Obscured

Today is the fourth of April and also the first time that I won’t be in the same section with my twin brother. It is a good thing that Courtney and I are in the same class. We are in class 2-D while my brother is in class 2-E. Our classroom is located on the second floor of the building and is in the middle of classrooms 2-A and 2-F.

As we walked towards our assigned rooms, I could hear the excited students chatting with their own friends although I could not make out any of their conversations since everybody is talking at the same time. “I hope this will be a fun year for us.” Courtney said as we ascended the stairs. I smiled and nodded in agreement. Deep inside, I was disappointed because Francis and I are in different sections, again. Maybe I am not that lucky today after all. On the bright side, I got to see Sean’s pissed off face and Courtney and I will still be together this year.

“Hey Michaels,” a guy’s voice called behind us. Sean and I turned around as soon as we heard our family name. A tall burly guy in a red school jacket stood in front of Sean, sizing my brother up. I think he is a senior and a varsity member of a sports club since he is wearing the school jacket. I glanced at Sean; he seemed to recognize this guy for his lips quirked in a smile. I guess he wants Sean and not me.

“If you excuse me, I’ll see you later Sean.” I tapped his shoulder and he nodded. I then turned to Courtney, “Let us go now Court.” We proceeded to our classroom with haste or else we might run out of two empty adjacent seats.

Sadly, when we got the classroom, there are no available seats for us to sit next to each other. “I’ll sit here Thea.” Courtney motioned to the seat in front near the door. “I’ll scoot somewhere, see yah.” I winked at her.

I found a seat near the window and went straight for it. A guy I recognize from class before, Eric Salter, a nerdy guy who loves to play with his PSP every break last year was on the armchair next to my preferred seat. Just then, someone darted past me and bumped me aside in the process.

He put down his bag in the arm chair and sat down. “Hey, I chose to sit there first!” I glared at him. He is a pale skinned guy sporting a very messy copper hair and a boring expression. His dark green eyes which are quite hidden behind his spectacles are travelling up and down my frame. “And, won’t you even apologize!?” I added.

He quirked a brow and leered at me, “I don’t want to. Find another seat Miss Sulky.” He propped up his elbow against his desk and turned towards the window. “What?! How rude!” this guy is really ticking me off, ugh.

“Stop screaming Miss Sulky, you’re annoying.” He matched my glare with his own. I could almost see sparks flying between us. I broke the gaze and humphed, “There’s no point wasting my time on an idiot like you.” I crossed my arms and searched for another seat. Those classmates who were watching us looked away as I turned to them, avoiding any eye contact.

“What are you looking at geek?” I heard the guy’s voice insulting his seatmate. With that, he scurried past me and beat me to the last available chair of the room. This is the second time I’ve been stolen a seat. “I-I’m sorry Althea, can I just take this please?” Eric pleaded with me, his eyes terrified.

At that moment, our home room teacher entered the classroom and everyone stopped talking immediately.

“Good morning – oh, you there standing at the back, don’t you want to sit down?” Her voice tells me that she is a strict teacher. She eyed me and then to the vacant chair next to the rude guy earlier. I sighed in defeat and sat to the empty seat, as if I’ve got a choice.

“Very well, you’re all settled now.” Her eyes darted towards the class. “I’m Miss Dickenson and I’m your home room teacher as well as your English teacher for this school year....”
I crossed my arms in annoyance as my seatmate sniggered quietly. I glanced at him. He is now looking outside the window wearing a very bored expression. “What are you looking at?” He squinted at me with an accusing tone, smirking. Crap, he must have seen my reflection against the window glass. I swear I won’t look at him again.

“..Now, I’m going to assign a class monitor.” Her eyes roamed around the room and then finally settled on me. No, I don’t want to be a class monitor. Last year, Courtney became our class monitor. It was a tough job. She’s got to mind every people’s business. She might have the power but our classmates would hate it if she marks them with late. She cried a lot whenever she gets bullied. Miss Dickenson, please do not call me. “You, the one I called to sit down earlier.” All eyes darted on me. “What is your name?”

I blinked. “It’s Althea Michaels ma’am.”
She nodded and turned to the class. “Okay, Michaels will be your class monitor for this year.” Murmurs erupted after Miss Dickenson announced that. “What a drag..” I whispered to myself as I lowered my head on my desk in defeat.

“Come on, it’s not bad..” Courtney was cheering me up. She was holding up a fork levelling my eyes and is making swirling motions with it. We were at the cafeteria eating lunch. My twin brother was beside me, drinking a Cylon Mist soft drink silently.

“I hate responsibilities, gah.” I grumbled before taking another bite of my steak croquette. Sean snickered. “Anyway, have you heard of the news this morning?” I asked the two.

“What about it?” Sean asked.

“You should watch the morning news sometimes, you know.” I made a face at my twin brother. “It’s about an odd death of a man at St. Haynes last night.”

“What’s odd about his death?” Courtney piped in.

“The cause of his death is still unknown. They’re still waiting for the autopsy.” I said, remembering the news I watched that morning. “I even posted it on my blog this morning.”

“Maybe he was drugged or something or maybe his soul just went out of his body!” My best friend loves mysteries also and has a very wild imagination.

“Boring.” My brother commented.

“So, what’s up at your end Sean?” Courtney asked my brother.

“Nothing much..” His attention was suddenly diverted to another direction. Apparently, his friend Brendon entered the cafeteria. “I got to go. I’ll be home late anyway.” He took a last sip and crushed the can before darting off to meet his friend.

“What are we having this afternoon?” I didn’t bother to look at the class schedule for today.

