A/N: hey, look, I finally updated! Chapter 10! Woo!
Yeah, decided on a timelapse as was suggested by PinkNinjaa, and still not sure about how to end this. This opens up for at least a chapter or two more, probably. Updates will be shaky again once I go back to school on Monday.
Also, first time in a while I've uploaded two things in one day so that's cool, right?
Enjoy!
After all the tears had dried and there were none left to cry, Zoey moved on with her life. She and her family stayed in that town, in the same house, and she grew up. By the time she was in high school she'd become an intelligent and highly skilled young woman with prospects of attending a university and studying fashion design. She just had to get through her senior year and it would all fall into place for her.
She got up that first day feeling confident. She dressed in a red top she'd made herself -it had remained her go to color all those years- and dark green pants. She tied her hair back and made her makeup simple but impactful.
She headed out the door after her mother kissed her goodbye; she'd be driving to school. She was extremely careful about checking that there was no one in the road when she traversed it in her car. The memory of the accident had never left her fully, though details had slipped her mind as she'd aged.
Upon parking and heading up the steps she could feel a different air as she passed by classmates she'd known for years. Must've been shared nerves or something.
She headed to first period not thinking too much about things. She said hi to a couple of people she knew as friends and found a seat in the middle of the room. The volume in the room grew louder as each desk was filled with another student, until all but one was taken. The bell rang and the teacher got up from her desk. "Alright, folks, welcome back to school. Some of you had me last year so you know the drill. I'm gonna take attendance and try to learn new people's names so that this doesn't get too awkward." She started calling out names and the person whose name it was proclaimed their presence. Zoey waited patiently for hers to be called.
When a name Zoey recognized from long ago came up she looked around, but no one claimed it. "New kid must've gotten lost..." the teacher muttered as she made a mark over paper. She continued to call names until all the students in the room had been accounted for. "Great, let's get this party started," the teacher said before giving instructions and beginning to go over basic things for the year.
Fifteen minutes into class the door opened and a guy in a suit poked his head in. The teacher looked at him and the guy said some quick things that Zoey couldn't really comprehend. Then the guy was gone and five minutes later someone else entered the room. All eyes went on the guy as the teacher asked, "You're Mike?"
The guy looked at the teacher with one eye and nodded silently. His hair, dark, long, and straight. covered the other. His skin was tan and yet seemed washed out, and he wore a dark blue hoody over a black t-shirt and blue jeans. He was quite tall and thin, but had a slight slouch. He seemed tired.
"I know you're new here so I'll cut you some slack for today. Take that seat in the back. We were just going over the syllabus," the teacher continued.
Mike looked towards the back and nodded again, making his way through the aisles of chairs. At one point he passed Zoey, who was looking at him in slight shock for unknown to her reasons. He took his seat and everyone who's been looking at him put their attention back on the teacher, except for Zoey who was still looking.
The class lasted a little while longer before the bell rang indicating that class was over. Zoey grabbed her bag and headed for the front like the rest of the class.
Another period went by, and another, and another. Lunch time rolled around eventually and Zoey found her friends at their table from the year before. She sat down and the group chatted with each other about how their summer had gone.
When Zoey went to put away her tray she accidentally bumped into Mike, who'd been doing the same but at a much quicker pace. Mike ended up dropping and then catching his tray in a strangely graceful manner. The two looked at each other for a moment and it was Zoey who spoke first. "Sorry, I'm clumsy sometimes," she apologized.
"...don't worry about it," Mike replied, his voice quiet. He put the tray down and started to walk away.
Zoey put her tray down as well, but instead of rejoining her friends she chose to follow him. "I'm Zoey, if you were wondering," she said.
"I know who you are," Mike replied, pushing the cafeteria doors open.
Weird response, but ok. "Oh, you do?" Zoey asked.
Mike nodded silently as he exited the room.
Zoey decided to follow, to find out more.
"We were neighbors," Mike finally replied in the hallway, far from other people.
"...I knew you seemed familiar!" Zoey said. "You moved away, after the, um..." She didn't want to bring it up.
"The incident," Mike finished her sentence for her. His expression was unreadable.
"Yeah, that..." Zoey glanced to the side awkwardly. "I wanted to visit but my mom wouldn't let me, and then I forgot about it..." she admitted.
"Well, I just moved back here with my mom...different neighborhood, but closer to her work," Mike explained.
Zoey nodded in understanding. "Um, how's your, um, your... dad...?" she asked, out of curiosity.
Mike looked at her a bit more intently. "He's in jail," he said curtly. "Has been for a while."
"Oh..."
"Yeah."
Awkward silence. The bell rang indicating the end of lunch, and more people were heading their way.
"I'll, uh, I'll catch up with you again later...if you want to," Zoey said.
Mike just nodded and headed off, probably to his next class.
Feeling weird and nervous for no good reason Zoey took off to her own class, wanting to process that interaction while she listened to another teacher drone on about the syllabus.
Finally, a chapter that doesn't end in crying.
Putting review thanks down here, going out to PinkNinjaa and Gucci Mane LaFlare :)
Thanks for reading, see ya whenever the next chapter comes out :P