Puzzle Pieces

Chapter 3

“I couldn’t find my backpack!” Katrina called to her mom. She wore black floral pattern pants, a teal shirt, and a pink and gray jacket.

“I have it. I told you I had it,” her mom answered, helping her in the car.

Waves of nausea hit me and I tried my best to choke them down. My dream flashed through my mind. Her scared and crying in that dirty room; her dirty face and body burying itself into the wall, while her messy hair fell over her shoulders. The ringing of the way she screamed as the belt came down on her. Shivers went up and down my body. I turned into the bush and spilled the contents of my breakfast.

The motor of a car ran behind me as I finished. A window lowered and the woman behind the wheel looked at me with her eyebrows knitted together. “Hello? Are you okay?” she asked, putting the car in park.

I couldn't help, but stare at the minivan, paused at the stop sign. The girl stared out her window at me. She gave a slight smile and I saw that she had dimples in her cheeks. The woman in the front spoke again, but I couldn’t make out what she said over the thumping in my ears. I continued to stare wide-eyed and frozen like a human statue. Katrina’s eyes widened and she looked down, away from me, fidgeting her fingers.

“Do I need to call 9-1-1?” The woman said, getting out of her car. I managed to shake my head.

“Uh, no. I-I’m okay. I just, uh…” I said without finishing the sentence.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, standing at her door. No! This isn’t possible! How? How could I have dreamt of this little girl? Have had a nightmare about this little girl? A girl I had never even met before?

“I-I have to go,” I said, turning away from the minivan. The woman called after me, but in a daze I crossed the street. The minivan drove past me and I stared after it. Maybe I had seen her before without realizing it? A variety of different scenarios went through my head. Sierra Hills is a small town, so maybe I saw her somewhere around? I had walked to school before, so maybe one of those times? Those were the only explanations I could think of. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts. I didn’t have time to think about it. I had to get to school. Not only that, but I don’t really want to think about it. It’s a coincidence. It has to be!

When I arrived to Sierra Hills High School, home of the Grizzlies, I walked in the main entrance and ran down the hall to my locker. As I unlocked my locker and pulled it open, footsteps that started down the hall made their way towards me. "Ms. James, you are late," Ms. Lawrence said, standing in front of me. Great. I was caught by the vice principal. The one that found error in everything. She turned her long, slim nose down to me so her glasses slid down and I could see into her brown-colored eyes. She was wearing a black mid-length skirt, a white dress blouse, and a gray sweater vest. "Let's hear the excuse Ms. James," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sorry, Ms. Lawrence. You see, my brother and I were on our way, but I got stuck in my room. My door locked and...” I explained as she stared at me tight-lipped without blinking. “I-I'm sorry. Is...is that a new sweater vest? It looks lovely. Know where I can-"

"-It's not going to work, Ms. James. Excuse?" Ms. Lawrence shouted; Clearly upset.

"I'm sorry. My brother was supposed to bring me, but he left me behind. I guess I don't really have an excuse other than I had to walk a few miles to get here."

"Detention Ms. James. You should have left earlier or made sure to not be left behind. I do know that there is a bus that picks students up from the corner of your block. Next time, you should try catching it," she said, handing me a detention slip.

When she turned and started walking back down the hall, I stuck my tongue out at her. "Yeah, well I don't like your sweater vest anyway," I said, turning back to my locker. I pulled out my English book and notebook before putting my book bag away. I made my way to class thinking about what she just said. How does she even know where I live? Stalker! Make sure to not be left behind I thought, mimicking her voice in my head.

"Ms. James, you are late," Mr. Jacobs, my English teacher, said as I entered. Does every adult have to mention that to me? I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but managed to stop myself.

"Yeah. I know. I already have my detention slip though," I said, holding it up and walking to my seat. He didn't wait for me to get to my seat before he went back to teaching. Mr. Jacobs was always sending students to detention. It kind of made me wonder if they won a special prize or something for handing out the most detention slips. The winner would be between him and Ms. Lawrence for sure.

