The Elements

My first thought in the morning, after my sweet alarm clock started to ring was that I hate school so fucking much. I hate school, people, mornings, socializing so you can figure out why I hate school so much. Me and the other half of the teenage population.

I punched my alarm clock to stop the blaring from my alarm clock. I really should turn the volume down because I’m waking up with a fright every single morning.

I could sleep 5 more minutes and then I’ll prepare myself for school.

Yeah, easy to say harder to do. That’s what I do every single morning and that’s exactly why I have to run like a maniac every morning, to get to school in time. I thought I’ll learn my lesson someday but I know that day is in a very far away future, so since then I’ll run every morning. The bright side is that I’ll always be in shape (not a circle).

God, why do I always have to make my life so difficult?

Now, I was running around my house trying to put my pants on, make a sandwich for school and one for now to eat, and brush my hair in the same time. I know this looks like an impossible mission especially in the morning, but somehow I can do all of them every morning.

After I made my sandwiches and put my hair in a messy bun because untangling my hair was a task not made for this time of the morning, I ran out of the front door after locking it of course.

Shadow, you idiot why you do this every single morning?? I swear I’m so stupid sometimes.

I thought as I was sprinted down the streets of New Jersey. My school is 15 minutes away from my house, if you walk calm like a normal person would, but a 5 minutes walk if you run like you have just seen a criminal with an axe. This was one of the moments when I was thanking God that I can run so fast. I’m one of the fastest kids from my school but if you think it doesn’t make sense. My mom and dad can’t run to save their lifes. They are more, lets say the nerdy type instead of the athletic type. And here I am, but maybe this habit of running late helped me to improve my athletic skills.

As I was lost in my day dreaming I didn’t realized that I arrived at school, and I bumped into somebody, making myself fall on the floor butt first.

“Watch where are you going dump shit.” a deep voice said and when I looked up I saw no other that the school notorious bad boy and player, Tyler.

I scoffed at him and got up. “Shut the fuck up before you don’t lose your last neuron.”

He looked taken back for a moment but recovered fast. “You should watch your little mouth, pretty girl. Are you new or something cause I don’t remember seeing you around.”

I stared at him with a blank face. “I’m in this school since grade 5 you idiotic jerk!” I said through clenched teeth.

“Really? Are you sure?” he said with a confused face.

“I think I remember very well where my personal hell is. And for your general culture is here. Just in case you were wondering.” I said and stormed away because the bell just rang.

This idiot isn’t the only one who asked me this during all those years because I’m what you call a loner, outsider, outcast, antisocial, weirdo, you name it I’ve been called it.. Nobody knows me or my name. Or maybe they know and ignore me. At least they’re not bullying me how they used to back in the day when I moved here. They used to pick on me because I had a weird accent. I had it since I moved here from Romania in fifth grade. The reason as why moved all the way here is still unknow to me, but I know better than mingle in my parents business. And beside the fact that all kids from this school are scared of me after I beat the hell out of the school’s star player shortly after I came here, I love this place.

The perks of knowing karate: you can beat whoever tries to get smart with you. I’m joking kids. Don’t do that unless they try to hurt you, which was my case. He shoved me into the lockers and my reflexes kicked in.

During this years of solitude, I discovered lots of things about myself. Things like how actually nice is to not have someone blow up your phone with messages and how I hate humans with my whole black heart.

Why on earth someone put math at the first hour of the morning? Just why?

I thought as I took my eternal seat in the back of the classroom. I love seating here where no one can see me, but I can see every individual from this room. I like observing people around me a little too much, but it’s always fun. For example, seeing the brunet guy from the third row suffering in silence because of his little and very obvious crush it’s always fun. Okay, and maybe a little sad.

I rested my head on my table for 5 minutes, trying to catch up with my sleeping schedule. Another thing I always hate myself for is going to bed at 1 in the morning even though I know that I have school in the morning.

Sometimes I think that I’m some kind of masochist.

The bell suddenly rang and I almost fell out of my chair. How did the math hour ended so fast? This is a worldwide premier.

Okay one hour down and five more to go. I’ve got this.

Luckily, now I have the French class and it’s one of my favorite classes since I’m very good at it. Or good enough for my teacher to let me do whatever I want as long as I take the tests required to pass the class.

My mind flew to the biology hour as I tapped my foot on the beat of one of the Halsey’s songs. During the last hour of biology, Mr. Raimond decided that tomorrow we’ll be having an hour in nature because we need to understand the importance of nature and our connection with it.

Now, imagine a 55 years old hippy man with a pink headband with flowers around his head saying that. Even though he is a more crazier type of professor, he’s my favorite one from this hell hole and I honestly can’t wait for this trip. I always loved nature and the biology hour, and maybe the fact that we’ll be skipping the rest of the day for this trip also added to my excitement.

During my daydreaming, I subconsciously started to draw. It happened more often that I like to admit, but it always happens when I get into my daydreaming trace. My hand starts to move and draw on its own, like it has a mind of its own or knows something that I don’t. This time the draw consists of a girl, her back to be more precis, She’s dressing in a back and white gym gear and it front of her is what looks like a running track with different obstacles on it. I recognize some from back in the days when I was taking karate lessons. We used them to increase our speed of reacting and for a better dexterity. Back to the girl, she was in the starting position and call me weird, but I can feel her confidence through this drawing.

I wish I could be like as confident as her. She looks like she knows exactly what she’s doing.

The sky was a pure blue with no sigh of clouds on it. The sun was shinning like it was encouraging the girl. The running track was somewhere on a stadium or something like and the bleachers were full with people. Some of them were cheering while some were simply staying there.

