Seven Twenty-Eight

0.

On the first day of her third year at Westmount Preparatory Academy, Elisa Mason walked the familiar halls with her nose deep into her book. She distracted her mind, attempting to get a solid read in before being completely thrown into the deep hole of school work she was destined to be buried in for the next nine months.

She flipped the page viciously, eager to finish the chapter before reaching her Literature and Composition class, when she ran into another body that knocked her onto the ground and the wind right out of her. She had gasped out, watching her book slide away from her. Her eyebrows furrowed, following her gaze up to the body hovered above her.

"I'm so sorry-"

His voice was smooth, but tight, evidently flustered by the encounter.

"I honestly didn't see you."

She looked away from him quickly, sitting forward to reach for her book, which he had bent down to grab at the same time.

"Sorry-"

"Oh, I'm sorry-"

They had murmured at the same time, only heightening her angst.

Elisa turned over, sitting back once again and looked back up at him.

"Watch where you're going next time," The girl behind him sighed carelessly, causing him to frown.

"Ava, don't be rude," He scolded her, unlooping their arms to hold his hand out to her, "Are you okay?"

Elisa stared up at him blankly, with her mouth hung open, unsure what to say.

His eyebrows knitted together, confused as to why she wasn't accepting his offered hand. "I— Uh-"

She blinked, snapping her head down to look at her feet, then at him again quickly. "I'm sorry," She said again, grasping onto his hand just before he could pull it away. She stood up, awkwardly dusting off the backside of her forrest green, plaid circle skirt, unable to take her eyes off of him.

He smiled weakly, awkwardly staring back as he held the book out to her.

She graciously accepted it and finally tore her gaze away, opening it up to properly smooth out the pages. "Thank you," She mumbled, smoothing her fingers over the front cover.

"Sorry— Are you new here? I've never seen-"

"No," She said dryly, clutching her book to her chest, "I'm not."

His eyebrows raised, playing off his embarrassment by nodding quickly, despite the pink tint in his cheeks. "Oh," He retorted loudly, furrowing his eyebrows together, "S-sorry, I just-"

"It's alright-"

"She'll be fine," The girl beside him huffed again, reaching out for his hand, "Come on, we're going to be late."

He looked over to her, automatically letting his mind wander when she began to pull him away from the conversation, leaving Elisa alone again.

She took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut in frustration, and stretched her hands out, shaking away her nerves. She opened her eyes again, watching the hall clear around her and just a moment later, listening to the bell echo through. "Oh shit," She whispered to herself, lightly smacking her forehead against the paperback cover, then got herself moving, skipping down the hall to reach her first class of the school year.

-

After her first two classes, Elisa embraced the hour she had for lunch, spending half of it in the library before she made her way to her dorm. She was thankful to find it was empty, her roommate missing from the scene. Her days were structured neatly, something that she found was her only sense of control in her wild life. But this was a nice change of pace.