expired

Chapter 1, Part 1

"Clover!" I shouted, running after my dumb dog. Her clock had jumped to three seconds in the blink of an eye. I jumped on top of her, not quite considering that this could put me in lethal danger as well. I heard the screech of tires right next to my head, grazing the loose strands of my hair. There was a thud on the ground, followed shortly thereafter by a teenage boy grunt, which are distinctive for their low pitch and high volume. Slowly I got up, Clover lapping as my face in thanksgiving as I moved into a kneel to take a look at the scene.

The boy I had heard was lying on the grass, groaning. His bike had been thrown out from under him, mangled on the road. I took Clover's leash and led her over to the bike, and she sniffed it furiously as I examined it. The metal was bent in several places, the chain off the gears and laying on the asphalt.

"Hey, don't touch that!" The boy said, limping over to Clover and I. Clover immediately ran up to sniff him, almost knocking the poor kid over. "Oh, hi," he stopped to pet Clover behind the ears, which she loved, collapsing at his feet in bliss. The boy's eyes followed Clover's leash up to me, my arms crossed.

"You almost killed my dog," I grumbled, tugging on Clover's leash. She jumped up and ran over to me and sat down as my feet, her tail wagging as she looked around.

The boy picked up his bike, sighing at the damage. "I didn't almost kill her, but I would've been paying her vet bill." He bent down, picking up the chain and beginning to lace it around the gears before stopping, his head cocked. "Wait, how did you know-"

I cut him off, knowing where this was going. And, after 17 years, I was not about to have my cover blown about the clocks from some boy and his bike. "Hold on a second, you look familiar. Where have I seen you before?"

He shrugged, taking his helmet off and hooking it on the bike handle. It shone in the sun, despite the now dented shell. "I don't know, I'm new around here."

I studied his face. I actually did recognize him from somewhere. Then, a lightbulb went off. "That math competition! Oh, what is it called?" I played down my knowledge of the competition so I didn't look like a total nerd, but I knew exactly which one it was, I had wanted to win it for ages.

"American Invitational Mathematics Exam. AIME,"

"Right!" I tapped my head like I had no clue what this even was. Apparently my act wasn't very convincing, but he didn't laugh at me like I was stupid. He laughed at me with a little smile. I shook this off, ending the conversation. "Well, I hope that your bike isn't too messed up," I peeked around him to look at it in its dented glory.

He sighed. "I have another one, but it needs some work done too. My dad isn't going to be happy either." He ran his hand through his hair, which was matted and sweaty from his helmet.

"Well good luck with that..." I paused, realizing I'd never asked his name.

"Clay," He said, smiling wide as he stuck ot his hand. I wondered if I was the first person he'd met here, or if he was just super friendly.

" Eva," I said, shaking his hand and tugging on Clover to walk away with me.

"Nice meeting you!" He called after me.

"You too," I said over my shoulder, discreetly wiping the head sweat on his hand onto my jeans. Clover and I continued home, where Matt had some friends over (read: "party"). This was only the early crowd, as it was barely 4:00 p.m., but it would grow over the course of the night. I went in through the back door, as I usually did when Matt was doing these things (read: "all the time").

I ducked into the mud room, taking off Clover's leash and setting it on top of the washer. I kicked my shoes off onto the bottom of the shoe rack and twirled Clover's leash around itself until it was a nice little package for the next time I took her for a walk, which could be anywhere between two hours and twelve hours. I at least took her every morning and night, but she was close to my best friend, aside from Tia, so it usually ended up being more than that.