Elena's P.O.V.
"I don't understand!" Hazel exclaimed, an annoyed expression cutting her face. "You have been gone for one month, and you're still ahead of all the homework?"
What can I say? I'm that type of person who gets things quickly done.
Despite my tiredness of yesterday's event, I still felt energetic. "I told you that my grades don't drop," I replied, walking down the school hall. "I'm just too smart."
"Please," Hazel scoffed with some other inconvenient words following her breath. "You're a huge nerd, that's what you are," she looked at the smile my face held. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had done the next month's homework."
If you only knew, Hazy, I thought and clamped my lips tightly together in a straight line, avoiding eye-contact with her.
It took a couple of seconds before it dawned on her. "No, you didn't. . ." She mumbled and ghostly shook her head.
I flinched, "Well. . ." I dragged the 'E' in a high-pitched tone. "I haven't done the next month's."
My words made Hazel breathe out a sigh of relief, but the relaxation only lived a short life.
"Because I have done all the homework for the rest of this year."
The look on my friend's face was a mix of hot and cold - she was an unreadable book. I wasn't sure if she was going to faint or give me a lecture about how life works.
But knowing Hazel, it was probably both.
Before you judge me, you should know that when I was in the hospital, I could choose between dying of boredom, or occupy myself with homework and Netflix.
In my opinion, I'm a resourceful person.
"I don't know if I should be concerned or set you down to give you the talk about the functions of life." Hazel shook her head in disapproval, finally speaking after the pregnant silence. "You are seriously in a need of more friends, Elly."
"Hey!" I frowned. "I have friends, they're just. . . not here at this moment."
Or time.
The curly-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "I mean real people who are also at your own age."
"Eh, excuse you," she rolled her eyes at my pointing finger. "Last time I checked, friendship has no age."
"The same goes for stupidity, I see."
"Your face is stupidity. . ." I muttered, not caring if she heard me as I pulled my books out of my locker. "You know what? I'm getting tired of-" I gestured my hands to her attitude. "-This."
"And I'm getting tired of your stupid sass." She retorted with a sharp, pointing finger directed at me.
"Your face is stupid," I slapped her hand away.
This pointless conversation would most likely have gone on for a long time, had it not been for a deep voice that boomed across the hall.
"Elena!" I flinched at the familiar voice that shouted across the long room - my once burning annoyance disappearing like smoke.
Dammit, I cursed along with other profanities that could make a nun faint if she ever heard me.
Without thinking, I took a hold of Hazel's arm and began to drag her away as fast as I could.
"Hey, wait up!" I didn't even need to look back to see who the person was because I knew, without doubt, that it was no other than Adam Myers.
"Elly, what's going on?" My friend asked with a perplexed look, but before I could answer her, she turned her head. "Why is Adam Myers following you?" Her voice sounded distant, her mind not believing what her eyes were witnessing.
"I'll explain everything later, just come on!"
"Elena, wait!"
Dammit, can't you take the hint?
The end of the hall was just there, but we never reached the light of escape due to a hand grabbing my shoulder with a firm lock that turned me around.
Ugh, so close. . .
A nervous smile was automatically glued to my face when I met the blue, confused eyes. "Adam! Hey. . ." I said uneasily, wishing that I had wings that could take me away. "Can we help you with something?"
Smooth, Elena. Very smooth.
"Why are you ignoring me?" Adam asked with a firm tone in his words, crossing his buff arms to give me a look of bewilderment.
Even if I saw it coming, I was still surprised by how unfiltered his question was.
"Me? Ignoring you?" I pointed at myself and his tall frame, "Pfft! Why would I do that?" My voice became gradually higher, but I hoped my innocent smile and empty chuckle could mask it.
Why couldn't I have been gifted with the skills of lying? God, why do you hate me so much?
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking." Adam raised an eyebrow, looking straight at me with his eyes in a tight lock.
