June 1st, 12:05 AM
The math test was hard... very hard, and my pencil kept on snapping from the pressure that I’d been putting on it. The intensity in the room was unbearable, and I knew I didn’t have much time left to finish. I still had about 3 questions left to answer, 2 of which I didn’t understand. It was going to take me some time, and time was the only thing that I was lacking of at the moment. I managed to finish two of them before I heard the sharp “bing” that was followed by a “bong” which indicated the beginning of lunch.
I decided to leave the last question blank. It wasn’t worth missing lunch over. And plus, I’d only have to deal with it on Monday anyways.
I shoved my pencils, rulers and protractors back into their individual cases and stacked my math binders and books into a neat pile. Once the cases were on top of the binders and I had the 6 paged exam in my right hand. I began to make my way through the jumble of students and managed to hand the exam to my teacher, Mr. Paxton who took it along with a few others that were being forcefully shoved into his hand.
The hallway was just as bad, teenagers swarmed around me as I tried to make it to my locker which was merely a few meters away. Once I arrived at the locker I still had to overcome the challenge of opening a lock while holding about 26 text books and other things, but, having those kinds of skills (that I have acquired over many high school years) opened it with ease. After putting everything in the right spot I was ready to begin my search for April.
April, if you’re wondering, is my best friend. We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. Well, since pre-school actually. And if we would have never met each other, our personalities would probably be drastically different. We’ve both acquired different traits from each other during all the time that we’ve spent together. For instance, we have both managed to have adapted the same favourite: Bands, movies, songs, words, foods, TV shows, styles and books, and probably a few other things too.
Though we might be very, very similar personality-wise, we look rather different, April having jet black hair, I having blonde, April being tan, I pale, April being small, and I tall, April having black (or such a dark shade of brown you could have sworn they were black) eyes, and I having blue. Though for some reason some people think we look alike. I can never understand why, and if you’re wondering, the fact that we were both named after months was just a coincidence.
We’re like sisters.... just not.
April’s locker was in further down the hallway and then to the left in a separate corridor. And I eagerly pushed (trying to make the least contact possible) through crowds of teenagers to get there. I could spot her shiny black hair from afar, and I waved my hand in the air to make sure she noticed me.
April combed through her hair on my arrival and pulled out the 7 dollars that she had for lunch out of her pocket.
“Hi June, how was your math test?” she asked tauntingly, knowing that I had been dreading the test for weeks.
“It went pretty well, actually. I only left one question blank. But it was still the hardest god damn test I’ve ever taken!” I replied, keeping a straight face, as usual.
“Good for you then. Let’s get some lunch!” she said enthusiastically.
And on that note, the two of us headed down to the cafeteria. The tall glass walls and high ceilings towered over us as we did; those were just a few of the breathtaking features of Branksome Academy (one of the most exquisite private schools in the area).
If it were up to me, I would have never have gone to a private school, too fancy, with kids that are too stuck up and full of themselves, that was my first impression when my Mother decided to send me to Branksome. And when I arrived there I had realized how right I was. I didn’t belong with the rich and fabulous and according to April neither did she. You see, both of our parents are very rich, and I do mean very rich. Of course they wouldn’t want to hurt their precious reputation by sending their sole daughter to a public school.
In many ways April’s parents are very similar to mine. This is why they are friends and have tea together every Tuesday afternoon. They’re both wealthy, self centered and send their daughters to private schools without consulting them in the slightest. But, their friendship is the main reason that April and I became friends. This is why I am thankful to have them.
If it were not for April, I would have no friends, no fun and would have probably have committed suicide in the midst of all these self righteous tycoons.
While in line, waiting to pay for the salads and cookies that we had purchased, April stated, “We’re eating in the cafeteria right?” snapping me out of my day-dreams.
“Of course, where else would we be eating?” I rolled my eyes. We’d eaten in the cafeteria for the past 3 years. Why change our schedule now? But of course part of the schedule was April asking whether we eat in the cafeteria or not.
We took our seat at the usual table. The cafeteria was surprisingly empty today, and the hard rain outside made the large windows look like waterfalls. It was pleasant.
