How I Saved the World (Or So They Told Me)

[3] The Answer to the Universe

.| CHAPTER THREE |.
The Answer to the Universe

...

Forty-Four [fohr-tee-fohr]: a number that may not be the answer to the universe, but serves well to distract others during a last minute escape (should it be necessary).

...

"Why are you headbanging?" I asked my friend Christopher as I sat down on the bus. He didn't answer me, so I had to assume he either had his earphones in or the movement caused by his hair flying around was causing hurricane-like winds too loud to hear through.

He continued to lash his head up and down furiously, attracting attention from most of the other occupants on the bus. I just slouched into my seat and decided to wait him out. He was sure to get whiplash eventually.

"Hey, Pen. Hey, Christopher. Oh, is he headbanging again? Guess he can't hear me then." My other friend, Eliza, took it all in stride and flashed me a smile as she sat in the last open seat. 

"Again?" I asked.

Eliza nodded as she started to dig in her bag. She pulled out a CD case and handed it to me. "We went to that concert. As you predicted, the music was terrible. He, however, loved it. Now he won't stop headbanging."

The bus hit a bump as Christopher tossed his head up. For a moment, his entire body was suspended in the air and it looked like he was reaching for the heavens. Then he flopped back into the seat and resumed his jerky motions.

Eliza and I blinked at each other before she shrugged. "What did you end up doing this weekend?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I had to go down to the police station to file a report. Some creep was watching my car."

"He was . . . watching your car?" Eliza asked, confused. 

"Yeah, after he came and talked to me for no real reason. There are real weirdos out there, Eliza, and you just can't be too careful."

As I said this, Christopher threw his head back and howled, simultaneously drumming his fingers on his thigh. One old lady clutched her heart in terror and another grabbed her cane threateningly.

Noticing us for the first time, Christopher blinked. "Oh, hey, when'd you guys get here?" 

"Several minutes ago, Chris, which you would have noticed if your music wasn't so loud. You're going to go deaf by the time you're twenty," Eliza scolded.

Christopher merely responded by pulling out his earphones and dramatically cupping a hand around his ear. "Sorry, what did you say, Eliza? My music is so loud I might just be going deaf."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny."

The bus pulled to a jerky stop and more people got on. Christopher went back to his music and Eliza pulled out her math notes to study for a test, leaving me to my own devices. Pulling out my iPod, I tapped the Solitaire app and waited until it loaded before closing out.

Was I ready to return to the pain of Solitaire or were the wounds still too fresh? 

In the end, my thumb just hovered over the button until the bus got to our stop. Eliza had to give me a hard jab in the side with her elbow to knock me out of my trance.

"What's with you?" she said as she cut across the school lawn and walked up to the main entrance. Since we took one of the city buses instead of the school ones, we got to school minutes before the main rush, so we walked through the doors into mostly empty halls.

I gave her a searching look. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Eliza said, "for starters, you were just staring at that iPod like it held the answer to the universe. Did something else happen yesterday that you're not telling me?"

I stared at her for a long time before laughing long and hard. "Haha, Eliza, that's funny! Everyone knows the answer to the universe is forty-four! Bye now!" With that, I booked it down the hall.

In the distance, I could still hear her call after me, a bit discouraged but not deterred in the least, "It's forty-two, Pen! The answer's forty-two!"

I didn’t stop until I made it to my locker, breathing a sigh of relief. She would never find me here. Eliza was one of those nerdy types. If she was at school, and not in a class, then she would feel compelled to go to the library. She probably had no idea where my locker was!

Proud of my astute conclusion, I threw back my head and let out a cackle. 

“Uh, why are you cackling in front of my locker?”

I stopped so abruptly I was fairly certain I choked on my uvula a tiny bit. Standing in front and a little to the left of me was a guy I hadn’t seen before. With only a hundred and seven people in my graduating class, I had taken it upon myself to memorise each and every person.

This guy was definitely not among the hundred and seven photos in my yearbook.

He had sandy blond hair, dark grey eyes, and a facial expression that very clearly showed the words “Why the heck are you cackling and possibly choking on your uvula a tiny bit?” all over.

I tried to regain my pride by replying with a facial expression that said, “None of your business, this is my locker, I can choke on whatever part of my anatomy that I want to” by wrinkling my nose, squinting my eyes and pulling back my lips.

I don’t think I succeeded, because now he just looked weirded out.

He fake coughed, clearing his throat, and held out a hand. “Hey, I’m Gray.”

I stared at his hand for a long time. Crap. I knew I should have listened in class when my teacher taught us all how to do a proper handshake. Was it supposed to be firm or loose? Maintain eye contact? One pump or two?

There was only one option.

“Haha, Gray, that’s funny! Everyone knows the answer to the universe is forty-four! Bye now!”

I ran off, this time with no real destination in mind. New kids. Those things were scary. And what was this about him thinking my locker was his?