sapling that's been taken down over there by my front door?" I said, walking toward it, waving my hand to invite her to take a closer look. She approached it hesitantly.

"Look at this," I continued, "If you examine the torn leaves, you can tell that someone struggled to pull it out. Now, if you look at the line where the damage stops, you can estimate the perpetrator's height to be about 165cm." Guess who else was 165cm and just happened to be walking away from here?"

"That figure over there…" she responded.

"Mhm, that's right." I paused, considering once again what her motive could have been.

"But why would she do this? This is terrible!" Alyssa exclaimed, her voice filled with concern.

"Damn, don't be so loud," I told her. "Though, that's a good question… why?"

I had to walk her home because it wasn't that far, and she didn't have her jacket since she was silly enough to give it away. Plus, I didn't want to seem like a coward. It seemed like she picked up on the ominous atmosphere that filled the air after I mentioned the revelation about Laura, my sister, who had been visiting some sketchy dark alley. I don't even know why I told her that—it just came out on its own.

We didn't speak much, only exchanging a brief goodbye and a "see you later." at the last moment.

"Mom, I'm home!" I called out as I walked through the front door of my house.

"Hello, Lucas," she said, coming to the hall to greet me. "Who was that?"

Huh? What does she mean, who was that? Could she have seen the person who took down the tree?

"What do you mean, who was that?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Oh, that girl you were walking with! Could it be that you've finally gotten yourself a girlfriend? Your sister would be so proud of you," she added with a mischievous smile, crossing her arms.

"Gosh, no," I responded, facepalming. "Uh, actually, it's a long story, and I don't really feel like talking about it. But… did you see what happened to the tree?"

To be honest, I'm not sure why I reacted that way—it's like the idea of having a partner seemed scary to me. Also, for her to have seen me with Alyssa, she would've had to be either in my room or in the kitchen. But then, if she was in the kitchen, she would have seen the tree. So, let's figure out what she was doing… I also noticed that the blinds in the small kitchen window were fully shut, unlike in my room, where you can see through the slats in the blinds. However, someone outside wouldn't be able to see in unless it was nighttime because of the light reflecting on the windows.

"Huh? What tree?" she asked, sounding confused, though she accepted the change in topic out of curiosity about the tree.

Yeah… so she was in my room. The question is, once again, why?

"Oh, well, it fell down, probably because the snow was so heavy," I explained calmly, making sure she didn't realize it was a lie.

"Ah, I see. Well, either you or I will need to move it later—it can't just lie there, right?" she clarified.

"Yeah, of course," I responded.

Sigh… I guess my sister is never coming back to handling her own duties.

"For now, though, I'm going to get some rest. It's been a long day."

"Acknowledged," my mom replied. Even though the word sounded formal, she managed to say it with a loving and comforting tone.

As I entered my room, I scanned it for any possible clues about what my mom might have been doing in there. I didn't spot anything, which was odd.

I fully shut the blinds and decided to lie on the bed for a bit, staring up at the ceiling. I tried to piece together everything that had happened today, trying to figure out the purpose behind all this toying with me. The sapling might have been nothing, but that alley was definitely something—something that could put Laura in danger.

I got up and went to my PC to check my sister's location. It was that same infuriating alley once again. 193 Shadowbrook Lane.

"Man, fuck this," I whispered to myself.

I wasn't sure why I was so angry about all of this. Was it my ego being crushed? Or was it my intuition driving me to act before something bad happened?

I picked up the phone, intending to call the number I had been given. Ugh…do I really have to deal with this now? Well, it's not like I have a choice anyway. I dialed the number—439-193-4567—and waited, anticipation growing as I listened to the ringing.

"Hello there," a voice answered. It was deep and distorted, clearly altered by a voice modulator. Whoever was on the other end didn't want to be identified.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked after a few seconds of silence.

"It doesn't matter who I am at the moment," the voice replied, still calm. "What matters is that you be on the street your dear sister visits every day, tomorrow after school." The call abruptly ended.

Pfft. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. Such pathetic attempts to undermine my confidence using fear. Well, sure, I'll go there, but I'll probably need to bring something to defend myself, just in case. I glanced over at the safe on the ground next to my desk.