His gaze made me nervous, but I hid it quickly before he could notice. "Well, when did I - as you assume that I did - ignore you?" I said with all the confidence I could find through my tensed up body - heck, even Demi Lovato would've been proud of me now.
"Well, let's see, just now you ignored me," he began to count on his fingers. "And yesterday, after school, you literally disappeared when I called after you."
Why couldn't I have been born a lawyer?
"You did?" I asked in the most innocently and confused tone I could find. "Well, I must not have heard you through the headphones," I defended myself with another, weak lie.
"Mhm. Well, what about now?"
Oh, for Claus' sake, give me a break!
"I'm. . ." My words came out slow and shredded as I was trying to gain time to search for a thick lie that could work. "Partly deaf?"
Great job, Elena. You can now go and jump off a cliff.
Clearing my throat, I looked at him with an unsure confidence. "I mean, I am partly deaf, so that's why I couldn't hear you through all-" I gestured my hands around the hall. "-The noises."
Seriously, where can I take lessons in lying?
The popular boy in front of me narrowed his eyes at my explanation, which he was clearly not convinced of - heck, even a kid wouldn't have bought my lie even if I had bribed him candy.
But luckily for me, Hazel was here.
"It's true," she said with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Elena is actually. . . partly deaf."
Adam might not have caught the tone behind her words, but I did, and let me tell you this: she would do anything to kill me.
"She injured her eardrum through the fall, which caused some loss of her hearing," Hazel explained while I nodded eagerly to her words. "So, if you could stop accusing my stu- poor friend of your assumptions that she's ignoring you, then I - along with Elena - would be happy."
Damn, she should be a lawyer.
All I could wish for was that he had bought Hazel's compelling lie.
Adam had an uncertain, yet, guilty look on his face, which made me bite my lower lip to suppress the regret I was feeling. Not only am I ignoring him, but I'm also making him feel guilty to accuse me of his true allegations.
But then again, he kinda asked for it, especially when it's me we're talking about here.
Before the team captain could say anything, the school bell rang and stopped him from uttering out a word.
"Oh, look at that!" I gestured to the annoying, yet, saving grace of the sound that filled the building. "Well, it was sorta nice talking to you, Adam. We should maybe do it more often, bye!" With that said, I quickly dragged Hazel away from the awkward encounter
"'Maybe do it more often'?" She repeated my words when we were out of his radar.
I shrugged my shoulders in reply. As you can see, I'm not good at handling these kinds of situations.
Hazel closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "You better have a damn good explanation of what just happened."
I sighed, "I know. . ."
***
Today had been an awful day. After I explained to Hazel about my encounter with Adam, she proceeded to lecture me about the key to socialize and the function of not being stupid.
She was not amused that I ignored Adam so harshly, let me tell you that. However, she let it go when her belly craved for food.
But that wasn't the end of the day.
After school, I had to talk to my soccer coach to deliver a message. And we all know how bad that could be.
Due to my broken arm, I was strictly prohibited to do any form of exercise before my arm had fully healed. It was doctor's orders.
However, we all knew that I would break those orders the moment I stepped out of the hospital (which I actually did), and I'm sure Dr. Lee predicted that, considering that he hesitated - along with the nurses - when he signed the papers to let me out.
I swear, after his signature was tattooed on the paper, it looked like he wanted nothing more than to rip it into pieces.
I'm probably the worst patient a doctor could ever have.
Knocking on the wooden door to Mr. Robertson's office, I waited in jittery with the medical attest in my hand.
Just give the paper to him, leave, get home, and then I can travel through time, I summarized my 'to-do-list', feeling excited about the idea of meeting Francis again, and perhaps see Aria as well.
"Come in!" I heard the muffled voice shout through the door, which I slowly opened due to the angry hinges that creaked loudly.
My eyebrows were knitted in bewilderment at the sight my apple green orbs were met with. Right in front of me, almost half of the school's football team was surrounding Mr. Robertson's desk.
Unfortunately for me, Adam was one of them, which made me deeply regret coming here.
