The Life of Her

Collided

“Have you heard that Trenton didn’t pass the entrance examination in Central University?” Carter Ripley said to his teammates without bothering to lower his voice, knowing that I am just sitting and taking my meal over the next table in our cafeteria. He is known for being a varsity player and the son of the school’s owner. In terms of grades, he is my top competitor, not until I stopped having such competition with him and staying at the top. Since then, he started recognizing himself as the best player of the year even he’s playing dirty most of the time, the one who excels the most and the one having his own fan club.

“Who knows? Maybe Trenton Singh is not the person we used to know. Maybe he is just trying his best to make his parents being proud of him.” He laughed and eventually his team laughed with him like hyenas. They looked weird and I guess the girls sitting on the other chairs noticed their presence too. I made a sigh and looked over the plate, now empty. I just ate my whole lunch but I didn’t feel full at all. Taking my books and notes, I put them slowly inside the bag and left the cafeteria without saying something to Carter and his friends. Who cares? I don’t care at all.

I never bothered to have some time thinking about what’s going on right now and the past things that happened, especially when it’s about me. Mom used to scold and maybe tried her best to let me socialize with the others and stop whining about why it needs to be done. I knew that she just wants the best for me. But I stopped. I just stopped being the old guy they used to know – an energetic, accommodating person and most of all a competitive one, especially in academics. I used to value things. But everything did change. I changed. And it’s not that bad that I don’t exceed their expectations. I just learned to live according to what I want and what matters the most. I turned into someone who doesn’t bother to ask what they want from me – a mere selfish person.

Objective over fun, bro.

That what Lucas said. The words lingered on my head, but how? Thinking, I’ve never been into the night out clubs, drinking hard liquors until I can’t bare it. Never did I even try to put myself in taking cigarettes in my free time. I’ve been living myself in deep comfortable solitude and that is by playing some games with my other friends. Lucas is one of those people who deeply understands me, not to mention that he had whole support of me attending some competitions.

I need some fresh air. Getting some plain grey shirt and a pants, I wore my favourite jacket, the one that Mom gave me during our family Christmas party, which was five years ago. Taking some bills, I headed outside and went to find the house of Jack. He gave me his address yesterday and invited me to play one of these days. Now, that I have the will to go, I decided to visit him and play some. I just met him five days ago, when I got leisure time to talk with random persons over the internet using a certain website.

A house at the end of the street, a dog caught my sight. Waggling its tail, Garry greeted me with his bobbly barks. I waved a hand at him. I didn’t bother to get near the dog since the gate is still locked and he is chained. I heard that Mr. Easton Nicholas Puller, his owner, the one who cuts woods in our neighbourhood and loves to stay in his wooden porch with his rocking chair had a fight with a girl. I wonder what happened to both of them, knowing that Mr. Easton is a fine man and wouldn’t dare to talk back or hurt a woman. Maybe that person really put him on the edge of a cliff. I passed by the main street and heard some murmurs from a distance, a group of elderly people are gathered, and some are worried, panicking and felt the sadness. I saw someone lying on the road – unconscious. I walked towards them and joined the mass. It is a girl - piercings on her nose and mouth, black thick eyeliners, and lipstick. Shattered bottles of beers are scattered over the road, and the blood flowing slowly from her head. I just witnessed an accident. A thirtyish woman together with her friend I supposed told us that she saw the lady being hit by a car. The wound is fresh and the blood continues to flow down. Did someone already call an ambulance?

“They are coming.” Another guy with a blue hat and a sweatshirt calmly said.

A sudden snap was heard from the distance. I roamed my eyes, thinking that they also have heard it but I thought it was only I who did. A woman with a red shoal appeared, smiling over my path. I saw her snapped a finger, again and again and every clamp of it felt a sudden beat on my heart. It sensed lighter than the first ones and I felt myself floating. The next thing I knew, I was lying beside the lady and all eyes are both on us. Great. What just had happened?

I felt my nose having something dripping. I slowly rubbed it and saw blood. The woman I recognized is already there, eyeing over us. Never did I know that I was already holding the lady’s pale cold hand and the sky began to shine so bright on us. I can’t breathe properly and I felt that I am suffocating myself from them. Can someone call for help? I looked at their eyes – they are like hunting ones. Slowly, I lose my consciousness and felt a warm sensation over our hands and a cold waft embraced me.