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Mrs. Morris

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*******

A SMILE found its way to my lips when my eyes rested on Kai standing by his locker, a distance from us. His ink-black hair was spiky and all over the place, making him look like a genius. A hot genius.

"What's got you smiling?" Mariana asked while Naomi followed my line of sight to see the obvious answer.

"It's Nakano, for sure," Naomi said, calling Kai by his last name as she did for everyone except Mariana and me. And on rare occasions, Betty. Then she asked with a teasing smile, "That reminds me, how was your date at the library yesterday?"

"It wasn't a date. But he asked me to be his girlfriend," I whispered.

Both their eyes widened before they squealed in unison, causing some students to look at the three of us, Kai included. He returned the smile with one that made my stomach melt as he headed toward us.

"So, what did you say?" Mariana asked, excitement dripping off every word as she wiggled her thick brows.

"I told him I'll think about it," I said.

"What's there to think about? You like him, he likes you. The end. I mean, the beginning of a love story!" Naomi exclaimed.

"I'm just kidding, of course, I said yes," I said just before he approached us.

"Hey," he said, and I rose to my toes to kiss him on the lips. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Better, now that we're together. AP Geometry was exhausting," he said with his hands resting on my waist, making the site alive with tingles despite the layers of clothing.

He took some advanced classes, but he was very smart, so it wasn't an issue for him.

"Aww, you guys look cute together. I wanna have this someday," Mariana cooed.

"I'm happy for you both. It's about damn time," Naomi added.

*******

"Of course, I did. I told you both," I said as we neared our lockers with Naomi already rummaging through hers.

"What's the tea ladies?" she asked.

"Can you believe Clara here says that she's already dating Kai?"

Naomi sputtered, "Nakano? What? When?"

"And she says she told us," Mariana added.

"I told you guys that he asked me out in the library and I said yes," I said and they full-on stared at me like I was growing two heads at the moment.

Ohh!!

Something clicked.

"Um, Naomi, what grade did you say we were in again?" I asked to confirm, and the furrow in their brows deepened.

"Tenth grade and are you alright?" Mariana asked instead.

Kai asked me out at the start of eleventh grade, even though we already knew about our feelings for each other long before then. That would mean these are visions of the future.

But how?

"Are you sure everything is fine? I mean, you two should definitely have a conversation about what's going on because I also saw Lockhart and Nakano together and she seemed very comfortable with her arm around his if you ask me," Naomi said.

I remembered Lilly—Lockhart, as Naomi called her—hated me when we were in high school. Her reason was that she always liked Kai, and I stole her chance with him from her. I saw it as an absurd one, especially when she ended up with a boyfriend even before Kai asked me out. We never got to see eye to eye after that, though, so it must have been something else.

"If you want to be with Kai, you've got to tell him as it is. I heard he liked, or maybe still likes, Lilly," Mariana said.

Okay, this isn't right.

Now I was sure more than ever that I shouldn't be here. This was... is the past. A twisted version of it because Kai never liked Lilly, and I was sure of that.

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There was no other explanation. There couldn't be. This was the past which would explain why I'm seeing things that haven't happened but actually have.

I was now in the library at the same spot Kai asked me to be his girlfriend, and I know I said yes.

It's been two days since I got here. Well, since I woke up confused about how I'd gotten from the forest in West Virginia to my dorm room in Kentucky with no means of transportation.

I'd gotten some other visions but didn't tell Mariana or Naomi. I got these visions when we talked about something related to the visions. Like they were telling me how that situation turned out.

I had a free period now, and our ill teacher canceled the next class.

Once I concluded an assignment that had me scouring through various textbooks, I remembered the artwork. I wasn't sure of what I was painting, but somehow I knew what to paint.

On my way, I passed by the notice board. There was a paper there, and it was a list of sign-ups for the upcoming school play.

I checked the list, and it wasn't surprising to find my name there. I had a penchant for acting, and apparently I was good at it. 'Good at donning a mask and pretending to be something I'm not,' as Lilly had once said, in an attempt to mock me. I rather saw it as an opportunity to go into another person's world and also take people with me. 'People' being the audience.

Juliet.

That was the role I put my name down for. I looked down further and found Kai's name also and he was going for Romeo. I recalled him being very good at it. He'd blown everyone that auditioned for the same role out of the water. Since the first play he did, our drama instructor, Mr. Damon, had turned to an agent trying to recruit someone with 'golden talent.' His words, not mine.

I'm sure I never thought of this when I wrote my name but now, a few years older, I'm seeing how cliche this all looks. That's the fact that Kai and I auditioned for the Romeo and Juliet play, not me somehow appearing in my past. That was definitely not a cliche.