I munched on salad and croutons for a while with April in complete silence. After being around someone for so long sometimes you run out of things to say. Neither of us worried about it being awkward anymore.
The both of us finished our salad in unison then (as usual) both burst forth in chatter at the same exact time.
“Sorry, you start.” I offered.
“No, no, its fine you start.”
“Ugh, just say what you were going to say!”
“It’s not important.” April said reluctantly.
I suddenly became very annoyed. “Fine.” And wondered how I had ever put up with her over the years.
The rain grew louder and the silence between us just grew quieter, and eventually April spit out what she was going to say, “I’m done eating.”
“Me too... where do you want to go?” I inquired.
“The Library? Maybe... I’m really not sure.”
I sighed. We had this problem every lunch hour. We’d rush into eating our food and end up with nothing to do for the rest of the time.
“Oh! We should go-“April’s speech was suddenly cut off by my brain becoming distracted. Because at that moment a certain student walked into the room and I became as intellectually active as a goldfish. It was Elliot. Elliot Blythe. He was 18, so of course not exactly in the same section of the school as me, but we did have the same lunch hour, and might occasionally walk by each other in the grand hallways of Branksome.
Like all other school-girls April and I did have our little crushes. But ever since my first day at Branksome Academy, Elliot had caught my eye. And that’s an under-exaggeration. For every time I see Elliot my heart practically stops beating and I go into cardiac arrest.
In my opinion, Elliot is the most gorgeous person I have ever had the pleasure to gaze upon. Though April thinks I’m over-exaggerating when I say it, it’s actually a very true statement. He has short honey coloured hair that sweeps over his eyes, and his eyes (don’t even get me started about his eyes) are the most beautiful shade of green and shimmer like pure jade. He’s 6”2 and slightly muscular, not too much, just the right amount of muscle. And I am completely head over heels for him.
It must seem idiotic, but sometimes I think he sees me when he walks by. Not like every other wealthy snob at Branksome, who just walk by, making sure their eyes are looking nowhere near me. I think he does actually notice me staring. I do know how unlikely it is though. And for a moment in time, in the cafeteria, as I failed to hear April’s suggestions, I was almost certain our eyes met.
“June!” April exclaimed, while slapping my back, and I ‘awoke’ from my daze.
“What!?” I snapped.
“If you were listening, I said ‘let’s go get my art supplies and draw in the Library’.” She sighed, exasperated. “Maybe if you weren’t goggling Elliot Blythe all the time you’d be able to pay attention.” She sounded frustrated.
“Well I’m sorry. You know how it is.”
“Yeah...” April sighed, “I just wish you weren’t so obsessed with him all the time.”
“I’m not obsessed with him! I just have a crush on him, a small one.” I argued against her, but it was no use.
“Yeah, since you were like 13! You’re madly in love, no doubt.” April giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile too.
We both stood up at the same time and threw out our garbage. Then the two of us left the cafeteria and walked back up to the upper circle, where our lockers resided.
We gathered most of April’s art supplies and hauled them down to the Library. We rarely did this anymore, but when we did we usually had a hell of a good time.
As I dropped a ton of pencils, pens and pencil crayons onto the dark coloured wood of the Library table, I noticed that they had added a new section, “horror”. I’d always thought that was more of a ‘movie genre’, but I loved the fact that they had added it none the less.
The Branksome Library was just as ravishing as the rest of the school. It had a high glass ceiling and the walls were covered in burgundy coloured wallpaper with gothic swirls and gold trims. The bookshelves were also very tall, causing you to have to use a ladder when the books you need are frustratingly near the top. The floors were covered in worn red carpet and one of the walls was entirely made from glass. In my opinion, the most beautiful room in the school.
April handed me a piece of paper from her sketch book and said, “Sketch” With a laugh. So I grabbed my pencil and an eraser and began doodling, since I never really do ‘drawings’. My works of art can probably be described as ‘A Series of Doodles’, since that’s basically what they are.
I tried not to concentrate on it too hard since all of my best ideas come in my ‘blank’ state. Sometimes what I draw actually comes to me as a complete surprise since I am actually concentrating so little that I’m not even sure what I’m drawing at all. This was what happened that time.
