The next day, it was ninety degrees outside. I didn't know why I expected anything different from my bad luck charm and my wish to put off winter for just a little while longer.

Although my skin was practically melting off my body, I hiked across campus to do our presentation with Dominic for our sign language class. I still hadn't studied the script he wrote, but it wasn't like I had the time to make him hate me a little less. The talisman potentially listened to me (and twisted my words to the extreme), and I was supposed to be concerned about a stupid grade in a worthless class? No.

Just in case, I had the talisman in my pocket anyway. If it could bring me a little twisted luck, I wouldn't be upset about it. There wasn't anything to ruin for myself, and it seemed that it liked to make messes out of situations I didn't want.

When I arrived at our classroom, Dominic was already in his spot in the front of the room with his feet up on the desk attached to the chair. There was no one else in the room even though class was supposed to begin in three minutes.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Did you check your email?" he replied.

I shook my head. "Did class get canceled? Because that would be super excellent."

"Nope. It's just you, me, and Roberts today."

Roberts? Was that the professor's last name or something?

"Just us?" I asked.

He nodded. "And considering this is worth twenty percent of your grade, I hope you looked over what I sent you."

I bit my cheek. "Of course, I did."

That wasn't true at all, but what was I supposed to tell him?

If there was ever a time for the talisman to give me what I wanted, now was a good one.

There were several different explanations of why it could be hot outside. One, it was some weather fluke. Two, global warming picked the right day to act up in Tillamook, Oregon. Or three, the talisman listened to me. And if it was the third one, then it was already warmed up to do something else for me. Somehow get me out of this presentation so Dominic will leave me alone, I thought, then added a please at the end for good measure.

Although it was time for our presentation to start, Roberts, as Dominic called him, still hadn't arrived at the classroom.

"You're sure our presentation is today?" I asked and finally took a seat next to him.

"Considering I'm the one who actually goes to class, yes," he said.

I gave a small shrug and a nod. He wasn't wrong.

"Is that all you ever do? When someone calls you out on your bullshit, you just don't answer because you know it's true?" he asked.

I shrugged and nodded again, and just to piss him off, I added a smile.

"Oh my god," he muttered. "What did I do wrong to get stuck with you as a permanent partner in this class?"

"Did I do something to you? And be honest."

He didn't reply to that. "Maybe you should stop believing this class is worthless."

It was much more worthless than my talisman, but I couldn't tell him that. It would just give everything away.

"Well, it's not like it's interesting or exciting in any way. It's just for deaf people, and I'm not deaf," I said.

Dominic shook his head. "So anyone who is deaf isn't worth your time?"

"I never said-"

Dr. Roberts walked into the room with his briefcase tucked up against his chest and his right hand on his left shoulder.

It was about time, buddy.

"I'm sorry I'm late. On my way in, I felt a little-" Dr. Roberts stopped talking and froze in his tracks with a grimace. "I felt a little-"

He let his briefcase fall and dropped to a knee with his hand to his chest.

What happened? Was he dying?

My talisman. It listened to me. Again.

"Oh my god." I gasped and looked over at Dominic. "What are we supposed to do?"

All I wanted was an easy way out of our presentation.

"He seems young for a heart attack. What the hell is going on?" Dominic said and brushed past me on his way over to Dr. Roberts.

I shook my head. This wasn't my talisman's fault, was it?

"Just make yourself useful for once and call an ambulance, Lindsay," Dominic said.

Right. 911 would know what to do. They knew everything.

I took out my phone with a shaky hand and dialed the number. Dr. Roberts was still conscious (unless Dominic was talking to himself), but I couldn't look up at them. I had to focus on the phone call.

There was no way the talisman twisting my wishes twice was just a coincidence.

***

"Do you think we get an A for saving his life?" I asked as the paramedics wheeled Dr. Roberts away. He was awake and responsive and definitely not dead, but it was pretty obvious that our presentation would be postponed for a while.

"You're a real bitch, you know that? He had a heart attack, and you're only concerned about pulling your grade out of the gutter," Dominic said.

"Don't tell me that your grade didn't cross your mind. I know it did."

"Well, yeah, but that's because I actually care. You don't." He thought for a moment. "That's really weird, now that I think about it."

"What is?"

"This whole situation."

I shook my head. "You're telling me. I mean, I spent all night preparing for our presentation, and we didn't even have the chance to do it."

"There's no way in hell that's true," Dominic said, and he grabbed his notebook and pen and headed for the door.

"Are you calling me a liar? Where are you going?" I asked.

But like he always did when he had his mind on something, he didn't reply and just kept walking.

Sierra.