Come to think of it, if this is the past, then where was my past self? I chuckled to myself at the weirdness of that thought. Who would ever ask that?

I let out a deep sigh; the sound echoing through the empty hallway as I made my way to the art room. Pushing open the door, the smell of paint and the sight of an empty room greeted me.

I made my way to my desk, my footsteps quiet on the tiled floor till I reached for my covered unfinished work. I grabbed a handful of paintbrushes, feeling their weight in my hand. As I started painting, the sound of the bristles against the canvas filled the room. Even though I didn't have a clear vision of what I was creating, my hands moved with purpose in each stroke to finish an unknown image on the canvas.

I don't know how long I spent there, but I was finally done. Sure, there were some finishing touches to add, but it was presentable. I looked at the painting in front of me to see it was some sort of... cave. It had crystals on the wall, and dangling from the roof were threads of thin balls.

Something about it strikes familiar. But what?

As I kept staring at it, some voices started filtering into the room. The more I heard, the more it sounded like they were singing.

There was no competition where the orchestra made up of students at Glory Bells Prep didn't blow their opponents out of the water. There was no competition where the orchestra made up of students at Glory Bells Prep didn't blow their opponents out of the water. The sound of their voices and the harmonious blend of instruments and melodies sounded like something celestial, transporting the listener to a state of pure bliss.

But a question formed preventing me from basking in the feeling their melodies brought. Why would they be practicing now? They usually held practice after school hours. The hallways were empty, so classes should still be ongoing. Then the lyrics became clear.

Her discovery is the discovery. Back to her life is all...

PAM! PAM! PAM!

Having the dream and then being in the dream but then leaving the dream is all...

PAM! PAM! PAM!

They kept saying the same sentences with a trumpet blaring thrice in between. As I got up intending to see them for myself, the door burst open and Kai walked in.

"Clara!! Goodness!!!" he said and rushed towards me before hugging me tightly and I could feel his shoulders relaxing.

I frowned as he pulled away, but his hands remained on my arms.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I asked, my eyes searching his.

"The girls and I have been looking for you all around the school," he said.

"What? Why?"

"School closed hours ago and we've been looking all around and you were not in the dorm and—"

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm fine," I said, holding his cheek to keep his eyes grounded on mine.

"We were so worried... I feared that—"

"That what, Kai? We're in a boarding school, remember? It's not like I can go anywhere else," I said with a smile. It was one thing I loved about him. His heart and how big it was.

"I thought something had happened to you," he said in a serious tone.

"I'm fine," I repeated, my voice barely a whisper. He closed his eyes briefly before he opened them to mine. Then he leaned in and so did I until our lips met.

The feeling was electric, a tender touch that sent a mixture of shivers and tingles down my spine. The scent of his cologne filled my nostrils, making my head spin. I forgot everything else at that moment, the voices and questions in my head fading away as I lost myself in the kiss. My hands found their way to his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, while his grip around my waist tightened, pulling me closer to him.

Someone cleared their throat, and we both jerked apart to see Mariana at the door. She said nothing at first, then Naomi came and breathed an enormous sigh upon seeing us.

"You know, if you two wanted some alone time, you could have told us," Naomi said as she walked into the art room.

"Sí," Mariana added, but I couldn't catch on to her underlying tone.

"No need to be gone for hours," Naomi said.

"I just found her," Kai said.

"Hmm, hmmm," Naomi said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

"Sorry guys. I didn't know I took so long," I said and started packing my stuff.

"It's alright, we know how you can be when it involves art. But next time, a heads up will be nice," Naomi said before she added, "Ok now. C'mon, let's go."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Kai said as I draped my bag over one shoulder.

"Yeah sure," I said.

We stood there for a while, looking at each other, not knowing how to part after sharing a kiss.

Then Naomi came and started pushing me forward and away from Kai.

"You said you'll see her tomorrow, so that's bye," she said and he chuckled, causing me to smile.

》》《《》》《《

It was the same start the next day.

"This can't be real."

"Is everything okay?" Mariana asked as she came in, towel-drying her hair.

"B... but we graduated months ago," I said, to no one in particular but she heard.

"That's what you said yesterday. And for the past two days, too," Mariana said.

"She's probably waking up from the same dream she had yesterday. Again," Naomi chipped in.

"Yesterday?"

What are they talking about? I was just at Grandma's house.

"Yes. The same yesterday that you had your first kiss with Nakano after disappearing for hours," Naomi said.

