Chapter 3
Jesus Christ! I look at my watch. It’s already 8.45. Still 15 minutes to go. Damn! Why the hell this college couldn’t start till 9.30, 10’oclock or something. Maybe I will be even late by then. God! I wished the bus stopped just in front of my college board. Well, that’s too much to ask for. At least it landed instantly I reached the bust stop. But now there is a 5 minute running waiting for me. And the worst part is I don’t see any curbs burn with my little running activity. At least if that happened I would have much relieved. Well, it’s not like I look like a fat pumpkin or something but, in a way I look way normal with fit arms and flat belly but I do think I have to cut some.
In a spark, I rushed half way through and dodged all the people who came my way. I can clearly hear their screams and well familiar swears shooting at me for knocking and hitting them with my big backpack. I hardly bothered and if I have a second time I would have given their damn swears right back on their faces with my punch. Well, I was the one who stomped them first right, so that made equal.
I slowed down my pace as I see some senior citizens walking near my school. I didn’t want to kill them with my backpack and end up in jail instead of Lances class.
Somehow finally with tire running I reached the school alive. ‘Good lord! Save me today!’ I mutter myself. I gasped some air in relief looking at the (college name) board.
Five to nine! Great! I know I will definitely be late to this grumpy Lance’s class no matter how much I try. I know it’s a bit too much rude to call my teacher that way but she definitely is grumpy, bilious and surely going to kill me today. Huh! Well then I guess now it’s again time to be hard on my little feet again and so, I started to run. Run real fast. In a way I can surely reconnect this running scene to my yesterdays dream. Well, but the only difference is that, in my dream I was running away from my monster and I now in reality am running to get stabbed by my monster.
I stopped near the canteen to grab some water. I didn’t want to give my life away for an English class. ‘Again late?’ I hear a voice while I am busy dripping the canteen water. ‘Hmm, yea.’ I grin with an awkward smile. It’s Derek, my senior. The guy with a great robotic brain! Err! I guess my description about him is pretty lame. But, he is cute by the way with that dark curly brown hair and green eyes. I say he’s got some charm. ‘So, any new robotic inventions?’ I say walking with him to the corridor. See, in a way he really attracts me with his smile. But, I do love his passion about robotics and the cute little robots he made till now. Well, I’ve got a little crush on my robotic senior! Don’t blame me!
‘Yup, I guess I’d have to build a robot that brings you college on time!’ he winks laughing. ‘Whoa! I’d sure love that. At least then I guess I won’t have to do this whole running adventure every day. It does ruin my little makeup I put.’ I shrug laughing back. I definitely didn’t want to end this conversation. To hell with Mrs. Lances and her damn English class I thought for a second. But then, I couldn’t risk my life for a cute little talk right? This could even happen later. ‘Okay, I’m getting real late. I will catch you up after college then.’ I rush finishing my words. ‘Okay then, see you later.’ He says aloud so I hear it. I wave my hand as a bye without even looking back at him. Urgh! Damn you Lance!
I can clearly hear Mrs. Lance’s screams from the corridor. I am in total ten minutes late. She is not going to spare me even I was just in ‘mission kill Osama’ and so I couldn’t make on time. Oh boy! I’m dead! Detention is on the way and insults on my face! Thank you my little scary dream for ruining my day and for next few minutes I will be an entertainment to the rest of the class. Great! Hearing her terrible screaming and scolding’s, I knew, if I didn’t die in yesterday’s nightmare I am surely going to be killed today.
Well, still not daring to enter the class in middle I stood outside and looked at Ted and Effy from the window, who were already busy in the class sleeping and texting. I can see everyone in the class except me. I couldn’t believe I am late again. This is 4th time I am late to her class this year which just started a month ago. Urgh! I am certainly not in a mood to entertain my fellow students with all the terrible scolding’s she’s going to brush on me if I enter now.
So, I looked at Eff who is on her way to hit herself on the hard bench with that sleepy head. I tried to call her in my lowest whisper I can. But that sleeping princess would never hear anything. And Ted wouldn’t lift his big head away from his phone. I don’t know who he talks to! I am way dead now, I thought. Then suddenly I got the fantastic idea and reached the corner in the corridor making sure nobody’s watching me not even the monster surveillance cameras and messaged Ted to help me to get in the class and that I am wandering outside the class.
