It was Wednesday. I hated Wednesdays. It was the day when my mum got fired from her job at a coffee shop, 18th of April. But it was also the day when my dad...didn't act like himself.
"Alexis! Get up! It's time for school." I could hear my Dad's voice yelling from downstairs.
I was just starting to surface when I heard some noises coming from the kitchen. Did Adrian stay at home? Usually he leaves at 6 in the morning for his call center job, but if he had already left, then who was in the kitchen? Dad never cooks.
Confused in what I was hearing, I went out of my bedroom and looked down at the hallway from round the landing. It was Dad, alright. Wait- what??
"Dad?" I asked, trudging down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Good, you're up. You're always so late. It's already 11! Here, get your lunch box and I'll prepare your food. You're so dependent on your brother, you can't even cook your own meal." He said swiftly, and continued mixing some meat on the pan.
I didn't say anything, but followed his instructions.
"Adrian had to go to work early, so since you can't cook, I took over his chore." said Dad, over the noise of the fire crackling and the steak sizzling.
"Oh, right. Thanks, Dad." I mumbled, but I was sure he'd heard me clearly.
After I'd eaten brunch, I took a shower and since Dad woke me up earlier than my usual routine, I still had some time to iron my uniform, which I did in a long time.
It was 11:40. As I was shouldering my backpack, my phone rang. It was Lucas. Hmm.
I didn't say a single word.
"Alexis?? Are you up yet? You're gonna be late again!" he said from down the phone. I didn't answer, just placed the phone on speaker so that I could continue preparing my stuff for school.
"Alex?? ALEX. Ugh, you're still mad at me, huh?"
"Glad you know." I muttered, but he heard it.
"Look, I'm sorry, OK? I won't judge you anymore. You can be who you want to be. I'm here for you, bro."
"Dude, you're making me cringe. You sound like a girl." I said. I wanted to tell him about Dad. He's the only one who truly knows my life, so I reckoned even he would be shocked with Dad's sudden change of heart.
"Haha, just glad you're not mad anymore. Lemme guess: you just woke up, huh?"
"Actually, I'm already on my way out. Did you know that my Dad cooked my lunch earlier?" I told him.
"WHAAAT? Your DAD?! Are you sure that's your Dad and not some angel that possessed your father??" he exclaimed.
"One, angels don't possess people's body, and two, I'm pretty certain of it." I already got down the stairs and was putting on my shoes by the hall. Dad was in his bedroom so I didn't think I could be overheard.
"Well, that's definitely weird. Because the last time I checked, you were late for school, but now, you're on your way out? AND your DAD cooked? Are you SURE you guys are okay? Are you even ALEXIS?! Or was he abducted by aliens and I'm speaking to the Devil himself?" Lucas spiraled.
"Shut up. People change," I snickered. "But definitely not my dad." I looked at the my watch. "I'm gonna be late, and you're gonna undo every miracle I just got. See you at school,"
"See ya," answered Lucas. We hung up and I called to my Dad to say goodbye. I could only hear him grunting from inside his bedroom, as to what could only be his acknowledgement.
The leaves fell upon me as I crossed the park on my way to school. The sense of peace that the season gave off made me remember Clary from yesterday. Will I still see her later? Well, that depends on whether she wants to show up or not. She's a mysterious girl, that's with no doubt, but on what I saw on our first meeting, she was an optimistic, bubbly, and blooming ray of sunshine. However, the other students who dared talk to her, she ignored them all and always runs off. That's why everyone thinks she's gone mad, or that she's a ghost that haunts England.
I guess I'm not the only "weirdo" in our school.
I arrived in our campus at 11:58, two minutes before classes started -- a record for me.
"Holy shi-" Lucas started but didn't finish his sentence.
"What??" I asked.
"You're early?! That's definitely not the Alexis Dasovich I know."
"Will you quit it? I'm fine, and I'm normal. It's not like I'm NOT allowed to change." I walked past him. Lucas called my name and ran up to me.
"Did you know that the 'Blue Girl' and Delancy are fighting right now? They're in the cafeteria terrace. It's crazy! Let's check it out," he exclaimed.
"The 'Blue Girl'? You mean Clary? Why are they fighting?" I felt intimidated. Clearly Delancy started it, because seeing their manners yesterday, it was likely that Delancy had started the fight or whatever it was. It's impossible for a girl who's so kind and peaceful to start a mess.
"Who's Clary? " Lucas asked me. We got up to the cafeteria's terrace and saw a big crowd of students, all from Years 7 to 10. We slipped through the horde and got to the front. Delancy, Nathalia, and Emily were there, verbally bullying Clary.
"Give me back my diary, Delancy! That's not yours." cried Clary. I saw Delancy holding an old book with purple flowers all over it.