First kiss with Kai. That was years ago—

The memories of the past three days came rushing in.

I need to get out of this.

"You need to stop delaying each morning, or else we'll keep getting late for each first-period class, and soon the teachers will gang up on us."

I frowned at the sneer on her lips but got out of bed to prepare for the day.

We got to class seconds before Mrs. Morris entered. She was our World History teacher, and she was no fun at all. She always had her lips in a thin line and her graying hair in a tight bun. There was never a hair out of place. Not even a strand.

"Clarissa Williams!!" Her loud voice rang across the classroom and I cringed inwardly. A reaction I always made at the sound of my full name from anyone except my grandma.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Do I need to remind you that you have a presentation today?" she said, and I froze.

Presentation?

"Don't tell me you forgot about it?" Naomi, who sat beside me, whispered.

I didn't forget about it. I was never present when I was supposedly told. Well, the current me wasn't.

"Umm. I... forgot, ma'am."

She lowered her glasses and peered at me, her narrow eyes like daggers piercing into me. Then she pushed them back up the bridge of her nose to fully scrutinize me. I could feel the weight of her scrutiny bearing down on me, making me feel small and anxious.

"What do you mean you forgot?" she asked slowly.

"I... uh...." I stuttered under her hard gaze. The silence of the class made her stare seem to bore deeper into my soul. No one said a word as I squirmed under her gaze.

"See me after class," she simply said, and to say that shocked me would be an understatement.

The 'Mrs. Morris' I know would have scolded me like there was no tomorrow because forgetting about your presentation for the class was equal to committing a crime punishable by death. Especially if it was in her class, where she demanded nothing but perfection.

She moved on and explained the topic, which I later realized I was to present.

When the class was over, I had almost gone out, along with Mariana and Naomi. But Mari stopped me in time and saved me from digging a bigger hole for myself.

"You know you have to see Mrs. Morris," Mariana said and headed out, not even letting me reply. I gave Naomi a look.

Naomi just shrugged before wishing me good luck and proceeding to leave.

The students trickled out until they left me alone with Mrs. Morris, silence engulfing us again. As I got up from my seat, the pitter-patter of rain on the windows replaced the silence. I thought that would be a good sign, but for some reason, it came with a foreboding sense.

I gulped before going ahead to the desk.

"Mrs. Morris you said I should—"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes still searching through the papers of essays on her desk.

"Um, you said you wanted to see me?" I asked though it sounded like a statement.

"I know and I'm asking, what are you doing here? In this place?" she asked. It took me a while to grasp what she possibly meant.

Did she mean in the past?

"Now, do you know what I mean?" she asked again.

"You know about my situation?" I asked in a whisper. Then I lost all memory of her being one of the strictest teachers as questions poured out of me like an overflowing boiling kettle.

"Wait, so does that mean I'm really in the past? And this isn't a dream? How do you know about this? And why can I see things that haven't happened?" I finally stopped, not even thinking how she would remember all those at once.

Her pale blue eyes, cold as ever, met mine before she took off her glasses and set them on the hard table. She interlaced her hands and returned her eyes to me; the wait caused me to shift my weight and adjust my bag, which needed no adjusting.

"Clara, you're in what I can say is a... situation, though you can be frank and call it a quest," she started.

"I can't explain much to you because it's not in my place. But it sent here you for a reason. And by here, yes, I mean your past. If I recall correctly, you should have a week to figure out why you're in this set of memories."

"But am I not supposed to know all this? Every morning I wake up confused, with no idea what I'm doing here. I mean, how was I sent here with no instructions at all?"

"They probably made you forget and—" A violent cough from her cut her statement sort.

I saw a bottle of water on her desk and opened it before passing it to her. She grabbed it and drank out of it. It seemed to calm her fit until the next moment when she looked pale.

"Mrs. Morris, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just—" She couldn't complete that statement either, because her eyes widened, and she gripped my hands with such force, it felt like she was holding on to life itself.

"You have a week, or else you'll be stuck here and once you are—" she resumed coughing, but this time, it was more forceful.

"Mrs. Morris!!" I called out, concern lacing my voice. Her hands left mine and went to her neck, struggling with something that wasn't there or I simply couldn't see. Then she jerked, in the process tilting off the chair and falling to the floor.

I stood there transfixed as she continued choking until someone came in. The person started talking, but I didn't catch their words as all my senses zeroed in on Mrs. Morris' blank eyes when she finally stilled.

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Woah! What do you think about what just happened to Mrs Morris, do you have any theories or could it just be a coincidence?

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The Sparkling Authoress
Mis. A

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