6

Seth

November 3rd

"You've got to be kidding me." I said.
"I'm not kidding! You should've seen Riley. She looked scary." Nicolette insisted. Nicolette had a free period, and I wanted to skip Economics class, so since she said she needed to speak to me about something important, I suggested we go into the forest behind the girl's dormitory for privacy. I know, when someone says privacy, the first thing that comes to mind isn't talking, and is probably anything except that, but there was this small clearing in the forest, where right in the middle, was a huge oak tree. Nicolette and I discovered the place in the 5th grade while playing football and the ball went over the fence. Since then, we always went there whenever we needed to talk, relax or just wanted something to do. Right now I was lying under the shade of the tree and she was sitting upright beside me.
"Nothing scares you except spiders." I pointed out.
"So you can imagine how she looked if I found it scary." She reasoned.
I shuddered. "I don't think I want to conjure up such thoughts. My imagination is wild, but fragile."
Nicolette rolled her eyes.
"You know," I began. "I still don't see what's so important about all this."
"That's because I haven't even gotten to the important part yet."
"Please go on. I'm not bored at all."
"If you aren't interested in listening I'll just leave." She said, her tone serious. Normally she doesn't take my comments seriously since she knows I'm only joking, but right now, it seemed like she was worried about something, and that sign was enough for me to know that I should stop messing around. She got to her feet and bent down to grab her green notebook which was filled with poems and short stories that she wrote. Everything she writes goes in her green notebook.
She turned around to walk away but stopped abruptly as I sat up and tugged at the sleeve of her blue sweater. Caught by surprise, she lost her balance and fell backwards. The good thing was, she had a soft landing. Unfortunately, she landed right on top of me. Her book was flung to the ground and wedged itself between the large, mossy roots of the oak tree.
"I didn't think I pulled you that hard." I muttered trying to move my face away from her hair.
"It was all of a sudden! You shouldn't have even pulled me in the first place." She complained, getting up slowly and adjusting herself so that now her legs were sprawled across mine. I sat up a little so my back was resting against the bark of the tree. "You don't mean that. You're just trying to hide your excitement. Not all girls get this opportunity you know."
"Well, not all girls adore you."
"Ouch. And here I was trying to pull you back, only because I was concerned about you." I shook my head to show disappointment.
"Well, you certainly got me to stay."
"So, are you going to tell me the important stuff now?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Well, basically, this girl Mikayla–"
"Mikayla? Is she the one with the red highlights?"
She nodded.
"Oh. Okay."
She didn't continue. She just stared at me.
"What? Why are you staring at me?"
"You dated her didn't you?" She asked accusingly.
"Well, we may have gone out once…"
"I can't believe you barely remember her name! Have you dated the whole school?
"Well, no. I'm not really into guys."
"I meant the girls." She said through clenched teeth.
"Well, unfortunately, that would be a no too because the last time I checked, you also happen to be a girl."
She took a minute to reply. "So you've dated the rest of the girls?"
"Most of them. Nothing exclusive though."
She muttered something under her breath. Sensing her discomfort, I said "So, are you going continue with the story?"
I was rewarded with a small smile. "It's not a story. All this actually happened."
"Right. So are you going to continue with the documentary?"
She sighed. "Yeah. So Mikayla gets a dream about Riley being scratched, and the next day it actually happened–"
"Coincidence." I interrupted.
"–And then the next night, she saw you in her dream, just before she got the scratches herself."
"Okay, so I'm thinking it's not a coincidence." I said after a few moments of silence.
"Still don't believe me?" She asked.
"Well, it's not about who I believe. It's about what the truth is."
"You don't believe me." she sighed. Slowly, she moved her legs off mine and sat cross legged.
"Look, I believe you, but how can we be sure something is actually happening that relates to these dreams?"
"Well, it happened to Riley and Mikayla, and you were next in her dream, so–"
"Whoa, wait a second. You're worried about something happening to me?"
"You can't seriously be surprised."
"I am. Seriously."
"Well, you're my best friend. If I could do anything to prevent trouble or pain for you, I would." She said, fiddling around with the ring that hung around her neck from a thin silver chain. It was a ring I had given her in the 7th grade for her birthday. It was fake silver with a green gem on it, since I knew green was her favourite colour. The ring was rusted now, and didn't fit on any of her fingers anymore since the 9th grade, so for two years, she had been wearing it on a chain. I had been searching for a gift to buy her, and when I saw the ring, I knew I had to get it for her, but I hesitated. I thought my classmates and my football teammates would make fun of me or start calling her my girlfriend. In the end I decided it didn't matter, because I planned on keeping her as my best friend for a long time. People did tease us, but it ended eventually. Looking back at that day, I realized I was right. I couldn't have asked for a better person in my life.
"Nikki, don't you think that if her dreams were to come true, that something would've happened to me by now?"
"Why would it have happened to you first?"
"You said it yourself. She saw me in her dreams before she got the scratches herself. The dreams don't predict anything. It's just a coincidence, or something very similar to one."
She thought for a while. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She said. "I was just–"
"Worried." I completed her sentence with a smile. "I know. I would've reacted the same if I were in your place. Hell, I would've done a lot worse actually."
"Worse?"
"I would've terrorised everybody searching for a solution or some sort of explanation."
She let out a small laugh. "Well, it's all just a coincidence anyway, so there's no need to torture anyone with your presence."
"Torture?" I scoffed.
"Come on. We've got to get to class." She said. I got to my feet as she got up and went to pick up her notebook from between the tree roots, then walked back, falling into step with me.
"So, have you spoken to Eli lately?" I asked out of curiosity, to break the silence.
"It's only been like two days since I met him."
"I know, but you guys are in Biology together so I thought you might make a little chit-chat in class or something." I said, climbing over a huge boulder.
"Well, if you must know, Biology is the only class I take seriously, so I wouldn't be talking to anybody." She replied, taking my outstretched hand to clamber over the boulder.
"Well, that's a shame. Poor Eli." I muttered once she reached the top.
"Why?"
"No reason." I started to walk faster.
We had almost reached the fence. "Okay, one question before we get to class." Nicolette said.
"Okay. Shoot."
"You said you've dated half the school–"
"Girls only."
"–So that means there are still some left."
"What's your point?"
"Who's next Garcia?" she asked.
"I'm not a murderer. I don't choose my victims. They come to me." I said after I jumped over the fence.
"Nice way to put it." She muttered, slowly swinging her legs over the fence.
"Why are you so curious anyways?" I asked as she landed on the floor with a soft thud. She put a hand on my shoulder to steady herself.
"Not that you haven't already done it, but I just don't want you to break someone's heart for no reason."
I didn't reply. I only had one thing on my mind. I was thinking that I would probably have to become a murderer if anyone ever did that to Nicolette.