It's Friday. My school day continued with its usual rhythm, but the air was buzzing with whispers and gossip. A group of popular kids were discussing the fact that they had just been exposed by some unknown person, and everyone had theories about who the jealous soul might be.
Now, everyone who used the girls' bathroom, third stall today knows all the latest couples.
I walked into the classroom, noticing the hushed tones and glances being exchanged. Archie, ever the social butterfly, was already in the know.
“Did you hear?” he whispered excitedly as I took my seat. “Someone exposed the pick-me girls. It's all over the place.”
I raised an eyebrow, letting out a small scoff. “Pick-me girls? It's 2053. That's 30 years outdated, don't you think?”
"Well, no denying the fact that they're like that though." he said flatly.
"Any idea who?"
He shrugged. “No clue, but I have my suspicions. Everyone's talking about it.”
As if on cue, one of our classmates burst into the room. “I found out who stole my pen!” he declared, holding up his phone with security footage.
Everyone turned their attention to him, intrigued by the sudden development. “It was that guy,” he pointed towards the empty seat in the back. “I saw the pen sticking out of his lunch bag, but he left early yesterday.”
The room erupted in murmurs, everyone speculating about the thief and the motive behind such a bizarre theft.
Archie turned to me, a grin spreading across his face. “Never a dull moment here, huh?”
I nodded, feeling a strange sense of amusement at the chaos around me. High school never ceased to surprise me. Despite the drama, I found a weird comfort in the routine of it all.
That's around the time when I saw her come in. My longtime best friend Carly walked up to me, her lower arm wrapped in bandages and held up by a sling.
"So, you're ditching me for my twin brother, huh?" she joked, nudging my elbow with her good hand.
"Not even a hi to us, Charlotte?" Archie deadpanned. Nobody actually calls her Charlotte though, so it took me a second to process the fact that 'Carly' is what I called her when I was four and couldn't pronounce her name right.
"You don't deserve a hi, Archer." she quickly said, before turning to me. "Hi, Aura. How was life without me, baby girl?"
Being called a baby when you're older than someone is weird, but we have a running joke where I was 'adopted by the extrovert'. It's still weird.
"Life was peaceful," I said. "Especially without you yapping non-stop."
Archie looked confused. He didn't understand our jokes and he probably never will.
Archie looked confused. He didn't understand our jokes and he probably never will.
Before Carly could retort, Archie suddenly lit up. "Oh, guess what? There's this science competition coming up. The winning school gets to visit Dr. Aurelia Oxide’s lab, that huge one in the outskirts. Isn’t that amazing?"
My stomach dropped. The last thing I wanted was more involvement with Aurelia, but I forced a neutral expression. “Sounds... interesting.”
Carly’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean THE Dr. Aurelia Oxide? Aura, you have to participate! You’re basically a science prodigy.”
I shrugged. “We’ll see. I've been there though."
Okay, not actually anything I can remember but I was most likely born there. But my sister has probably been there.
Archie was practically bouncing with excitement. “It’s going to be epic. Imagine seeing all her groundbreaking work up close!”
I offered a small, detached smile. “Yeah, sure.”
"I think we both forgot she's probably there all the time-" Archie started, before his sister put her hand over his mouth to shut him up. I didn't mind though. It makes sense he would think my dad took me there all the time.
He used to take Zinnia sometimes though, which I considered unfair. Now I get why. He wanted me to stay far away from his boss.
---
The history lesson droned on, the teacher’s voice blending into the background noise. My mind wandered, thoughts of Aurelia and the competition swirling in my head. I was lost in my own world when the classroom door opened, and Zinnia walked in, looking unusually serious.
“Aura, can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked from the front, her tone leaving no room for argument.
The teacher paused, looking slightly annoyed. “Zinnia Chrome... my former student. Is this urgent,?”
“Yes, it’s family business,” Zinnia replied firmly.
"Fine then," she said. "But as long as Aura's work will be complete, not left lagging because of this."
I got up, feeling the eyes of my classmates on me as I followed her out of the classroom. The hallway was quiet, and Zinnia turned to me with a look of urgency.
“It’s about Dad,” she said quietly. “Mom found something, and she thinks it’s important. We need to go home.”
My heart sank. “What did she find?”
Zinnia shook her head. “I don’t know all the details, but it’s something big. We need to leave now.”
I nodded, feeling a mix of dread and curiosity. “Okay, let’s go.”
As we walked towards the exit, I couldn’t help but glance back at the classroom. Archie and Carly were watching us with concern, and I gave them a small wave, hoping to reassure them.
“Everything okay?” Archie mouthed.
I forced a smile. “It's nothing," I mouthed back dramatically.
Carly gave me a thumbs-up. A silent, “take care, Aura.”
With that, Zinnia and I left the school, the weight of the unknown pressing down on me. Whatever Mom had found, I knew it was going to change everything.
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