Oh, this is so, so awkward. Goddammit.
The moment Mr. Robertson saw me, his mid-forty-year-old features broke into smiles - almost creeping me out. "Ah, Elena! It's finally great to see you again!" He suddenly lost all the interest in the conversation he was having as he swiftly made his way towards me.
"Yeah, you too, coach." I hesitantly took another step into the room, ignoring the eyes staring at me like I woke up from the dead, especially Adam's blue orbs that were digging a hole in my head.
When I thought that this couldn't get any worse, it did. Frankly, nothing surprises me anymore.
"Wait, aren't you that chick who fell down that hill?" One of the tall players asked, causing the office to go dead silent.
Just lovely, I bit my lip in annoyance, holding back the urge to hit him where the sun doesn't shine for bringing it up.
A nervous chuckle escaped my lips, which gave me no time to answer due to Mr. Robertson replying before I could.
"Indeed she is," he started as I silently begged him to shut up. "And you should take out your notebooks, boys because you have something to learn from her." Unfortunately, he didn't notice my pleading eyes and the faint shake of my head. "Not even a horrible accident can prevent this girl from playing the big game on Saturday," he patted my shoulder.
Can somebody shoot me? Anyone?
I coughed nervously, hoping that I could sink into the ground and die. "Well, about that. . ." I rubbed the back of my head, making Mr. Robertson's smile falter.
Hesitantly, I handed him the attest, waiting for his reaction while his brown eyes scanned the paper. After he had read it more than once, his body went limp, sitting down on the old desk.
"You've got to be kidding me. . ." He muttered through his brown mustache, his hands holding loosely around the message Dr. Lee had written.
"Sorry, coach." I shrugged my shoulders, "But doctor's orders."
"But. . ." The brown-haired man complained childishly. "You're the best player on the team! We need you!" He gave me a pleading look. "Can't you play with a broken arm? The doctor won't know anything."
I sighed and looked down at my cast. "Coach Robertson, you know that I would've done anything to play the big game on Saturday - even with a broken foot," I started. "But Dr. Lee knows me too well. After my many failed attempts at escaping the hospital, I'm certain he keeps an extra eye on me now that I'm out."
The old man sighed in despair whereas the football players gave me a puzzled look.
Before one of them could ask me anything about what I had just stated, the coach continued. "But what if I can lock the doctor up in a room or something? He won't ever find out that you went against his orders."
I gave him a blank look with a hint of fear, and my eyes blinked repeatedly as if I was not sure if I had heard him right. "Mr. Robertson," I started as the others looked at the adult with the same expression. "That's illegal. . ."
The brown-haired man sighed and walked to his desk. "Oh, well. Can't say that I didn't try."
'Can't say that'- what?
I don't know if I should be afraid of him or concerned for his well-being. Or both.
Seconds of awkward silence went by before I finally cleared my throat, catching the brown-haired man's attention from the window.
"Well, that was pretty much why I came here, so. . ." I began to back out with small steps when I actually wanted nothing more than to run from everything and everyone. "I'll let you guys continue your meeting, which I so rudely interrupted- bye!" With that said, I closed the door before they had the chance to utter out a word.
When I was finally out of the uncomfortable tension, I breathed out a sigh of relief.
But then the reality hit me like a punch in the face, something that made me shut my eyes in a cringe. That must have been the most awkward meeting I ever have encountered.
***
After getting home - and not wanting to waste any more time than I already had, - I literally threw my backpack into the house and slammed the door loudly.
"Ey! Could you be a bit quiet? I have an awful hangover." The voice of my college neighbor - whom I have previously mentioned before - shouted.
I looked at him through the window, watching in amusement and laughing at the state he was in. His blonde hair was messier than a crow's nest. He was holding a mug that said 'I'm Too Poor To Pay Attention', which looked like it contained coffee to probably dampen his headache.
"Sorry, Carl!" I apologized with my face curling up into an amused smile. "But you know better than to drink on Mondays." He rolled his diamond blue eyes at me for recalling the party he went to last night.
