I strut down the lavish stairwell and out the mansion with the keys clutched in my hand. Aiden is already waiting for me near what seems to be the car, the big black SUV, he expects to ride on. Oh gods, he's gonna be so disappointed.
When his eyes meet mine from across the car, he says expectantly, "Quick, we're running out of time Gen---", confusion flits his face. I walk right past the car, out the gates, on to the sidewalk across the road. I turn around, beckoning him to follow as I keep walking forward.
Ah there you are. Found you.
Aiden paces down the sidewalk, "Don't tell me, you're taking me on this?", he cringes, pointing vehemently to the atrocity in front of him.
I smile knowingly, "Well why not?, It's a perfectly logical choice after all", I say hopping on to the pink glamour of a scooty in front of me, who knew a girl with pink hair would own a pink bike too? Good thing I borrowed the keys to this little pony from Lily, I would have never found the car keys on my own anyway.
I need to keep up the act, at least until I figure out why am I here and supposed to drop a high schooler to an exam in the first place.
Lily made it way easier for me by handing the keys over the second I asked, assuming autonomously that I was 'finally trying to be a big good sister'.
A big good sister, I once was
"Logical choice, seriously?!. I hardly trust you with the car Genny, and now you want me to trust you with a fucking bike that doesn't even have an airbag?", Aiden pants clearly distressed
"You trust Lily though"
'"Because her license isn't fake, unlike someone I know"
"Hey, don't say that, I ride perfectly alright.
Besides a scooter is way more efficient and faster to get through traffic", I say nudging his arm slightly, "You can fight me later, get on the bike now, unless you want to fail the exam and get disowned", I suggest, throwing him a spare pink helmet, while putting my own on.
He choked out a laugh, but got on anyway, "Hold tight little brother." He wraps his arms around my waist a little too tight as if he was bracing for impact.
"Why aren't you starting Genny?", he asks confused
Oh, that might be because I don't know where to go brother. Shit. I can't get caught, not like this. Think, think, think Elara.
"Aiden, we don't have time to take the ....usual route. Give me a shortcut"
"A shortcut?"
"Yeah, unless you want to be late that is, or is it that you don't know any shortcut", I drawl
He huffs, "Oh please, I know plenty of shortcuts alright, unlike you who thinks a shortcut means passing through the same stall twice"
Got you.
"Then lead the way little brother"
***
"Slow the fuck down Genny!", Aiden yells from behind me, his dark hair whoosing against the wind.
"Oh trust me Aiden, you'll reach your exam in no time!", I say while ramping up the accelerator
"At this point, heaven feels closer than the exam Genny, gods save us"
"I don't think anyone can die twice", I mutter
"What?"
"Nothing", I deflect, "Where next?"
"Take a right down the next block, and then continue straight on the second left"
I do as Aiden directs, searing down the street at top speed. The tiny stalls and diners race backward as I ride against them, the blue sky above teeming with sparrows and pigeons.
Is this world my second shot at life as a different person?
Aiden holds tight on to me, arms wrapped tight around my waist, as though it is second nature to him.
But everything about this feels foreign to me, I was just so used to living alone, that I might have forgotten the warmth of the human touch. It feels foreign, yet comforting.
"We're finally here, thank gods!", Aiden relieves as I pull up to an alleyway which opens up into the main road where a huge campus with towering high academic buildings lay.
Woah
An opulent black marble board stood proud at the entrance, 'Everest High', engrained in deep silver letters alongside the school's crest — a stylized peak with a soaring eagle
"Thanks sis—for dropping me alive", Aiden rushed off as soon as I plunged to a stop waving goodbye.
Then, I am left alone in sea full of chattering students darting about everywhere. I am pushed in odd directions along the throng, while I craned my neck to see above the heads and blue uniforms.
As soon as I saw a little opening toward the right far edge, I shove against the crowd veering myself to that direction.
A little more....
Just two more teenagers separated me from the other end, when something flashy catches my eye.
No, not just flashy, but glowing, literally glowing. Its light is so bright, it almost blinded me for a second, but no one else seemed to notice.
Abandoned right there in the middle of the street, where a dozen teenagers might have already overstepped it, was a ring.
A black glowing ring. I squint my eyes further to make out its silhouette against the tar, almost feeling time itself pause. Its presence almost magnificent—yet everyone buzz about as if it didn't exist.