I quickly stood right behind the window and waved at him. Finally he looked me sighing ‘Tash, what are you doing?’ I pleaded him to get me into the class somehow.
But before he could tell me something, Mrs. Lance caught him looking outside and threw her chock on his face making him startled and I quickly ducked down before she followed Ted’s gaze towards the window.
‘Mr. Ted Simpson? I’d appreciate if you’d pay some attention in the class rather sneaking the outside world!’ she growls.
I decided to give up and I thought I’d better get ready for the detention as I didn’t want any of my friends to give me company in the detention room because of me. So I sighed him ‘I am going.’ while Mrs. Lance still busy in trying to kill him with her red fiery eyes, Ted yells ‘Wait!’
Making me startled and Mrs. Lance angrier for talking to her disrespectfully and now she looked like an angry buffalo that wouldn’t let him go away without stabbing him with her scowling horns. I prayed that she wouldn’t punish him. And he finally realizes that angry buffalo is standing right in front of him and he soon corrects himself and continues ‘I–mean Mrs. Lance I was wondering if you could tell me—’ he goes on moving from his place and reaching her and tries to turn her opposite of the class rooms entrance sighing me to come inside with his hands. Whoa! This is the perfect time. I didn’t want to waste Ted’s effort. So, like a rat I enter into the class room ducking down while Mrs. Lance was still busy in clearing his doubts about today’s class and while Eff was still busy in snoring, I crawled through all the chairs and prayed I wouldn’t get caught as I can clearly hear peoples laughs looking at my struggle . Whoa! I finally reached the empty chair behind Eff and quickly slipped into it without making a bit noise and whispered ‘shut up!’ to everyone who were giggling at me.
Seeing me well settled in my place, Ted thanks her for answering his doubts and gently walks and slides into his place besides me.
‘Phew!’ I sighed to him in relief ‘Thanks Teddy!’
‘Tash, will you ever change?’ he says while Mrs. Lance slowly lost in story telling the class.
‘I couldn’t sleep all night!’ I whispered to him looking at Mrs. Lance and acting as if I am paying attention to her story.
‘Why? Were you busy dreaming about your prince charming all night!’ he teases.
‘Stop it Ted!’ I hit him slowly. ‘Yesterday, I had a very weird dream. I saw a man who is trying to kill me…’ I started right from the beginning to the end and hit my head to the desk.
‘Oh My God! So you were saying that you almost got murdered by an evil man yesterday night and that is the reason you weren’t able to attend Mrs. Lances 1st hour? Oh Tash! I think you should definitely stop watching those sci-fi movies stuff. They are ruining your head.’ he jokes it off making me angry.
Suddenly, the sleeping princess wakes up who overheard everything I said and joins the laughter with him.
‘Seriously Tash! It’s just a dream. Stop sticking up your nose now.’ She teases tongue out
‘Nope, Nightmare!’ I corrected her.
‘Yea, whatever!’ she hit her head again to sleep.
I couldn’t believe my friends reactions I was like they would say ‘Oh Tashy, poor girl! How you feeling now or something else rather than a joke and a laugh! Sick! And before I could kill them, we all straightened ourselves with Mrs. Lance’s scream, and started paying attention to her story telling. But for some reason I wasn’t able to stop thinking about the dream. I’ve never ever had such dreams in my entire life.
Although I had many weird dreams like marrying sick puppies Shimon Moore and getting bitten by cats and dogs which I don’t know why because I surely love animals and I don’t see any problem having fun with them in real world. Well, that marrying shim wasn’t kinda really weird but amazing. I heart Shim and I say it’s the most beautiful dream I ever had. I definitely admire him. I can live my rest of life happily hearing to That Time of the Year! Too bad he’s married now. Well, stupid me it’s not like if he is not married, he is available or something for me Duh! But technically I guess I am his first wife. Wink! Let it be in a dream which he will never know about! But nothing came close to this very scary pant wetting dream! It seemed very different it seemed real. It’s like almost I belonged there in those wet moist dark forest or something! I felt like I knew the man who tried to kill me and the voice which I never heard seemed so familiar to me. Jesus Christ!