"Yeah, yeah," he waved his hand dismissively at my comment. "Just keep it quiet, would you?"
"Yes, sir!" I gave him a mock salute, finding amusement in his rolling orbs.
You may remember when I told you about a college guy living next to me, and how his life basically consists of partying and drinking. And due to him throwing loud parties every Friday, he's also the reason why I wear earmuffs at night.
But unlike all the other neighbors who hate Carl, I actually like him. Sure, he might be mean and pull the most ghastly pranks that I know of, but he's nice towards me. After all, I was his first friend in this neighborhood.
His only friend.
It seemed like God wasn't quite finished torturing me, because all of the sudden, I was roughly grabbed from the behind, prevented from crossing the road peacefully. I was about to go all Hulk on this person, but the breath of diatribe got caught in my throat when a car drove past me at full speed.
Goddammit, I could have been killed!
"Hey, you idiot! Are you blind or what? Can't you see that I'm crossing the freaking street!" I yelled at the red, old car that was now long gone.
What a blind fool.
"Are you okay?" A familiar voice spoke, making me roll my eyes at the obviousness.
"No, I'm not okay! That jerk almost-" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw Adam standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?"
I mentally scolded myself for being so rude, however, the football player didn't mind as gave a short chuckle with a small smile on his face.
"Is that how you thank people who save your life?" He looked down at me, a raised eyebrow matching his questioning look.
"No, because I have never been in a situation where I need sav- you know what, just forget it." I changed my sentence midway as I recalled all the times where my life had been in danger.
Jeez, how am I still alive?
Adam laughed at the change of my answer, not catching the awkward atmosphere I was feeling after today's encounters.
Quickly shaking off the memory of Mr. Robertson's office that I wish could be erased from my mind, I reminded myself to get to the woods before it became too late to time travel.
Francis must be waiting for me.
When he stopped laughing, I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry for acting so rude, but I'm just really stressed out, so. . ." I dragged the 'O', rocking slightly back and forth. "Thank you for saving me. I would've been really annoyed if I survived falling down a hill to only be killed by a car."
My statement made the tall boy laugh again, which made him show off his white, straight pearls that were hiding behind his lips. "Yeah, no problem."
"Well, it was nice talking to you," I started. "But I have to go now, so, I guess, bye?" With that said, I quickly walked past him.
"Wait!" He grabbed my arm and turned me around, making me almost drop the phone in my hand - oh, he's lucky it didn't fall. "I just wanted to apologize for, you know. . ." He trailed off, looking down at his shoes in guilt while scratching the back of his neck.
Dammit, stop making me feel guilty for making you feel guilty.
"No, it's alright," I waved it off. "Let's say that we're even, okay?" I stretched out my hand for him to shake.
"Yeah," he gladly took it, looking relieved. "It was fun talking to you, Elena, and I hope we can do it more often."
Oh, if Annie ever heard this. . .
I was surprised, to say the least, but I quickly covered it up with my usual comments. "You mean almost being hit by a car?" I raised an eyebrow through my stone cold face, making his eyes widened in realization of his words. "I don't know about you, Adam, but I would rather not be killed."
"What? No, no!" He shook his head while I suppressed a laugh. "I didn't mean it like- no, I-"
Before he could continue to humiliate himself, I quickly cut him off. "I'm just messing with you."
His entire face was smeared in with a light shade of red, "Oh." He said with embarrassment displayed in his voice as I unsuccessfully masked my smile.
"But, sure," I answered to his previous question, helping him from drowning in the sea of embarrassment. "And I would like to continue this conversation, but I have somewhere to be right now." I began to walk away, finally crossing the street without being threatened by a speeding car. "Thanks again for saving me!"
And then I left without giving him a chance to say 'goodbye' in return. Again.
Oh, boy. I should probably use a helmet before I tell Hazel about this meeting.
But until then. . .
Time traveling, here I come!