Weird. Very weird.
I know I had better things to deal with than a stupid ring, but something about just inadvertently pulled me towards it.
My maelstrom thoughts of death and life all obliterated in an instant to coalesce into this single irresistible magnetic instinct to touch.
My legs moved towards it playing its own whims, and I crouch down as fast as I can to pull the ring up with me.
"Huh, finally", I breathe
Up close, it looks almost irridiscent. I now understand that the black was actually the fusion of many other shades of purple, pink, cerulean blue and green.
It also seems to have really sharp ridges around the centre black stone.
The black stone is very well defined with its edges almost curving slightly upwards to meet a concentric centre akin to a tiny flattened cone.
But before I could get a better look of it, some very agitated teenagers almost run me over from behind, and now I'm trying to scatter away from all these people. In the heat of the moment, I trip.
I trip right over an insignificant little stone, stumbling backward and eventually losing my balance.
Momentum sends me sprawling to the road, my hands flailing and grappling everywhere, so as to escape this embarrassment.
My legs buckle and my hands finally end up clutching something rubbery and strong.
Ouch!
Following the fall, is an unflattering whooshing sound as if the air is being sucked out of something.
I cock my head to the other side to see, one of the ring's sharp ridge pierced into a rough tire like a little stab wound.
Ouch.
"Do you often stab people's tires when you say hello or am I the lucky one?"
My head snaps up at the gravelly voice, my eyes meet blue one. A man in a sharp black suit leaning against the car sideways smirks down at me, an amused gleam in his eyes.
His tall lean frame blocking out the harsh light from blinding me. His dark hair sticking out and framing his face is pretty waves.
His sharp jaw, and dangerously detailed features make him look strikingly attractive in an almost addictive sort of way.
And yet...the thing that almost hypnotised me was his little dimple peeking out from his right cheek, he was devastatingly annoyingly attractive.
"Huh, guess I am the lucky one then since you're too busy gawking to answer"
He was devastatingly annoyingly attractive, but that doesn't make him less of a bastard.
A smug little bastard.
I prop myself up on with one hand off the ground, shoving the ring into my pocket. "Oops sorry, I should have aimed a bit higher"
He quirks up an amused brow, "Then I should be thankful you have such bad aim Miss .....Tire Stabber"
I open my mouth to respond, but he shuts me up, "See, here's the thing Miss Tire Stabber, unlike you I have better things to do other than well puncture tires, and that-", he says pointing at the flat tire, "will definitely need a mechanic to fix, so how are you planning to compensate?"
"Compensate? Me? You literally own a Benz and can't afford a tire change? And besides...it was an accident", I retort.
"Well, accidents keep happening, and I like to hold people accountable for their actions, and its more about time waste rather than a tire puncture"
A smug little bastard.
I scoff, "You think I would do that on purpose?"
"No, but I would have enough reason to think that for your lack of compensation", he says indifferently
"Fine", I huff, "I'll pay for the damages"
He gives me a satisfied smirk
I reach down to my skirt pocket to remove my wallet--
Oh shit. Of course.
I don't even know where I am, or how am I even alive, of course, no wonder I don't have my wallet.
I need to figure out soon enough what exactly this world is soon or I'll be in big trouble for sure, actually, I am in trouble. At this point, maybe I should just tell him.
No,no,no
Someone who demands a compensation for their time would never believe my story.
"Are you done blanking out, Miss Tire Stabber? I don't have the whole day", he says snapping a finger across my face, smug and amused.
I exhale slowly, "I don't have my wallet with me right now"
"No problem, your contact details should do for now"
"Excuse me?"
He smirks, "So that I can contact you later when you have your wallet, wouldn't want you running away, now would we?"
I gasp, "I would never--"
He stretches out an open palm in front of me as if expecting a business card, which I don't have of course.
I nod a no, he huffs and pulls out his phone and hands it over to me with the dial pad.
I do have a number, but would it work here?
I quickly dial out my number and it doesn't exist.
Of course
"Guess you were planning to run away afterall", he says in a sweet mocking tone. "Shit, I thought you were different than some random adult vandalising for mere sport", his voice dips for a second, almost disappointed.
Then he steps back, turning away, and brows furrowing , his demeanour missing that gleam that was present earlier. The atmosphere turns uncharacteristically cold, a few long moments later, he speaks
"Maybe I should call the police ---"