"Ms. James, since you were late to class, you get to read aloud," Mr. Jacobs said, interrupting my thoughts. I did roll my eyes at that, but since I was looking down he couldn't see.

"Um. Mr. Jacobs? Since I was late to class, can you tell me what page we're on?" I said, opening my literature book. I made sure to emphasize the "Since I was late to class" part. I could tell he didn't like that much. Not sure if it was because I repeated that part of what he said, or the way I said it. He put his hands on his hips and stared me down.

"Ms. James are you being a smart alec?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"No Mr. Jacobs. I wouldn’t dare. The question was sincere. I did get here late, as you pointed out, so I really do need to know which page to read. Since you want me to read and everything," I said with a shrug. I gave my best smile, tilting my head to the side. I heard a few laughs as he walked around his desk. My guess would be to find the detention book. I was proven wrong. He sat down in his seat and began to read.

"Um. Mr. Jacobs?" I said, raising my hand.

"Yes Ms. James? How can I help you?" he asked with almost a grunt. His nose flared and his mouth was pressed in a hard line, letting me know he was thoroughly irritated.

"I still need to know what page the rest of you are on. You know, so I can follow along?"

He scowled and I could swear he growled as he shook his head. The scariest part was he never took his eyes off me.

"Ms. Hamilton, will you please help Ms. James find what page we're on," he said before going back to reading. I laughed internally. He’d rather have my best friend tell me than deal with me anymore.

Cara shook her head in laughter at me. She reached over to my book and flipped to the page number she was on.

"Thank you," I mouthed to her.

"You're welcome," she mouthed back.

Although I didn’t think Mr. Jacob’s could give me another detention slip, I also didn’t want to push my luck. He was clearly thoroughly agitated. I’m afraid anything more will break the camel’s back.

"Oh my gosh! Mr. Jacobs looked so angry at you!" Cara said, walking out of class. I laughed, then gave a shrug.

"He probably was."

"So, why were you late?" she asked, adjusting her purse on her shoulder as we walked to our lockers. Cara had a purse to go with every outfit. She didn't ever use a backpack.

"Noah. He left me at home," I said, rolling my eyes. What a jerk! I still can't believe he did that and now I have to serve detention afterschool. We both opened our lockers and started swapping out books.

"Really? I haven't seen him around today," she said over the commotion of boys running through the hall. I narrowed my eyes at her. A slow smile spread across her lips. "What?"

"Nothing. I just didn't realize you were keeping an eye out for my brother."

"I'm not. I was just saying that I haven't seen him. That's all," she said with a shrug, but I could see her cheeks were pink and she refused to look at me. Uh-oh. Somebody had a crush on Noah. Have there been moments where I missed it before?

"Hey beautiful," a guy's voice called. I turned around to see Xavier coming up behind me.

"Well, hello handsome," I said, wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

"Gag," Cara said with a laugh. "Hey Anna, since you have detention and you have to miss practice, just come to my house later and I'll show you what we worked on."

Xavier looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a sideways smile. I gave a shrug.

"You have detention?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yeah. I got here late thanks to Noah. Have you seen him?"

"Nope. Not today. He's in my next class though. Do you want me to tell him something?"

"If you'd just punch him in the stomach for me, that would be great," I said in a wishful thinking voice.

"Really? You want me to beat up your brother?"

"No, I guess not. My mom wouldn’t like it. It's fine. I’ll just talk to him later," I said as the bell rang.

"See you at lunch," Xavier said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before jogging to his next class.

"Ready for Math?" Cara asked, almost skipping next to me. She loved math. I have no idea why. Could it be the ever good looking Mr. Hernandez? The sole purpose every girl tries to get into his class? I don’t know, but I still don't like the class. Maybe I would like it better, if I actually knew what I was doing. The only reason I kind of passed was because Cara saved me.

"Psh…am I ever?" I answered Cara as we walked through the classroom door.

“Alright everybody, I have some great news! Keep your books closed and your desks clear. We’re having a pop quiz!” Mr Hernandez said enthusiastically. I cringed internally, turning slowly to Cara, who stared blankly at me before giving me a shrug. This was a different kind of scary.