Locking her room door, Elaine slumped to the floor, her chest heaving as though she had been holding her breath the entire time.
Well, in a way, she had been.
He was so unnerving.
“Elaine, you shouldn’t have left like that,” she scolded herself, clutching her chest.
“How was that even possible?”
How much strength did it take to hurt someone to that extent with just a ball?
Too many thoughts crowded her mind at once.
Especially Allan helping her, his closeness, his smile, it was all confusing.
“Allan,” she whispered his name like a prayer.
“Get out of my head.”
After changing her clothes and returning from the infirmary where her head had been rebandaged, she felt ten times better.
What better way to spend her spare time than finishing Mr.
Steven’s assignment?
Her shoulders slumped at the thought.
“Ughh, there’s no way I’m finishing this,” Elaine muttered to herself, papers scattered around her, when she heard a knock at the door.
Already expecting who it was, she called out, “Come in. Make yourselves comfortable.”
“How was fieldwork?” June asked, sitting beside her on the bed.
“Terrible!” Elaine exclaimed dramatically, making June burst into laughter.
Honestly, they wouldn’t understand the depth of it.
“I’m sure you’re grateful the rainfall cut the work short today. It was so unexpected too. The weather was bright and sunny, then suddenly clouds rushed in and it just started pouring,” June said enthusiastically.
Elaine blinked rapidly at that.
She herself was confused.
She didn’t remember clouds or any sudden change in weather.
Shaking the thought away, she looked across the room at Gwen.
“You look pale,” Gwen said from where she sat on the couch, her tone monotone as always.
Touching her face lightly, Elaine smiled.
“Guess I wasn’t as okay as I thought.”
“Next time, it’s better to stay back if you’re not feeling well. If anything happens to you at Herbert Wilbur, no one’s taking responsibility for it,” Gwen stated calmly.
Elaine nodded slowly.
There was a strange feeling in her chest whenever Gwen spoke to her.
After the basketball incident yesterday, Elaine had started believing they were becoming something close to friends.
But Gwen liked Allan.
Liked was probably an understatement.
And after what happened in the classroom earlier, Elaine suddenly felt guilty, as though she was betraying her somehow.
Shaking the thought away, she sighed internally.
Elaine, what is wrong with you?
Nothing even happened.
Her gaze drifted back to the papers before her.
Strangely, everything that had happened before the rain now felt blurred, like a memory from weeks ago instead of hours.
All she could clearly remember was speaking with Kyle, noticing a beautiful flower, though she couldn’t even remember exactly what it looked like, and then the rain started.
Something was missing.
“What’s that?” Gwen suddenly asked, pulling Elaine from her thoughts.
“What?”
“The papers.”
“Oh, that… it’s j—”
“Mr. Steven gave it to her as punishment for disturbing the class with Kyle,” June interrupted helpfully.
“When?” Gwen asked.
“Monday. Morning classes before break. You weren’t in class,” June replied.
“Oh.”
Gwen seemed to lose interest almost immediately.
“Let me see it.”
“Um… sure.”
Elaine stood up and handed the sheets over to her.
“You haven’t even gone halfway,” Gwen murmured while flipping through them.
“I’ve just been busy,” Elaine defended weakly.
“When are you submitting it?”
“Friday.”
“What a nice view,” June suddenly remarked, standing beside the open window.
“Well, I don’t like it very much,” Elaine replied flatly, turning toward her.
“Are you kidding? You should feel lucky to have this view.”
“Why?” Gwen asked, still holding the papers.
“I don’t like trees.”
“That’s weird. There are trees everywhere around the school,” Gwen pointed out.
“It’s not that I hate trees,” Elaine corrected.
“I just don’t like the sounds they make. Especially at night. And the shadows they cast… it creeps me out.”
“Well, I wish this was our room. From here, you can see really far almost half this side of the school,” June commented.
“Hm,” was all Elaine said.
“Look from here,” June continued excitedly.
“You can even see the clock tower in the distance. It’s really pretty.”
“What clock tower?” Elaine frowned, walking toward the window.
She had looked outside countless times and never noticed any tower.
“There,” June insisted, pointing again.
Gwen walked over too.
“What?” Gwen asked, leaning slightly closer.
“The clock tower,” June repeated.
“Just look farther. It’s like it’s hiding behind the horizon.”
“There’s nothing there,” Elaine replied slowly.
All she could see were endless trees.
“It’s really old,” June explained, turning toward them with confusion.
“Wait… you guys seriously can’t see it?” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I can’t see any clock tower,” Elaine said with a shrug, stepping away from the window.
“Sorry, we have to go now,” Gwen suddenly said.
“Why?” June protested immediately.
“Didn’t you say someone asked to meet you after sanitation?” Gwen reminded her.
“Oh my gosh! I almost forgot,” June exclaimed, quickly leaving the window.
“I should change my clothes.”
“Ohooo,” Elaine teased, giving June a look.
“Who is it?”
“Well…” June grinned sheepishly.
“He’s hot.”
Elaine stared at her expectantly.
“His name’s Horace. He’s not in our class, but he’s in our year,” June added, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.
Elaine and June were so engrossed in the conversation that neither of them noticed the subtle shift in Gwen’s expression at the mention of his name.
“Bye, Elaine,” June called once she was ready to leave.
“Have a nice date.”
As they were about to walk out, Gwen turned back slightly.
“Just tick random answers. He isn’t going to mark them,” she said before leaving.
“What answers?” Elaine asked herself blankly before realizing Gwen meant the math assignment.
“It isn’t even going to be marked?!” she exclaimed with wide eyes.
“I’ve been wasting my time.”
Mr.
Steven was truly a devil.
Elaine walked back to the window one last time.
Still no clock tower.
Closing the window, she returned to the bed, picked up the printed sheets Gwen had left behind, and began ticking random answers without even reading the questions.
“Do I look nice?” June asked, turning toward Gwen, who wore a tired expression.
“You look the same,” Gwen replied dryly, rolling her eyes.
“Please, just tell me. How do I look?”
“You look pretty.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Gwen sighed.
“Why are you making such a big deal out of this? It’s just a walk, not a date.”
“I know,” June replied, smoothing down the hem of her dress with a smile.
“But as Elaine said… maybe it could become one.”
“So why are you stressing over looking nice?”
“So one day we won’t just be going for walks,” June answered dreamily.
Gwen stared at her for a moment before sighing again.
“Didn’t you just break up with your last fling?”
“That wasn’t my fault,” June argued immediately.
“Bye,” she added before rushing out.
Gwen only waved lazily at her retreating figure, shooing her away.