What You're Not | ✔

15. Destiny's Plan

On Monday morning, I woke up to the sound of tapping. I tried to ignore it, pulling the covers over my head to drown out the noise. It only seemed to get louder and showed no sign of stopping.

Letting out an animal-like growl, I got up from my bed to locate the source of the annoying sound. It seemed to be coming from my window. When I pushed aside the curtains the sunlight flooded in, making me shield my eyes. Once my pupils adjusted to the light, I was greeted by a peeved looking Miles, as if I was the one who had just awaken him up from his sleep.

"Why?" I demanded after I slid the window open.

He didn't bother answering my question as he climbed through the window. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Too early," I replied, sliding the window closed to keep out the freezing morning air.

"It's 7:32," he said and I snorted a laugh. Even in my sleepy haze I knew it wasn't that late. My alarm would've gone off.

"Not possible," I said, picking up my phone. When it failed to turn on, a small panic swept through me. How could I have forgotten to put my phone on the charger? "No."

"Yes." His lip curled up slightly, an amused look on his face. "The first bell rings in eighteen minutes. Well, seventeen now."

That small panic was multiplied by ten as I rushed to find something to wear. Mom must've already gone to work or she would've woken me up herself.

"I'll be in the car," Miles announced as I searched the cardboard boxes that littered my room for pants. "Unless you need help getting dressed?"

I shot him a look that hopefully sent the message that there was nothing funny about the situation. It seemed to work because he exited the room without another word.

A few minutes later, I was getting into the passenger side of Miles's car. I thought that I had gotten dressed quickly with time to spare, only to find out it was two minutes past eight.

"Good hustle out there, Reed," he teased as he started up the car.

My eyes rolled as I fastened my seatbelt. "If it wasn't for my stupid hair," I mumbled to myself. Don't get me wrong, I loved my curls, but sometimes I missed my relaxer days. My mornings went a lot smoother back then. In the small amount of time I had, all I could do was tie my hair back into two messy cornrows.

"If it's any consolation, I think your hair looks nice." I glanced over at him, his words taking me by surprise. It was an offhanded compliment, I'm sure. Still, it made me feel weird. "Oh, and just to be clear," he said, slowing down for a stop sign and looking over at me. "I'm complimenting your hair, not you."

A smile broke out on my face and he chuckled, resuming the drive.

"Don't worry about being late, though," he told me. "Most teachers have a grace period in the morning. Who do you have first period?"

"Mr. Mayard."

He winced at this. "Yeah, he's going to mark you absent."

"Awesome," I said, dryly.  "Why were you at my house anyway?"

"Destiny," he told me. I watched him, waiting for the laugh or sign he wasn't being serious. His face never wavered, though.

"Really?"

"Really," he said. "Well, actually, I went over because I remembered you mentioning that your mom's car was still in the shop. So, I wanted to see if you needed a ride."

"Right," I said, slowly, trying to follow along with his story. "You know I could've just taken the bus?"

"Yeah, If I hadn't gone to your house you'd still be in bed asleep," he said as we pulled onto the school lot. "You don't believe in destiny?"