Shock

-8-

No heat, no phone, no light.
No tears either, I decided. I wanted to use my sleeve to dry my cheeks, but I realized I was wearing a T-shirt, so I used my skirt instead.
Rhonda's was usually a very warm environment, meaning I'd dressed appropriately. But outside, winter was nearing, making me wish I was wearing a jacket. I remembered I had one in my bag and went to retrieve it.
Back in the diner, Nathan was sitting with Peter and Haley, who weren't even pretending to be asleep anymore. I sat down across from Nathan and next to Peter, who was talking animatedly.
"Wolverine is way better! Nobody's scared of a spider!"
"I'm scared of spiders," Haley said.
"Yeah, so am I," Nathan agreed, "Plus, who says superheroes have to be scary? They're supposed to be helpful."
"They have to be a little scary. They have to scare the bad guys."
"That's true," I joined in.
Nathan jumped, apparently just now noticing me.
Haley seemed unfazed. "So you're not scared of spiders?"
"Not really,"
"Not really?" She exclaimed.
"So you're a little scared," Nathan stated.
My eyes flicked towards him.
"I'm scared of hurting them."

When Peter and Haley started yawning, I finally mustered the courage to look at my watch. 2 h 48m 16s. I tried not to let the despair show on my face. I failed.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.
"Nothing,"
His jaw shifted.
"I can handle it. I'm not a scared little spider."
My brow furrowed.
"That's not what I meant."
"Sure."
"Fine."
From the corner of my eye, I saw Haley bopping her head, her eyes fixed on Peter, who nodded. As one, they slid out of their seats and disappeared under the table, only to resurface and crawl away on the other side.
I sighed. "It's mrs. Stratford..."
"Grace."
I met his eyes.
"Grace. She's been unconscious for nearly three hours."
He inhaled and held that breath for a while. When he finally released it, he nodded.
I bit my tongue.
"I'm so-"
Before I'd spoken the last syllable, Nathan had already walked away.
I wasn't alone for long though.
"Wow. You guys really hate each other's guts."
"Not now, Keith."
"I'm Tyson."
I looked up and saw that indeed, it was the green-eyed, dimpled-faced god who'd sat down in front of me. I wanted to say something intelligent, but again, my words failed me.
"Not now, Tyson."
He seemed a bit taken aback, but stayed.
"Do you... want to talk about it?"
I shook my head.
"Okay, well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. You look smart."
I looked smart? Despite the senselessness of the compliment, my face flushed.
"Though, I read somewhere that if you find someone beautiful, you're bound to think they're smart to, so I guess I'm biased." Tyson continued.
I averted my eyes. Get it together, Charlie.
"Thanks," I managed.
Tyson smiled.
"So do you go to Birkbeck? I feel like I've seen you before."
Was he... flirting with me? That had never happened before.
What do I do? I thought anxiously.
"James Allen's," I said, the name of my school.
Tyson nodded and asked me where I wanted to go to college.
"I don't know yet."
"You know what you want to study?"
Engineering. Like Greg.
But I shrugged.
"You'll figure it out. No worries."
I already know. But I kept quiet. I wasn't sure why I didn't want to tell him. Maybe because it was my dream. It just seemed too... Personal.
I asked him what he was studying and we talked for a bit.
When twelve o'clock approached I found myself lingering near the south window, hoping to catch the familiar sound of the church bells. I wanted at least one thing to be normal.
My hope lasted for about 15 minutes. I sat down on the windowsill. From a few meters away, I heard someone sigh.
"Don't bother. They're not coming."
I got back up and walked towards the sound.
"you were waiting for the bells to, right?" Layla asked.
"Yeah..." I wondered if she'd left mrs. Stratford alone. She must've seen me looking, because she said: "That Nathan-guy is with her."
"Oh."
"Is she his sister or something? He seems really upset."
"Or something," I said.
"Must be tough."
I nodded in agreement.
"Do you know where your family is?"
"My parents are on a cruise, thank God, and Keith is right..." she peered around the diner. When she'd located her sibling, she pointed. "...there. You?"
"Peter's here, but I don't know where my other brothers are. Or my parents, for that matter."
I imagined my mum and dad, trapped underneath a pile of debris, or Cameron, wounded and lost, or Greg, knocked out cold, impossible to reach.
And just like that, I made a ridiculous decision.