Blockage (hiatus)

Chapter Nine

Even with a muddled sense of cogency due to my nap, I knew it was wrong the second I did it.

But I just couldn't stop listening. There were at least two people in the nurse's office alongside me, one of the voices I knew to be Sean's. The other voice wasn't so easily placed. Every word I heard was tinted in familiarity and peace, reminisced upon from the earliest days of our soul bond. At least the smooth tenor was a pleasant sound to bring forth my consciousness.

"Doc?" the unknown speaker paused, "What are you going to do about class?"

Papers shuffled before Sean responded, "I'm sure my presence won't be missed too bad— though it is a shame you all won't get to hear my introduction lesson. I worked really hard on that, you know?"

"I might not miss you, but the rest of the class will," the door creaked shut as the person stepped further into the room, "If Mr. Hendricks finds out one of his new teachers skipped the first day class, there's going to be questions."

"Ugh," the whine that followed was decidedly Sean's, "Think you could hack the system? Owen won't care if I tell him why."

The other boy's voice dipped in humor, "Sorry, that'll cause suspicion. It wouldn't be smart to mess with the schedules twice today."

"Oh, you finished?" The shuffling from earlier petered out, "What does her schedule look like now?"

"Mostly the same. I moved our classes to match hers," another pause followed, "Although, I'm not sure what to do with her study period. None of us are available except for you and Mr. Blackborne."

With the flippancy only Sean seemed to hold, he countered, "I'm sure Owen will figure it out. Were you able to change her registration?"

This time, the lull in conversation seemed especially foreboding, "That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I wasn't sure if it was smart. It'd be too coincidental and after everything that's happened this year..."

"You think that'd be an issue?" I could practically hear the frown in Sean's voice, "The movement's mostly stay on the west coast."

"It's a possibility," the mysterious speaker sighed before pressing on, "From what I could see, she's the only empty register in the school. It has to have raised some flags."

"... The only one?"

"From what I could tell."

"That's not statistically possible—"

Their conversation caused my head to pound. My registration status? Brow puckering in concern, I silently lifted my weight off the plastic bedding of the nurse-room bed. I didn't want to label them as fools, but the thought briefly flitted through my mind.

They couldn't just change my soulmate registration status during my Junior year-- everyone would notice and unnecessary questions from all parties would befall us. Briefly, I wondered if their persistence in altering my file was due to egotistical measures, but they didn't seem the type.

People wouldn't do something so rash without a reason.

The conversation outside continued, but I forced my attention to focus elsewhere. I'd heard too many revelations in such a short amount of time, I didn't think I could handle anymore. The registration change was the most concerning, but I wasn't pleased to hear about the boys schedule alterations either.

I specifically remembered asking Gabriel to move slowly. This new intrusion into my school life hinted that they wouldn't be taking my request to heart after all and Sean's early trick didn't seem so amusing anymore. I didn't want to be concerned, but traces of tension crawled up my shoulders.