I had a suspicion that they were onto me and the talisman, and even though there was no way they knew the exact details, it wasn't a secret that weird things were happening with the coin in my possession.

He was smart. He got my roommate on his side. What could I do besides respect the move?

Great work, Lindsay. You gave someone a heart attack and your secret away in the span of twenty minutes.

I shook my head. Unless I could come up with some way to cover my ass, he and Sierra were well on their way to working into the inner circle.

Of course, I could have been giving Dominic too much credit, but what were the chances of that?

"Dominic, wait," I called after him and peeked my head out the door.

He was nowhere in the hall, but if I was right, he was going to find Sierra to compare notes or whatever they did during their McDonald's meetings. At least I was smart enough to wear sandals with straps.

"I'm having the worst day ever, and I know you're gonna ignore me until I catch up, but I need to talk to you about something. Dominic?" I followed what I guessed to be his footsteps out of the lecture hall and outside where there was no air conditioning.

He was already on his way in the direction of our dorm, and I ran to catch up with him.

"Dominic, stop. We need to talk about something important," I said and grabbed onto his wrist.

He yanked his hand away at the contact. "What?"

"I think I'm the reason Roberts had a heart attack."

He raised an eyebrow. "How? He walked in, saw your collarbone, and his heart just said shit, I can't do this anymore?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

I shook my head and smiled. "I'm just gonna ignore that. It's not my fault my collarbone looks great in a tank top and it's hot outside."

He rolled his eyes. "It's the coin, Lindsay. All of this shit. It literally could not be any more obvious."

I didn't reply. It really couldn't have been.

"I just don't know how or why weird things keep happening, but I don't think you do either," he continued.

I had a tiny little bit of an idea, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't owe him any more information than what he already knew.

He must have wanted a response from me since he didn't elaborate any further and looked me in the eye. "Lindsay?"

"What?"

"I'm getting the sense that you do know what's going on."

I forced out a laugh. "Not at all. Our professor had a heart attack, which as bitchy as you think I am, I would never wish that one anyone. Not even you."

"You might want to tell me what's going on. Don't you think it's weird that we keep running into each other even though neither one of us wants that?"

"That's because you're a stalker, Dominic."

"And as much of a dick as you think I am, I'm not trying to find you everywhere you go. It just keeps happening, and that's just another weird thing that isn't a coincidence."

"That sounds like something a stalker would say."

"I'm aware, but I'm gonna need you to keep an open mind and consider it," he said, and I considered it.

If I was supposedly the one in control, and I certainly didn't want him around me at any time and for any reason, it seemed pretty fake to me.

It was settled. He was, in fact, a stalker who appreciated my collarbone.

"Yeah, no. I never asked the talisman for anything involving you," I said.

"Talisman?" He smiled (which I didn't even know he was capable of). "You make this too easy, Lindsay."

I let out a sigh and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Today really wasn't my day.

"You know what? It's too much trouble to keep you and Sierra out of the inner circle. Dr. Reed's office at ten. Be there," I said.

"But I have a class-"

I interrupted him. "That's not my problem. Be there."

"Fine." Without another word, he turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

I knew he cared a little bit too much about his grade in our ASL class to ever skip it, but it was a little weird that he was willing to skip a different one for a weird coin that seemed to ruin a lot more than it fixed.

Just a few steps away, I sat down on a bench by myself. The metal burned my legs, but it didn't bother me that much. I was the one who asked for the heat, after all.

Although there was still plenty of light in the day, it was pretty safe to assume that it was the worst day that any human ever had. I thought for a moment. That was probably not true at all.

"Lindsay, right?" a familiar male voice said before I could work myself up anymore.

"I'm really not in the mood to talk. I already have enough acquain-" I looked up. "I know you."

"Harvey. Things We Found. Jack's friend," he said and sat down next to me.

He held the unearned title of the leader in their band even though Jack was much more talented, but I didn't care. It wasn't my band, and Jack was willing to deal with the disrespect.

"Yes, I'm aware. Can I help you?" I said.

"You seem a little upset," he said.

"And why does that matter to you?"

He laughed. "What am I supposed to tell Jack at practice tonight? I saw your girlfriend on a bench, and she looked upset so I just kept walking?"

My eyes widened. "Girlfriend? Did he tell you that?"

Harvey nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah."

I took in a breath.

Now it was completely reasonable to say that this was the worst day for any person ever.

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Hello, and thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry I missed a week, but I had three exams last week, so I was a little busy. Here the chapter is a little early as a thank you for your patience!

So for this week's question, how would you describe yourself in three words?

I would probably pick "tries her best." It pretty much sums it all up, don't you think? Haha.