I was doodling mindlessly when I just happened to notice that I was doodling a tiny caricature of Elliot. I smiled; it looked très cute (très being a French word similar to ‘very’). That’s when I decided to draw an array of fruit beside it, then some stars, and then a picture of April and I underneath, and various other things.
Before I knew it, the bell (signalling the end of lunch) began to ring, and I pocketed the piece of paper, and walked with April back to her locker.
The rest of the day passed by quicker than I thought it would. Music, English and Geography were all easy subjects and passed by in a breeze. I couldn’t have been happier, knowing that the weekend had begun.
After, I packed all of my homework into my neon-green book bag and headed back over to April’s locker, through the usual swarms of teenagers. She was brushing through her hair, yet again, and I, eager to leave, helped her pack her stuff up.
“What are you so happy about?” April asked me.
“It’s Friday!” I exclaimed, I don’t usually exclaim things.
“Yeah, no doubt.” April rolled her eyes at me.
I closed her locker for her, and she locked it and then we were down the stairs and out the door in no time at all.
Now, since April and I are both from wealthy families, you can guess that we both owned cars that were pretty amazing. The fact was that most of the school was very wealthy and that they had pretty amazing cars as well. We usually just took mine though, and April left her shimmering silver Porsche Carrera GT in the garage.
I on the other hand was no better when it came to price. I owned a white 2007 Lamborghini EGea. It was fast, and I liked it that way. Even though I wasn’t really a racing person, I still liked to make it go exceedingly fast on the highways. Anyways, the school parking lot was filling up and the traffic to get out was worsening so April and I jammed our bags into the trunk and sped out in front of a Ferrari, causing the driver to honk at us angrily.
April was laughing. We always drove like maniacs on Fridays. As soon as we left the parking lot I took the fastest route to the highway and began to drive back home, even though the highway wasn’t exactly necessary, but I liked to take it anyways.
4:00 PM
Every Friday after school April came over to my house and we rented movies. It was a tradition now because we’ve been doing it for so long, ever since we were 10. Except now we hardly have the same taste in movies than we did then.
I pulled the car into the driveway and stepped outside into the blazing June sun. April opened the trunk and got out our stuff and I pulled out my key to open the door. My parents were gone on a business trip, not like it would have mattered anyways since they were always at work on Fridays.
Our plans for the night were to first, make supper, then watch about 5 movies then I’d go and drop April off at her boyfriend’s house. Clark Davis.
Clark has been April’s boyfriend for a good 3 years. I admit when they first started dating I was jealous as hell but now I’m perfectly fine with it. Clark was a very handsome guy, to me, not as handsome as Elliot, but he was handsome none the less. He has jet black hair like April, and bangs that were always over his eyes, his eyes being the most lovely shade of grey. He’s about 5”10, if I had to guess and he plays the guitar (the main reason why I was jealous of April for being able to have him).
But Clark wasn’t meant for me, he was meant for April. They were so perfect for each other, always finishing each other’s sentences and just fitting together perfectly in general. They were made for each other. I loved the way they were together and I wanted more than anything to have someone that special for myself.
“So what are we watching?” April asked while taking a bite of the macaroni that I had made (with extra cheese, no doubt).
“I’m not feeling picky tonight, I’ll go with anything.”
“Hellraiser, with a dash of Halloween.” April smiled.
I smiled back, “Sounds perfect.” I replied, because it really did.
We finished our food, cleaned up and headed downstairs to the Theatre. The Theatre, if you’re wondering, is almost like an actual theatre, but not quite. The screen was almost as big as that of an actual theatre, and there weren’t quite as many seats, but it sure as hell has red velvet curtains and everything else, which made it good enough.
April had cooked up a batch of pop-corn to eat and we soon after began the marathon.
The movies we watched were Hellraiser 1, 2, 3 and Halloween 1 and 2. All absolutely amazing movies, I’ll admit. And in between each and every one we made sure to cook some more pop-corn.
It was pretty late when all of the movies ended. 2 o’clock AM to be exact. I was exhausted, but I knew that I’d still have to drive April over to Clark’s place. I remembered the good old days, when April and I used to have slumber parties at my house every Friday, now she just slumbers with Clark, if you know what I mean. But we still have fun so it’s fine with me.