"No, it's mine, you thief! Stop claiming stuff that's not yours." Delancy protested. From the looks of the diary, it didn't seem like she, a rich bratty girl, would even be interested in old looking brown books. Unless...
"Stop it, Delancy. Why would you even have a diary that looks like that? I thought you only liked fancy, glittery things? That looks like an ancient book, honestly. It's ridiculous." I said.
"Ugh, shut up, you weirdo. Get out of here and mind your own stupid business!" she yelled.
"Everyone, look! Her diary is weird. I mean, in the first place why would you even carry it in school? And why doesn't it have a lock? What kind of diary is that?" Suddenly everyone started muttering and whispering, considering my opinions. Delancy must've noticed it, too, and because of the reputation she's holding, she obviously didn't want to risk losing her fame.
"Uhm, aren't you the the guy with all the bad luck in the world? Oh my god, leave us alone, you filthy boy!" cried Emily.
"But he's right..." said a girl from the crowd.
"Don't diaries have a 'this book belongs to' section? Maybe you should show us what's inside.." another girl butted in.
"Alex is right though. Ew, that's not even a cute notebook, TBH."
I didn't know why, but probably from the fear of losing her fans, she suddenly blurted out, "Oh my god, this isn't mine! Eww!!" Then she threw the diary across the floor and everyone gasped. I smiled.
"Wait! I can explain. Uhm- uh..SPIDER!! AHH!!!" she shrieked, and everyone scrambled and ran away, well, except for the boys. I saw Maisie, our Year 10 representative, jump and almost fell, with Gabriel catching her so she wouldn't hit the floor head-first. Clary stayed on her place, retrieving her precious diary. When our eyes met, she grinned at me. I unconsciously smiled back.
In the end, everyone somehow forgot about the diary incident, but those who did remember were kept shut by Nathalia and Emily, ordered by their 'queen' Delancy.
When I heard the recess bell ring, I immediately went out of our classroom and up to cafeteria. Lucas caught me in the hallway and noticed something odd with me.
"Yo where are you going?" he asked, while keeping up with my excessive pace. "Dude slow down!"
"I'm looking for Clary. You see her?" I said, frantically looking everywhere for a sky-blue haired girl.
"Why are you even looking for that weirdo? I thought you hated romance?"
"What, no!" I stopped and glared at him. "I don't like LIKE her. We just met yesterday." I said, and then continued in looking for her.
"Well, then why are you looking for her? Wasn't she the one you literally just defended earlier morning? I still got some questions about that..."
"Wait, shh. There she is! Gotta go! Don't eat my lunch!" I cried, and then ran off in the pavement that lead to the garden wall. Wait, again?
"Clary!" I called out, but I couldn't see her anywhere anymore. Suddenly, a light breeze of air blew behind me.
"Alexis!" Clary said, and I quickly turned my head to see her.
"Clary! Where have you been?" I asked, walking closer to her, but she walked backwards farther from me as I got nearer.
"In my haven. Did you need something from me?" she smiled. There it was again. That sense of heaven that I always felt when I was around her. As if she was an angel or something.
"Oh, nothing. I just...u-uhm...how are you..?" I blurted.
"I'm fine, thank you!" she said. "Oh, by the way, thank you for defending me earlier. My diary is very precious to me. I don't know how I would be able to live without it."
"But why did Delancy claim that it was hers? Well, apart from being a stupid, bratty, stuck-up girl, what else? What did she want from it?" I asked. Clary suddenly looked flustered.
"I really don't know. She's always so mean to me." she pouted. I felt so sorry for her. Even though we'd just met for a short time, I had this feeling inside me that made me want to make her happy.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked her gently.
"No, it's okay." she looked down on her feet. She looked so sad.
"Hmm, do you want to eat lunch together?"
She looked up at me. "Oh. Uhm..."
"I always see you alone. Besides, we're friends now, right?"
Clary smiled beautifully. "Yeah! You're my friend, Alexis. I'm so thankful I got to meet you," she said." she said. "But...what if you'll hurt me..?"
"What! I'll never do such a thing." Her eyes sparkled. She looked at me as if she trying to trust me. But then she ran off.
"Wait, Clary!" I called out. She stopped and then looked back at me. Our eyes met again. Then she ran away again. I followed her but I came to end of the line. There was only the garden wall ahead of me. Dead end.
Where did she go?
I started to analyze what just happened. Seems like she had trust issues. And yet she's so kind to me, who's just a stranger whom she met yesterday. It's weird, but when I was around her I felt something I've never felt before. The question is, I don't what it is.
...mum, what's that?...
...that's a sunflower...
...blue...
...let's go back home...
"