Time is gold. We shouldn't waste it. And that's what we should always remember. Once you do something, it's done. Done. As in, you'll never get the chance to change it. Treat time with great caution or else you'll gravely regret it.
"Max. Max. Max!" Lee Doyle waved his hand in front of Max Clark's face. Hi expressionless face tensed up as he noticed Lee's attempt to get his attention. He faced Lee with a raised brow and answered:
"What?"
"Weren't you listening?"
Max shook his head and grabbed a bite of his chocolate bar in his hands.
"C'mon. You know I hate repeating things." Lee shrugged and looked the other way. Lee has a sort of short attention span. He hates repeating things because he considers this a tiresome thing to do. So if you're talking to him, listen closely or you'll get a lecture from him.
"So, as I was saying, did Ms. Sturtz say that she was going to give a test?" He repeated unwillingly.
"Maybe." Max munched on the chocolate bar again and added "Yes and No."
"Answer seriously!" Lee complained "You know how important a test is. You fail and you go downhill!"
Max chuckled for a moment's second and replied.
"I really don't know."
"Man, nothing good comes out of you." Lee buried his face in his hands. He then looked up and searched the school lot for someone.
"Wait, isn't that-uh- what's her name?" Lee said as he tried hard to remember the girl's name.
"Christine." Max said in a matter-of-factly tone and threw the wrapper in the trash can beside him.
"Oh, right. Isn't she smart?" Lee asked sheepishly.
"Think so."
Lee turned away and called the girl with the long wavy hair holding a thick book.
"And Shakespeare…" Lee heard the girl talk.
"Christine? Christine!" Lee called hesitantly.
"Romeo, oh Romeo…. What?" Christine said, still looking at the page of the book.
"I've got something to tell you. I mean ask."
"Yeah? What is it?" She said and looked at him as she closed the book.
"About the test… Is there a test? Uh….about well, uh, Ms. Sturtz' class?" he asked.
"A test? In Sturtz' class? Hmmm…. Yeah, think so." She replied casually.
"Right. Thanks." Lee said awkwardly, realizing that couldn't start a normal conversation.
"Yeah." The girl nodded "Welcome." and instantly resumed reading her book.
"Bye." Lee added.
"Bye" she answered as Lee quickly reunited with Max.
"That was awkward." Max laughed as he leaned back against the pole.
"Shut up. At least I asked." Lee shrugged.
"She says there'll probably be one, by the way." He added.
Max didn't reply but snorted amusingly. He took out from his pocket a pen and a piece of crumpled paper and wrote.
"Test…. Sturtz' class…. Tomorrow…. There." He said as he wrote. Max was different when writing. Different in a way that when he holds the pen, he holds it in a differently. His fingers are placed on the wrong places, he holds it in a weird position and he always dictates what he's writing except when writing something private. Lee was used to this and didn't bother to ask him as he eyed Christine, who was sitting on a nearby bench reading the thick book. Lee guessed that the book's Shakespeare, as what Christine said to herself earlier.
"That Christine girl's pretty bookish. I couldn't even read that long." Lee remarked.
Max looked up and twirled his pen in his hand.
"Yeah. I noticed that. You know, last week she read all of the Lord of the rings series."
"Whoa." Lee sounded amused.
"I know." Max smiled.
Suddenly, they heard Lee's phone ring loudly. Lee took it out from his pocket and checked the screen.
"Shoot. It's mom. Wonder why she's calling." Lee said as he clicked the answer button and answered it."
"M-m-m-mom?" Lee said nervously.
"LEE CHRISTIAN DOYLE!" Mrs. Doyle's voice echoed loudly and Lee had to move the phone away fromhim.
"Mom?" Lee replied
"WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR FATHER'S CAR?!"
"What do you mean?" Lee asked sheepishly.
"WHAT DO I MEAN?! DON'T YOU FOOL ME! I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU NOT TO PLAY YOUR DARN BASKETBALL BESIDE OR ANY WAY NEAR THAT CAR! AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! THE WINDSHIELD'S ALL BATTERED UP! THE GLASS IS BROKEN! IT'S SHATTERED! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" The voice said with all the anger and frustration present. Lee furrowed his brow and whispered "I can't believe she found out!"
"Well, there's your proof there." Max chuckled as he pointed at Lee's phone.
"Shut up, Max." Lee retorted.
"Max? Is Max there?" Mrs. Doyle calmed down.
"Yeah,mom." Lee answered.
"Oh! Tell him I said hi!" she giggled.
"Mom says hi." Lee called out to Max and instantly went back to his phone. Max smiled and waved his hand at Lee.
"He says hi too." Lee got the message.
"Oh, how nice, anyway…" Mrs. Doyle said "ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! YOUR FATHER'S RAGING RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'RE NOT HERE NOW! LOOK AT WHAT IT COSTS TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE!" She instantly shouted.
"Okay, okay, I got it!" Lee said annoyingly.
"DON'T YOU DARE RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!"
"Sure." He replied.
"LEE CHRISTIAN DOY-"Lee didn't let her finish her sentence as he pressed the exit button instantly before she could lecture him again. Lee sighed heavily and put his phone back in his pocket.
"I'm in big trouble. BIG." Lee sighed. "And it wasn't even entirely my fault! My little brother pushed me on purpose and I lost track of the ball. And "whooped-doo" "Lee put his hands in the air added "I get the blame."
Max smiled at this and said "Little brothers sure are a problem. I'm glad I don't have one." Lee snorted and shrugged as he sat on a nearby stone. A big one, that is. He took out his watch and checked the time.
"Why don't you just wear it?" Max asked. His curiosity suggested that he was dying to ask that question for a long time. Lee was quite bothered that Max even asked. He sighed and hesitated for a while.
"It's-uh…. not up to par with…my…. taste." Lee tried hard to lie but Max's face suggested he wasn't so convinced.
"Oh. Okay." Max answered in a carefree manner and then added "I know you're lying but I'll let you off."
The fact is, Lee doesn't like the idea of having to keep an eye on time. It kept serving him as a constant reminder for all the lost time and mistakes he made." He wished he was free. Free to do things he wanted without something holding him back like time. He just wished that life was like a DVD player, he could go back and change his mistakes, he could pause to think of what's right for a while, he could go to the future and see what's in store for him. Life would be a pleasure.
"Hello." They both looked up and faced Christine, who was now standing in front of them with her book in her hand.
"Hey. Can I help you?" Max said.
Christine smiled and sat next to them leisurely.
"A-any problems?" Max rephrased his sentence but she didn't answer.
"Nah. I just wanted to make social contact with you guys." Christine said as she opened her book and read again.
"Aren't you tired of reading that?" Lee asked. Christine faced him and shook her head.
Lee whispered to Max. "So much for social contact."
"Hey." Christine suddenly said. She closed her book and faced them both. Max flinched as Lee jumped in his place. They hadn't expected her to talk to them further.
"Is it peculiar that I just spotted a luggage bag near…. The old oak tree?" she asked.
"You-you're joking, right?" Of course it's weird. And why a luggage ba-"Lee considered this her idea of a joke and decided to turn to the old oak tree. To his surprise , she wasn't joking at all. There it was, the bag, perched on one of the three's large roots.
"I've never noticed that before." Max sounded a little astonished.
"It's because it was never there before." Christine said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Okay, I get that." Max rolled his eyes and eyed the bag.
"Let's check it out." Lee beckoned them to follow him to the bag. He led the way as he noticed Christine begrudgingly follow them. In a while, she finally decided to drop her heavy book.