I stared in amazement at my drawing. How can I do this without realizing? I ask myself this question every time it happens, but I was never able to form a logical and completely explainable answer.

The sound of the bell pulled me out of my mental debate and I sighed. Next I have gym and don’t get me wrong, I really like the gym hour, what I don’t like are the kids from it. They always pretend that they can’t see me and I always end up on the bench when we have to play a game that involves playing in teams. Thank God today we have to do laps since we are preparing for the resistance probe, which is graded.

I was almost finishing my third lap when someone decided to place his food in front of me. I tumbled on the ground and I heard them starting to laugh mockingly. I sprinted towards the bathroom without raising my head to look at them. Without giving them the satisfaction of seeing me angry.

My fists clenched around the edge of the sink and I could feel the anger raising in me. I don’t understand why this stupid kids can’t simply just leave me the fuck alone. I just want to finish my fucking studies without having to look over my shoulder every 5 minutes. They didn’t do anything until today. They ignored me for the past years and know they fucking started to bully me again.

As my hands started to shake from the intensity of my anger, the lightbulbs exploded and I quickly cover my hands to stop the shards from digging into my head. I looked around waiting for someone to start laughing and came out with their phone in their hands, but I was the only one here.

The scariest thing is that it’s not the first time this happens. One time when I was fighting with my mama I screamed at her and the lights went off. Another time during the math hour I got angry again and the lightbulbs exploded again.

Now I’m starting to freak out for real. The first two times I thought that it must be some weird coincidence or someone was messing with me, but now I’m starting to believe that maybe it comes from me. The lightbulbs blow up only when I’m angry or when I’m fighting with someone. This can only mean that I’m the one who does this, but I have no idea why.

I clenched my shaking hands and changed back into my normal clothes before I ran in the woods, the only place where I can feel at ease and safe. This is the place where I could always come when I feel nervous, angry or sad and after a few minutes of running around, I’d always feel better.

The adrenaline was running through my veins as I run after and the trees started to become a blur. Normal people would freak out and wonder why they can run this fast, but in this moment it feels so damn good. It feels like I’m finally home and it comes so naturally for me to just get up and run around. After my anger disappeared and I was 100% sure that I won’t beat the next person I see, I turned around and ran back to school. It’s lunch break and I’m very hungry. Running around consumes lots of energy and maybe I like food a little too much

No food no life.

Food is bae, food is life.

I live to eat! I don’t eat to live!

I can keep going like that the whole day but my old friend, Arnold, appeared in front of me. Don’t get your hopes up, he’s my friend, but he’s not human. He’s a tree. And he is in the right lateral of the school. I always came here at lunch because the cafeteria is full of people and my anxious ass can’t stay for too long in there. So here I am with Arnold. I think he is at least 40 years old. But he’s a fine old man. And the only person/thing that doesn’t think that I’m weird and doesn’t bully me.

“Hey Arnold! No time no see. How was your day? Mine? Like always. It sucked. I don’t understand why I need school. Music? We have Youtube! Math? Calculators were invented! Geography? Google maps or a map or a globe! English? Everybody knows English or Google translate! Sport? We have roads and woods! History? They all are dead and I don’t care about anything before me. So I just don’t get it!” I finished my little rambling and sadly my sandwich too.

I heard a deep chuckled in my right. Me, being me, I jumped 1 m to my left trying to distance myself from the criminal. “With how are you talking?”

I looked up and saw a guy with dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a big smile on his face staring down at me.

I decided to play my the trick I always love to do to any smart ass that decides to bother me

I looked at him in shock and covered my mouth with my hands. “You can see me? And you can hear me??”

Hazel will be his name until further investigation.

Hazel started to laugh. “It won’t work on me because I do that thing too. Now tell me, with who were you talking.” he said and sit down next to me.

I looked at him shocked by his actions. No one EVER came and seat down next to me. “I think you should leave. You don’t want to be seen with me.”

He snorted. “I don’t care what others think.”

“I do.” I said and ran out of there.

I heard him shouting after me, but I pushed my legs faster and stopped at the school’s library where no one ever came.

He looked like a nice guy, but if anyone had see him with me he’s screwed. That’s for sure. It’s better if he stays away.

I thought as I finished my second sandwich. I barely gulped down my last bite when the bell rang. I sighed and ruffled my hair. Now I had to go to Chemistry. I like the subject, but I hate the professor. Mr. John looks like a walking mummy. Oh, and he hates teenagers. He told us since our first hour with him and I had to bite my tongue to stop a remark. Come on! How hates teenagers and takes a job as a professor at a highschool? How stupid you can be?

To my luck, the mummy let us do whatever we like as long as we do a project for the next week. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Next I have History and I cheered when a substitute entered the classroom because this means one thing: I’m going to take a nap. Of course, like any other substitute, he will play some movie, but no one ever watches it.

I almost cried out in happiness when Mr. Daisy, my Arts teacher let us go home because this was the last hour of the day and she thought that we looked a little exhausted. She is my favorite professor after Mr. Raimond.

I happily arrived at home, 1 hour earlier and I didn’t had to run! I even managed to get to the bus station in time to catch the bus, but as soon as I stepped inside my house, the exhaustion of the day rushed back.

“Pizza, homework and sleep it is.” I mumbled tiredly as I made a beeline for the kitchen to eat what’s left of the yesterday’s pizza.

My last thought before I completely drifted in sleep land was tomorrow’s trip in the woods. Joking, my true last thought was:

I have to make 3 sandwiches tomorrow because the woods always make me hungry.