“So I guess we should leave now, hmm?” April suggested, obviously over-excited to go visit Clark, she reminded me of a puppy.
“I guess so.”
We got into my Lamborghini and sped off into the night. Clark’s house wasn’t too far away. It was in the ‘rich’ district as well. Clark didn’t go to our school, but he always spent lunch there so that he could be with his friends, which was how he and April first caught a glimpse of each other.
I remember the day perfectly. April and I were sitting in the cafeteria, as usual, when a crowd of boys entered the room. This wasn’t unusual considering that there were in fact boys at our school. I would have never noticed anything different but April suddenly stated, “Who’s that guy? We’ve never seen him before? Where’d he come from?”
“I don’t know,” I replied sarcastically, “Why don’t you go ask him yourself?”
Much to my surprise, April actually got up and walked over to the group. Or rather, to the boy that she had obviously singled out from them. They began talking, as if they had known each other for an eternity (I had always envied April for her social abilities) and they’ve been inseparable ever since.
By now I had arrived at Clark’s manor and had decided to walk April to the door, since I’m rather cautious about other’s walking the streets at night, even if it is just a short walk to the front door of a house.
The two of us followed the white bricks that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight to Clark’s house. April smiled almost stupidly as I rang his doorbell. It was almost immediately answered by Clark.
“April!” he pulled her into an embrace and I felt that same pang of jealousy that I had when they’d first met.
“Clark!” she mimicked.
“Okay so um... Bye you guys!” I wanted out of that situation as soon as possible. I didn’t like being around the two when they got ‘intimate’.
Once back in my car I felt much better. I turned on the radio to an opera channel (very unlike my usual alternative rock) probably because it was very calming.
I pulled out of the driveway and began my drive back home where I would most likely go straight to bed. I was mostly lost in thought, hardly paying any attention to the road at all. It wasn’t as if there were many people out on these small roads at night though. But fate proved me wrong.
While gently swaying to a soft harmony I suddenly found myself being flung around the car after a sudden crash. I wasn’t quite sure what was happening until a good 5 minutes after it did happened when I was upside down in my car, my poor, poor car. 300, 000 dollars down the drain, and I had only owned it for a year! Hardly a year!
But why was I worrying about my car? What about me? Was I alright? I decided to focus on where it hurt and found that the shooting pains in my right arm were worst, and what about the car that I hit? Did I even hit a car? Why hadn’t I paid attention?
I decided that I needed to get out of the car if I was planning on getting any help. With much difficulty I managed to heave myself out of the wreckage. The pains in my arm were getting worse, and I was now beginning to notice that my left leg was aching as well.
Once under the moonlight I lied down on the pavement and gasped for air, I had never been in a car crash before, at least not one this severe. I could see blood stains on my clothes but at the moment I wasn’t sure where they came from, all of my efforts were going into finding the other driver that had been in the crash.
I saw the car, and recognized it immediately; it was an Audi, just like the one Elliot owned. This made me smile even in the midst of dragging myself along the road.
I could now see someone getting out of the car, which reassured me greatly.
“A-are you okay?” I managed to sputter.
“I think so.”
That was when I realized who it was. The Audi didn’t just look like Elliot’s car... it was. And then man pulling himself out of the damaged car was in fact Elliot Blythe. I didn’t know what to say. We had never come face to face before and I doubted that these were the proper circumstances for our very first encounter.
My arm could hardly hold my weight anymore and I basically collapsed onto the ground. I wasn’t even sure if he’d recognized me from school yet.
“I think my cell phone is still working, I’ll call for help.” He announced.
I felt so guilty for letting this happen. Why am I so unobservant when it comes to driving?
As Elliot began dialling I could feel myself drifting off, or passing out, either way I wasn’t all there.
“Yes we need an ambulance.” I could hear him say. “We’re on Maple road.”
“They say they’re going to be here as soon as possible.” Elliot declared. I was much too weak to reply to him. “June? Are you okay?”
Well I guess he did recognize me, and knew my name. This was a shock to me, but I was completely ‘out’ before I could have any further thought on this.
