II

Something . . . on my back . . . heavy . . . yet soft . . . breathing . . . getting difficult. I think to myself half asleep.

“Zoe! Wake up or we are going to be late for school!”

This voice . . . it is loud . . . and rather annoyingly high pitch. I think as I slowing gain full consciousness, It can be none other than my roommate.

“Urrrrrrrrg,” I grumbled as I weakly pushed my roommate off of me.

“Oh don’t groan like that Zoe. Come on get up before we are late!”

“Cassandra,” I said before a pause to ease my irritation, “why the hell are you in such a rush?”

“I will explain on the way just hurry up!”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Do you ever?”

At this point I am slowly forcing my self up and I throwing myself into the shower for the quickest shower of my life due to the fact that Cassandra was pestering me to get out the majority of the time. Once out I began dressing my self with a stumble or two along the way. Growing impatient, the second I finished dressing, my roommate, Cassandra, firmly grabbed hold of my arm with a lack of restraint and dragged me out the door. As I was finally dragged out of the dormitory, but not without me banging my knee once or twice across the hall way rendering it more or less numb, I was somehow able to break free from Cassandra’s vicious grip.  “Ok, are you willing to tell me why you forcefully dragged me out of bed?” I asked why rubbing my mangled wrist.

“Because there is supposed to be a new student today; I heard so many rumors about this kid!” she yelled with an excited, airheaded, school girl scream.

“You woke me up for such a stupid reason?!” I yelled while looking at my wrist watch, “Not only did you disturb my sleep for such a stupid reason but you woke me at seven in the dam morning! We have an entire hour until school starts.”

“Maybe” Cassandra sarcastically retorted, but not without mockingly sticking her tongue out in my direction.

We began to walk towards to school under the cool sun on a warm and breezy spring morning. The air was engraved with the blissful smell of the sun, and the wind was blowing a delicious flowery fragrance. It would have been a pleasant walk if I wasn’t in such an irritated state of mind, but there is little I can or am willing to do about it.           

“But aren’t you the least bit curious? I mean this kid is coming in the middle of the second semester to Prezington Private Academy.”

“Truthfully . . . I’m not obliged to care?” More truthfully, I was too tired to care.

“There is no way you can enroll into this place with out paying lots of money or being a complete genius. Even if you’re lucky enough, you would have to wait until a new year starts. I mean, nobody has ever seen this guy and there are already all kinds of rumors about him.” She blabbered ignoring my prior comment.

“Okay I get it, this kid is something to behold. But why are you so eager about this? What kind of rumors did you hear?”

“I was just about to get to that; I did say one of the only ways to get into this school is to pay a lot of money right? Well this kid didn’t pay a dime. He was enrolled completely on scholarship. I heard he was tested on everything we learned so far and got a perfect score on every subject.”

“So this kid is a super genius of some sort. But is that any reason to be so overly excited?” Or wake me up for that matter? I thought with a silent anger to myself.

“That’s not it; I heard the guy is amazingly handsome and cool. On top of that nobody knows a real thing about him. The only thing we know for certain is that he is in our class. Don’t you think that is just a dream come true?” She said at such a speed that it was difficult to comprehend at first.

After my split second to take in the absurd statement that has just been spewed out, I stopped and glared at Cassandra with a murderous intent and stated “You woke me up just to go man hunting? And another thing, you say nobody knows a real thing about this kid; or at the very least seen this kid. So how would anybody know if he is handsome or not?”

“Of course I believe he is handsome, it’s . . .  it’s a woman’s instinct. Plus I would look like a stalker if I tried watching him alone.” She said with a mockingly happy voice.

Looking behind me I said with great sorrow and regret “Dam it; we’re already more than half way to school so it would be stupid of me to go back.” Turning to see Cassandra’s over joyous face “I not gonna go scouting for guys with you.” I said with a slight smirk on my face in an attempt to destroy her intentions and joy.

“Oh come on Zoe! Don’t be so cold towards your best friend!” She yelled while grabbing my hand, once again with out a sign of restraint or mercy. The next thing I know we are running full speed towards school; without my consent of course.

“What are you d-” . . . Crap . . . this feeling . . . this . . . empty feeling . . . within my back pocket . . . I dropped something. I thought to myself more instinctively than consciously.

“Cassandra wait, I think I might have dropped something!” I yelled, in an unnecessary panic, as she continued to drag me along.

“Zoe, don’t try to make up an excuse just to try and get away.” She replied mockingly with the feeling that she has just thwarted a magnificent plan I have suddenly conjured without showing a single sign of loosening her grip.

Dam she is too strong for me to resist. Oh well it was probably just my imagination. I thought optimistically. Dam Cassandra, she doesn’t seem to know her own strength. She is an entire half-a-foot taller than I am and she is stronger without comparison. She claims it amazing that this new kid got in purely on scholarship even though she also got in purely on a sports scholarship. She herself is someone to behold at first sight, but upon closer inspection you would realize she a complete airhead. All things aside, she gets impressed to easily, she is not very good at thinking things up for herself. I thought to myself with less irritation and more pity.  

We soon made on campus, and in only twenty minutes, which is almost twice as fast as it normally takes. As I walked through the entrance panting I ask “So . . . where is this man of mystery?”

As Cassandra idiotically surveys the surrounded area she responds “. . . How should I know?” At that moment there was a long pause between the two of us. It was filled with a strong tension that compares to a man at gun point, until I finally broke it with, “What do you mean ‘How should I know?’?”

“What do you think I mean?” She asked pushing me for an answer.

“I think it means you stupidly got over excited about a new student who nobody even knows and you ferociously dragged me along thinking he would arrive here . . .” I paused for a moment to check my watch, “forty-five minutes early eagerly wanting to meet everybody who also isn’t here yet.”

After yet another long painful moment of silence she quietly says, “. . . Maybe,” she now begins to slowly walk away from an anger she knows is brewing, “I think I’m gonna go look around the school.” She then quickly runs towards the closest building out of my sight.

“You better run! . . . Next time I see you I’m going to . . . I’m going to do something!” I yelled giving an empty threat as an act of ventilation.

I began walking towards the main building mumbling profanity to myself out of irritation from my disturbed sleep and early work out session. I continued my early morning rage as I made my way towards my first class room, which is on the third floor, thus thoroughly increasing my irritation.

After I calmed myself down I walked in to the sun light class room and towards the clear window and gazed at the blissful view. “I love the view in morning, watching the sun rise slowly signifying the birth of a new day . . . a new opportunity; watching the breeze blow over the field of trees like a calm wave of an alluring ocean. This sight is a truly beautiful wonder to behold, so beautiful in fact I dare not to watch any longer in fear that it will lose its beauty.” I said to myself out loud simply because I could.

As I back away towards my desk in the far right corner away from the window and look at the desk next to it which belongs to Cassandra. Recalling my previous irritation I state to myself “Dam that Cassandra making me get up for her own desires; making me run all the way to school to the third floor. Next time I see her I’m gonna kill her.” Due to my lack of stamina I quickly fell into a quiet deep slumber after taking a seat in my cold hard desk. I dreamt of a quiet nothing . . . Why? Who is to say?