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Chapter 13 *Adrenaline

~Sophia

When I enter the room for my first class, some of my classmates look at me oddly. Maybe they’re wondering why a girl like me can ride in Andre’s car. This is the reason why after arriving in the school, I went directly to the comfort room and stayed there until five minutes before the bell will ring.

I heave a sigh. As Andre said, I should expect this. The good thing is, none of them is brave enough to ask me the question.

As the substitute discusses about the X and Y formula, I can feel the heavy stares at the back of my head. Unfortunately, they can see me because I’m sitting in front. Just perfect for their view.

I feel like I’m in a center stage with a lot of people looking at me expectantly but I’m just staring at them, forgetting my lines and not performing my act.

I’m being paranoid, I know. Glancing to my right, I catch one of my old friends looking curiously at me. I give her a small smile and then she nods in return.

Are my old friends wondering if I now moved on from my bitter past? They must be. Moving on is simple, it’s what you leave behind that makes it so difficult.

Perhaps when he and I broke up, they had a full blast of I told you so. I’m just glad they didn’t say it to me. With a lot of things happened then, I couldn’t stand anything more painfully.

I still remember that day we fought because of him like it was just yesterday, so fresh in my mind. I wonder why the bad memories don’t go away. Is it because to let us remember the hardships we experienced and then maybe when we thought we had enough, we can look back at them and think, I’ve had worse. I can survive again.

When did I become so optimistic?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, my gaze turns to my old friend, Elizabeth. Before, she was my closest friend. When I fought with her and our other friends, everything changed. We still talk and say occasional greetings but it’s not the same as before. I don’t even know if they’re still my friends. Sometimes, we avoid eye contact too. I guess they’re still mad at me. Well, I can’t do anything about that. I was the one who got a heart broken and had been alone for a long time. Still, I said sorry to them.

I listen to the substitute to not think of unnecessary things. Unfortunately for me, I already know what she’s discussing so it’s hard to tune out the thoughts that are clouding my mind.

~Drake

Where is the letter T?

All around me are towers of shelves. I didn’t know the Record Section can be this big. Every bookshelf has its own drawers. Looking around again, I search for the letter T; which stands for Taylor.

How minutes have passed since I enter this room? So far, Andre hasn’t given me a signal yet that someone is coming.

Unfortunately, there’s no window in this massive room. That can only mean one thing. If they catch us, there’s no way to escape.

Adrenaline pumps in my blood making me more excited than I already am.

When I open a drawer in the first shelf, there are a lot of envelopes in my line of sight. I wonder how the staff arranges the student’s files. Why isn’t there’s no letter indicated for every shelves and drawers?

Maybe it’s to prevent the students who want to know the information of other students.

So there goes my subconscious mind again.

I missed you too, I think sarcastically.

Getting an envelope, I see that this drawer is for the letter C. I hope they arranged these alphabetically.

Walking to another hallway, I look at signs for letters in the drawers. When a drawer catches my attention, I open it. I don’t have time to check all the drawers here. It will take a day before I can finish. So I have to use my instinct instead.

Why am I so curious in finding out Pie’s birthday? What if it doesn’t fall in the bet month? Does that mean all this hard work will be nothing?

A frustrated sigh escapes from my lips. I’m so focus on looking on the shelves I haven’t seen a folder in front of me. I’m so lucky I trip because of it. I fall on the floor, hip first. To my horror, I hear footsteps coming near me. I mutter something under my breath as I try to stand up.

I just fall down again. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

If I get caught, there’s no future for me. Look at my grades!  And they’ll look at my behavior in school too. I’m busted, just because of a bet!

And then someone comes into view.

Andre?

Sweat pours down his face. He looks nervous too. He’s not even laughing at my current situation.

“What’s wrong?’ I ask, ignoring the pain on my hip.

He walks towards me and kneels where I’m sitting.

“I told you to not come inside!”

