rails // a.i. // book 2

railing of a bridge

november
ashton

school is two months in and i'm back to how things were a year ago. sitting in an old wooden desk, looking out the windows to the free world. except this time things are different. people constantly question me about california and my soccer experience and why i came back. the weird thing is that mae is nowhere to be found.

she was released two months ago and has not been heard from by anybody. although i only asked my parents, sister, and her cousin michael. it's so boring here without her. the way she would be so silent around peers yet pull the funniest pranks. she would never answer questions in biology or calculus. but always share her opinion in economics and health. mae is very bright. when she's in school it's like you can feel her presence.

so i sit in economics, staring at the empty desk kiddy corner to my right and wonder where the hell she could be right now. is she at home? florida? kansas? who knows?! everything is just so different without her.

mae honestly meant the world to me. last year was a time i can never replace. she is irreplaceable. and then her letters came and it was the best contact we had. i had never felt closer to her than when she was sending letters.

she'd keep me updated day to day and how she was feeling. she'd always write 'love, mae' at the end of every letter. it's the little things she would add in there that made them so special. her side notes about people who she didn't favor or something to add about nurse simone.

even though i have no idea who nurse simone is, i thank her every day. she - and the other nurses - is the one who saved my dearest from falling to her death. mae never said a bad word about her or the receptionist, danica. she liked her very much as well. sometimes danica would stay the night and hang out with mae. i thank her too, for keeping her sane.

i slowly regained my attention to class as mr. jacobsen was announcing the assignment. oh how i despised econ. assignments. he announced that we would be doing an assignment with a partner who would virtually be our significant other. of course, we wouldn't be choosing who we wanted to work with and what type of family we wanted to be. this assignment is something that mae would've liked.

"okay, miss carlisle, you may choose a name." mr. jacobsen told bitchy britney.

as soon as the piece of paper was pulled, she rolled her eyes in disgust. "connor flemming."

he was possibly the nerdiest kid in the grade but the best partner to have. of course it was britneys worse nightmare because she couldn't hookup with the guy she was partners with. it was quite hilarious to me and half the class.

"alright britney you and connor are a rich upper class family with two kids. connor is a lawyer and you are a psychologist. budget your money for a family vacation to fiji." mr. jacobsen said handing britney her packet of guidelines and things to fill out.

"mr. irwin please pick from the hat." mr. jacobsen demanded.

i reached my hand in the hat and pulled out maes friend, clarisse. at least it was someone i was familiar with.

"well?" mr. jacobsen asked irritability lacing his voice.

"clarisse pembarton." i said looking at clarisse as she met my gaze.

"okay. you and clarisse are a middle class engaged couple. make wedding and honeymoon plans fitting your budget." mr. jacobsen ordered while slapping the packet on my desk.

"you all have until monday to complete the assignment. it's wednesday, use your time wisely." mr. jacobsen said while sitting behind his desk. "you have the rest of the period to work. go."