Thinking about all this nightmare drama Mrs. Lance’s class finally ended! Phew! Not to mention the big fat assignment! Sh*t! Well, at the end I was glad that I ditched the detention and insults with Teddy’s help.
Chapter 4
In a week everything turned to normal. I was too busy to think about my dream and sh*t my pants. My homework, stupid crazy fights with Eff and hangouts with Ted were back like before and I felt normal again. The dream didn’t bother or torture me coming back when I sleep nights.
I went to college the next day and I put up with all the headache classes and extra headache classes hitting my head over the desk and racing the libraries to finish up the never ending assignments. I don’t know why the hell they are bumped into our daily routine. Life is much better without them. And mostly our extra classes ended up with lance’s story telling! Sick! And with the last history class its evening and finally college is over. Yippee!
But, I decided to stay back and finish up my magazine work today and right now. I am way excited about this magazine thing and didn’t want anything to go wrong. Well, it is going to be published this Saturday. Not many days left. Just two! It’s my first magazine about photography. So I am nervous as wreck! Sigh! Photography is being my passion since I was kid. My mom says, when I was like 6 or 7 I already started damping my mom’s phone memory card with weird funny and silly pictures I take all day. She says she always laughed seeing them. Which I would say she still does it. The laughing thing. She still thinks I click weird and silly. Umm, Not really a photography fan, I guess. Huh! So here it is my big day, I am dying to publish my photographs in it. It would be a little accomplishment for all the photography work I am doing now and then. I never imagined I would do something like publishing them in college magazine. But, I see no harm in doing that. I am ready for any super, sick or super sick criticism coming on my way. It would just help me and moreover I am thinking of making it as a career option.
So, I am definitely an art lover. Let it be photography, making little movies with my little Sony cam which I bought with my savings or playing guitar. Even though, I am not any rock star in strumming the strings marvelously, but every day now I try real hard enough to be the one. So, wish me luck!
So, I know if I go home now my work will be adjourned. None of my friends will show up to complete this work. Its hell lot and I couldn’t make it alone. And I know Eff’s going to her cousin’s place tonight for some crazy cousin’s night out, just to wreck her so called crazy cousin’s pretty stuff and bust her totally today. She says it’s a revenge day for her to sue her cousin for . Sounds more like a nightmare to me and which I would say, will be her perfect excuse to escape from work.
Coming to Ted, I guess that busy boy wouldn’t even pick up my phone when it ticks straight 7. The Amazing Racing Show! He loves it! He could even ditch finals for that thrilling show! Gosh! I don’t know why the hell these boys fall on their knees for such stuff. I know it’s fascinating to watch the costliest engines racing, bumping up the bike into some 10 feet high into the air and wrecking up into some million pieces after crash landing on some grass, woods or sometimes even over people who were busy with camera’s or pop corn’s and scaring the hell out of them. Finally, it almost always ends with tire fire! And lastly, all cheers over the ramp and over the TV sets thrilled, when the motorist awkwardly lands up on his feet or on a stretcher just to wave and say ‘hey, I am still alive!’
So, I called Eff and Ted to show up in the college park. Soon, we all settled down in the park, which I would say is the most beautiful and peaceful place in my whole college. I love trees and green! But more than doing the college work, we were busy cracking jokes, teasing each other with their secret crushes names. It was point where we were admitting our secrete crushes.
So, Eff pushed my planner book aside and shrieked on me ‘Tash, common now don’t you be such a tough girl like oh! No secrete crushes and everything! I am your best friend and I am supposed to know everything right? Now tell me.’ Good lord! She wouldn’t let me end this conversation. Such a stubborn friend I have, I thought and Ted is munching his chips and walking around the park not in mood to listen the girl talk we were having. I was a bit shocked to see that he wasn’t a bit curious to know if I have any secret crush and he didn’t even notice me blush when Eff asked me about my secret crush. Unfortunately Eff did.
