The day drags on and the sun outside becomes guarded by a patchwork of grey clouds. I stare out the library window, and look down on my classmates crossing the overgrown field. The school grounds are a stark contrast to the surrounding forest. The dry yellow field sits against a deep green canvas. The forest beyond is unkempt and wild, with pops of colour from the mingling wild flowers. Towards the back of the ground sits a rundown rusty set of bleachers with blue chairs.
My eyes cross the field to the opposite side, and I spot a boy walking swiftly towards the edge of the forest. His hands are shoved into his jean pockets and he looks behind him regularly. Aaron. What is that sneaky bastard up to?
An unexpected thud on my desk jolts me out of my thoughts. I look up at Addie, who has a grin plastered in her face. After the first lesson, our history teacher has already set us an assignment due for the following week. Addie decided we needed to start it this afternoon.
"It's about the Greek Empire." She flicks to the contents page, and I give her a fake smile. "I'm going to go and find another book to use for the essay."
I hum as I make my way down one of the history aisles, dragging my fingertips along the spines of the books. The deeper I delve into the library, the wackier the books get. I stop in front of the thickest book I've ever encountered: it must be the size of my thigh. I pull it off the shelf and heave it over to a free desk at the end of the aisle. I open the cover carefully, wary not to break the aged spine. On the contents page, is a black and white picture of the author and his wife. I study it carefully, tracing the woman's face with my finger. What the fuck! I let out an involuntary scream. I pick up the heavy book and run back to Addie.
"Look at this." I slam the book down on the table. She looks at me worriedly, studying the photograph.
Her eyes widen, "That's you."
"But it's not me!" I point to the scrawl in the bottom corner of the image. "This was taken in 1815."
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Addie, look who's in the photo with me."
"Aaron?"
"Aaron."
YOU ARE READING
The Fallen One
Short StoryAfter Juliet Fulton wakes up at Lake Forest Academy, a reform school, she has to piece together why she's here and what she's done. But along comes Aaron. Juliet's initial curiosity is inevitable as the beautiful boy intrigues her in ways the other...