“I gave you a sign,” he whispers. “There’s someone coming! I whistled and clapped repeatedly but you didn’t get out so I come and tell you instead.”

“Are you insane?” I ask, horrified. “What if they see you?”

“What if they catch you?”

“You’re stupid,” I growl. “You shouldn’t waste your time worrying about me!”

“Idiot,” he hisses. “I’m your best friend! I will never leave you.”

I shake my head and decide not to argue with him. I know I can’t win this fight.

“What are we going to do?” I ask calmly.

I know he will think of a logical answer because he’s the smart one in this group. Group? It consists of two persons. Me and Andre.

“The secretary just rounded the hallway when I saw her, and that’s when I started to give you signs, which didn’t get your attention, obviously.” He stops and scowls at me. “And then I come in, and you know what’s next.”

“I s she alone?” I whisper.

“Who?” Andre asks, confused.

“The secretary,” I mutter.

Andre nods. He looks from side to side, just as surprised and awed as I was when I entered a few minutes earlier.

“What if she’ll enter here?” I ask quietly.

“I doubt it,” he says. “She looks rushed. Maybe she’ll just get something in the office that’s why she comes back.”

I hope Andre’s optimism will not get us into trouble.

He suddenly notices the state and position I am currently in. His brows furrows in confusion as he tries to analyze why I’m sitting on the floor.

I am tempted to lie but will I pay him that for his kindness? So I tell him the truth. “I tripped on this stupid folder.” I kick it out of the way.

Andre snorts. If we’re not in this kind of situation, there’s no doubt he’ll make fun of me.

“So, have you seen Sophia’s file?”

“Not yet,” I mutter darkly.

He helps me stands up and we walk to another corridor.

To our astonishment, we hear the door opening. I wonder why I didn’t hear it when Andre entered.

A loud clicking of stilettos on the floor makes us freeze. My heart thumps loudly in my chest. Andre and I both look at each other in alarm.

“Kneel down,” he whispers fiercely.

I kneel down and bow my head low. He does the same.

In between the drawers, there’s a little space. I peek into it, just in time to see the secretary narrowing her eyes to the place we just evacuated. Do they have supernatural powers?

To our relief, she decides that there’s nothing wrong with this room so she goes out. We both hear the click indicating that she locks the front door.

I let out the breath I don’t know I am holding.

Andre looks amused. “Admit it, because of her,” he jerks his head towards the door, “it becomes more exciting.”

“Yeah,” I say. It’s like I just rode a roller coaster!

“Let’s search fast,” he says, standing up.

“Let’s?”

“Yeah, considering you’re too slow in finding one file.”

“Whatever.”

We make our separate way, opening the drawers I haven’t checked yet. Because of what happened, I become paranoid. I always look behind my back, afraid someone will come again. The pain on my hip is slowly subsiding into nothing.

This is fun, but I’m taking a lot of risks here to something I’m not sure I’ll achieve.

“Five minutes to go,” Andre whispers.

We still have to be cautious because sometimes, unexpected things can happen.

There are two drawers left that I haven’t checked. Opening the first one, I scan it as fast as I can. I let out a frustrated growl when I realize it’s for letter M. Clearly, these aren’t arranged alphabetically! What about the drawers I haven’t opened yet? What if Pie’s file is there? We don’t have time to check those too! Does that mean that everything we did and still do is for nothing?

“Hey,” Andre says, walking towards me. “I’ve checked all those files there.” He points to the south part of the wall.

He doesn’t have to say anything because I know that he hasn’t find Pie’s file.

“Have you checked all these drawers?” he asks.

 I shake my head. “I haven’t checked this,” I say, putting my hand on the drawer.

“Why don’t you open it?”

“Because Pie’s file will not be here!”

“Pie?” Andre asks bemusedly.

“Ignore it!” I snap. I don’t even know why I call Sophia, Pie, in front of Andre.

