30MIN
Have you ever lost something and miraculously find it in the most obvious of places? Most people would dismiss it as coincidence, or someone returned it for them.
Most vacuous people (cough, cough, those at my school) are likely to blame it on the guiltiest person available. Even with no evidence.
And yes, I'm often that person.
After all, this all just happened the other day.
As I ambled up the bus steps, shuffling down the narrow walkway, my eyes swept over the cluster of school students. It didn't take much long to locate my best friend's wiry bush of hair peering over the last seat.
"Hey, Emily," I murmured, slipping into the seat adjacent to her. She acknowledged me dismissively, indulging in a blueberry muffin with gustatory glee.
As the bus picked up its pace, the quiescence between us grew awkward. Snippets of others' conversations floated up to my ears, particularly the exchange between the two convivial girls in front.
Oh no. Sally, the most popular girl in our grade.
"...I can't believe I've lost it! I'm going to kill whoever stole my phone." Her snarky tone drowning out the hubbub of our peers. "I bet it's that Annie. She's always around when something goes missing. She always knows where things are."
My blood froze, the sound of my name piercing my skin. Did she know something?
The croon beside her emitted a harsh shush, their painted nails gesturing in my direction.
"I don't care, let her eavesdrop all she wants." Sally's icy blue eyes glowered at me over her seat. "Maybe she'll realise what it's like to mess with me."
I stiffened in the scratchy bus seat, dread clogging up my throat.
I practically flew off the bus, sneakers slamming against the foot path as I eagerly scrambled off. Ignoring Emily's breathless cries, I sprinted into the school. As I skidded into the hall an overwhelming wave of realisation slapped into my face. The croon next to Sally on the bus's back pocket seemed to glare at me from the other side of the hall. The phone stuffed inside glowed even in the dim hallway lights.
I blocked out the rest of my senses as I zoned out into the phone. The titters of my schoolmates promptly muffled, my peripherals becoming blurry as the surrounding commotion slowed down. It felt as if I was reaching into the pocket and grabbing it out myself. My pupils strained as the phone wiggled out of the pocket. It drifted over into Sally's bedazzled purse, slipping inside. Sally hadn't noticed a thing, her sluggish form still turned from me.
The underwater feeling vanished. My senses became luculent once more, life returning to normal as my somnolent trance dissipated. The croon next to Sally tapped her shoulder. Her blond waves fanned out as she whipped her head around, dragging a finger across her throat at me. I shrank into my jacket as eyes burned at me from all around, murmurs of 'she's stolen something again' travelling down the hall.
Oh, what they don't see.
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