‘I don’t have any secret crushes’ I lied to her throwing myself on the grass lightly.
‘Yea, right! I believe you!’ she snapped me and jumped on me fighting and tickling with me. She would never give up.
‘Stop it Eff, stop it!’ I scream trying to release myself from her strong grip. ‘This isn’t a way to get to know the truth, stop it, please!’ I say laughing with that non-stop tickling she’s giving me.
‘Uh-uh, not until you spit your dream crush’s name!’ she continues making me scream high.
‘Whoa! Girls, stop it’ Ted yells on us checking over some blondes from the park chair. Looks like some concentration diversion is taking place over there!
‘Ted, mind your own business!’ Eff yells back and takes over on me again when I try to run away from her. I try to fight my super stubborn friend but she will never loose. ‘I give up, you win, I loose, Release me now.’ I finally say gasping some air hardly.
With a winner smile she finally gets off herself from me and sits next to me making her eyes, ears big enough to catch the words I am gonna say.
‘Derek!’ I say slowly blushing with smile.
‘What? Der–!’ I shut her mouth instantly before she completes the name. I didn’t want him to hear this. I know Ted wouldn’t be much happy if he knew its Derek. There’s some serious fight business going on between them. And it’s not like I love Derek or anything. It’s just, I like him. He is cute, smart and was always nice to me. Never flirted! But, I am not sure yet if have fallen in love with my senior. Love takes time!
‘Shh!’ I sigh when I suddenly notice Ted’s gaze falling on us.
‘Who is it Eff?’ Ted yells curiously with his big blue sparkling eyes on me.
‘It’s you Ted!’ she says laughing hard winking at me. I laughed back too. I know ted wouldn’t believe that.
‘Funny, Eff.’ He shrugs it off getting into his business looking at the photographs I took.
Finally with a half-an-hour hard work we are all finally done with all the work and I am glad the works over. I can finally chill a bit. ‘Yoo-hoo!’ she yells. ‘Ha ha, yea yoo-hoo!’ I join with her. While, Ted’s busy listening to some Green Day or blink 182 songs on his iPod. I and Eff were busy wrapping up the stuff I noticed Ted’s phone ringing. It’s his mom. I look at him to yell about his call and suddenly, I saw someone skulking in the bushes behind park bench where Ted is sitting I saw like, something or someone is trying to attack him. ‘Who’s that?’ I shriek before it’s too late.
‘Whoa! What happened there, girl?’ Ted walks up towards us amusedly.
I quickly get up and run near the bushes to see what the hell that was and I found nothing. I scanned every inch of the park sight but couldn’t find anyone whom I think I just saw.
‘Tash, what happened?’ Eff reaches me worriedly.
‘I think I just saw someone there. Like, trying to hurt Ted!’ I say, scared.
‘What? Hurt me? Tashy what’s wrong with you? Why would anybody try to hurt me? Firstly! You think somebody is trying to kill you and now that you’re so called somebody is trying to kill me too? Isn’t there anymore work to your so called evil people on this planet rather than killing us Tashy? I guess you are imagining things to hilt!’ he laughs it off as if I am some mad retard girl.
‘It’s not funny Ted!’ I told you I saw something!’ I shout in a rage that I did attract many passing people over there.
‘Oh okay, okay calm down. I’m just joking. I’m sorry, okay. And maybe it’s just an animal, you saw! Like dog or something?’ he tries to make things light. But my mood is already upset.
‘I am neither imagining things nor I see a dog there.’ I say angrily and suddenly my eyes fell on that little thing which was lying on the green grass near the park bench. I picked it up and I see it’s a locket. Kind of bronze and looked old. Real old like ancient times with a skull carved on it. Dangerous! What kind of animal wears that? Huh?
‘What’s it Tash?’ Eff asks me.
‘Nothing!’ I say slipping into my pockets. I didn’t want to show it to them. It’s not like they would believe me if they see it and well what more will happen if I show it to them? I just have to put up with their wild guess like, may be it belongs to our college student or teacher or gardener or something. So I just hid it. I didn’t even know why I am keeping with me.
‘It’s late, let’s go home.’ I say picking up the books and packing the magazine stuff.
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