He whistles under his breath, grinning from ear to ear.

“Let’s go!” I say.

“What?” he asks incredulously. “You haven’t opened this one yet.”

“It’s not there.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I open the drawer to satisfy him. My eyes nearly bulge from their sockets when I see the blinking letter T on top of the envelopes. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I get the last one from the drawer.

I raise it for Andre to see. “This is Sophia’s file,” I say, a smirk forming on my lips.

~Sophia

“How’s school?” Aunt V asks.

We’re having our dinner in the dining room. When the school ended, Andre waited for me in the parking lot because my last subject extended from its usual time.

“Fun,” Andre answers, looking beside him to grin with Draky. They share a secret look which makes me curious.

Draky is here again because he has to make a project in school, and Andre is his partner.  As if I believe them. What else could it be then? Er, my subconscious mind is just saying that because I’m here, Draky will stay here too. Ugh! When will it shut up?

“What about you, Sophia?” Aunt V asks me.

“Good,” I murmur. It feels like I have to add something more so I say, “We had a pop quiz in Literature and I got a perfect score.” I don’t know why I said it! They might think—

“That’s great!” Aunt V beams, cutting off my thoughts.

Draky smirks, amusement lighting his blue eyes. I wonder why he’s late in Literature. We didn’t talk because after Mrs. Coelho checked the seat plan, we had a pop quiz. I heard that Draky did a good job.

When we finish our meal, Aunt V orders Andre to clean the dishes. I’m surprise he doesn’t complain like other guys will. I guess he really is nice, especially when it comes to his mom.

Speaking of mom, my own mother called a few times, checking if I was okay. If they’ll just take me home with them, I’ll be more than okay.

I still don’t understand why they want me to move out. Their reason that they want to fix our family is pretty lame. Besides, I didn’t hear the first part of their conversation. I’m sure there’s something going on that I don’t know.

Maybe they don’t want me to know.

I decide to go outside to get some fresh air. I’ve been here for four days and it’s my first time to be here in the back porch.

There’s a huge swimming pool in the center of the yard. I walk towards it and sit with my feet dangling in the cold water. To my left is Aunt V’s garden. I inhale the sweet scents coming from them. I’ll go there tomorrow morning and look at them. I’ll ask Aunt V too if she can give me some flowers so that I can put them in my room.

Glancing up, I see a lot of stars blinking in the sky. Are they the same ones I see when I’m in our house? It’s like there are more here than there.

My heart leaps in my throat when I feel there’s someone behind me. “You scared me,” I hiss.

“Sorry,” Draky says sheepishly. “Can I join you?”

“Yeah,” I mutter.

“Do you want some chocolate?” he asks, raising the chocolate bar on his hand.

I see there’s a bit of chocolate on his lips. I find myself mesmerize with it. He is so –

“Staring at someone is rude,” he teases.

“I’m not staring,” I say, looking away. I’m glad with the darkness. That means he can’t see the blush creeping on my cheeks.

“Sure,” he says, chuckling under his breath. “So, you want some?”

“No, thanks,” I mumble.

He rolls his eyes. “Why are you so serious? I was just kidding a while ago and you actually get mad.”

“I’m not mad,” I murmur. “I just, uh, already brushed my teeth that’s why I can’t eat chocolate.”

“Okay,” he says, a smile is playing at the corner of his lips.

Draky and I don’t talk after that. We are satisfied with the silence he and I both share.

One time, he stands up without saying anything and goes inside the house. A moment later, he comes back carrying a blanket on his hand. Without saying anything, he drapes it over my shoulders. I don’t even realize I am shivering until the warm blanket envelops me.

 “Thanks,” I murmur.

He just shrugs like it’s just nothing but his eyes are sparkling like the stars in the sky.

*****

The song is Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton. I like this song so much ;) I found the picture on Tumblr so I decided to make a scene about it.

Do you have a favorite character so far?

Thank you so much for reading! <3