As class finished and I started to pack up for the next class, I saw a young boy in the doorway to the hallway. He had the whitest blonde hair I had ever seen, pure as snow, but couldn’t have been more than ten years old. He stared at me with his grey eyes.
Everything seemed to stay still as the boy looked at me. I just froze, not being able to do anything but watch him. I felt like I was looking at someone that couldn’t exist, like a ghost, but I didn’t know why.
“Alice, are you okay?” Kate asked.
I blinked and the kid was gone. I nodded towards the doorway. “Did you see him?”
“See who?”
“That little boy,” I shook my head. It had to have been my imagination, I hadn’t gotten much sleep. “Never mind, let’s get to class.”
Math class was next, which, again, didn’t make mornings any more fun. Luckily my locker was near the class so I didn’t have to hurry. As I switched out textbooks, I heard Davis’ voice from a few lockers down.
“She remembers you guys, we need to do something,” his squeaky voice was barely audible over the typical hallway noise.
“That isn’t possible, I suppressed those memories myself,” Malcolm answered. I glanced over towards them, wondering what they could be talking about. All of their backs faced me.
“Davis isn’t lying,” Chase added. “I heard her say she could remember buildings covered in plants.”
I dropped my math book. They were talking about me. I quickly retrieved it and hurried away, hoping they didn’t suspect that I had heard them. I didn’t understand why my art concerned them so. I got random images to paint all the time in my mind, why would the buildings with plants on them matter? Why would they care, what did they think I was remembering, and why wasn’t I supposed to remember it?
Math went by as slowly as possible, which was really normal. Malcolm was in class, sitting a few rows in front of me. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to me and I began to wonder if they had truly been talking about me. It was highly unlikely as they didn’t seem to notice I existed in the month that I had known them. They haven’t even spoken two words to me this entire time, so why would they care so much if I painted a building with flowers on it?
Next was Global Studies, which was fun, with Mr. Lewis, who always was passionate about whatever he was teaching. Today’s lecture was on the Roman conquest. The Empire was a bit crazy, I had to admit, especially the Emperors, but they were often victorious.
Lunch finally came at last. I hurried to the cafeteria with my bento, a Japanese style lunch box that I loved putting together cute meals in, and found a spot to wait for Kate at. I never saw the little boy from earlier that morning again. It was strange, he must have been someone’s nephew or something.
I pulled out my chopsticks and opened my bento.
Now, one of my quirky hobbies was making artistic bentos. And why not? I loved art and after going through half a school day, I wanted something at lunch that would cheer me up. Today’s theme was pirates. The rice on the bottom portion had seaweed sprawled across it like a treasure map. My two boiled eggs were decorated like a skull. Then I just had some fruit and veggies. I was in a hurry this morning otherwise I would have thought something up to design them like. I honestly could have slept in a lot more if I didn’t do this, but I had been looking forward to working with this theme.
“Whoa, nice bento.”
I whipped my head around to find Chase looking over my shoulder.
He smiled as he sat down next to me. “Mind if I join you?”
Since he had already sat beside me, I knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. And honestly, why would I say no? He was a nice guy from what I could tell. A joker, sure, but he always meant well. “Sure, why not?”
“Thanks.” He pulled out a sandwich. By the smell of it, it had to have been tuna.
I tried to hide the disgusted look I wanted to make. Although I loved Japanese culture, I despised fish. I couldn’t help it, I just hated the smell and taste.
“That’s all you’re going to eat?” I asked, as that was the only thing in the sack he brought.
“All I want so why not?” He took a big bite and smiled. “Nothing beats a tuna sandwich.”
“Uh, I can think of some things,” I commented as I took a bite of one of my boiled eggs. It was strange talking to him. School had been going for a month now and I rarely talked to anyone in their group. They seemed to keep their distance from everyone, other than all the girls who chased Malcolm around. They looked as if they were searching for something, but what that was I had no idea.
“So,” he started. “I heard you talking about having a vivid image of some buildings...”
My eyes flickered towards him. He was staring at me as I took another bite of