“It’s history and Geometry afterwards. Seriously, you should be more responsible now. Have you copied the schedule yet?” I rolled my eyes and made a mental note to copy the schedule.

We walked to our classroom chatting about the latest volume of the Detective Mystic. It was our favourite comic book about a teen witch falling in love with a vicious vampire.

“....I heard from the upperclassmen that the substitute teacher for Geometry last year will be teaching full time this year!” A classmate of ours was gossiping to her friend at the corridors. It’s not that I was eavesdropping on their conversation; they’re just too loud for everyone to hear.

“I heard that he is really cute. That’s a good thing then.” The other girl cooed.

“I wonder if our Geometry teacher would be really cute.” My best friend sighed. “That way, math won’t be so bad at all.” I smirked at her comment. “If that’s what makes you study hard for math Court, then that would be good I guess.” She rolled her eyes and we chatted for a bit before our history teacher, Miss Sofjan entered for our class.

I noticed that my seatmate is not present in class and wondered where that guy is. So, I marked his attendance sheet as absent on my book. Wait, I do not even know his name. That new student is really a pain. Miss Sofjan droned on and on about the Chinese history, explaining that it is them who first circumnavigated the whole world and not the Spaniards. Geometry was next and still, my unnamed seat mate did not show up.

“Good afternoon.” My teacher greeted us. Some girls squealed at that. So, the gossips are true then. I could say that our teacher is handsome. He gave a thin smile and his grey eyes wandered across the room. He looks young, more like a college student than a teacher. He has thick brown hair that looks very silky and shiny. He has an air of arrogance and confidence as he fumbled his collar readjusting it as though it was messed up. His voice lacks the tone of dominance which I guess is just normal for neophyte teachers. He coughed. “Geez, I said good afternoon. This isn’t the kind of attitude I was expecting.” He chuckled.

Everyone greeted a half hearted good afternoon at that remark. “Better but not enough, didn’t your past teachers taught you the value of courtesy?” His tone was serious and annoyed. We really do not greet our teachers every time they came to class. They would just start the lecture whether we are ready or not so we were taken aback at his statement.

He paced in front, his hands on his back. “My name is Takeru West. Yeah, I’m half Japanese and a fresh graduate. I had a student training here last year and now I’m a full time teacher.” He quirked a smile and made some girls drool. “Hm, one of you is already absent on the first day? I tell you, if you miss even one of my lectures, it’ll be hard passing my subject.”
My mouth fell agape. Wow, he’s really threatening us. “Could you elaborate on that one sir?” My classmate, Elizabeth Baker, a bespectacled girl who is really good at math and one of the honor students piped up.

He is pacing again. I am getting tired of following him with my eyes. “My, if anyone wants to ask any questions, I prefer you’d raise your hand first and wait to be called.” He smirked. “Well, for that matter, miss –“, He looked at the seat plan on the table briefly before continuing his speech. “- Baker, attendance is a must. I’ll also be giving quizzes each meeting, which reminds me – take out a size 1 paper.” Everyone groaned at that and reluctantly opened their bags to get a whole sheet of paper.

He gave us a surprise quiz about lines and polygons. Ugh, how crude can he be? After the quiz, he gave each one of us a paper full with math problems. This is getting worse.

“Submit it next meeting.” He said with a tone of satisfaction.

“Hey sir –“, it was Elizabeth again but now, she is interrupted by our teacher.

“Your hand, please Miss Baker.” He said in a boring way.

Elizabeth shot her hand in the air and Mr. West nodded, his arms folded.

“Well, obviously, you haven’t taught us anything yet and now you’re giving us homework?”

“You’re a little disrespectful, aren’t you? I bet you’re one of the intelligent ones but not the diligent kind. Why don’t you look at the handout first? Or are you complaining about the length?”

Elizabeth turned red at that. My teacher sighed and scratched his head. “Okay, you can work on that by pair. Since your seats are arranged in pairs, why don’t your seatmates be your learning partner throughout the year?” I grumbled but did not complain. I don’t want to be snapped by this arrogant teacher ever.

Courtney and I went home together since Sean is not coming with us. We passed the bulletin boards and saw a crowd gathered around reading notes posted on it. During this time of the year, clubs are posting sign up forms for new members.

“Hey, why don’t we check the notices?” I dragged Courtney near the boards to take a glimpse of the recent posts. There are some sign up forms for cultural, academic and sport clubs. There are also some ads for part time jobs and school event posters posted. My eye caught the school paper audition which says that the audition is on April 8, Friday. News writing really appeals to me.

“Oh look, a part time job opening on our favourite ice cream shop.” Courtney points on a small yellow poster which advertises a job opening on Sweet Frosts. “It says that they prefer female applicants.”

I examined the ad and chimed, “Yeah, why don’t you try?”

“I’ll pass. I’m quite busy with house work and studies. I won’t be able to balance it.” She replied, scratching her cheek, a mannerism of hers.

“I’m too lazy to work. Let’s just check the bookstore.” I suddenly remembered that every first Monday of the month, the Detective Mystic Series releases a volume.

Courtney and I headed towards the Central Commercial District of the Metropolis by foot, chatting about a lot of things.

We reached the bookshop and Courtney squealed as she caught sight of the poster outside the window. “Oh, the Detective Mystic volume 6 is already out!” She immediately rushed inside the store without hesitation. Before entering the shop, I suddenly felt someone watching me. I glanced around and saw the fortune teller near the bookstore peering at me, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. She is sitting behind her table and wears a veil and a blue cloak. I slowly approached her as though I was in a trance.

“You came.” Her voice was breathy. She took out her cards and began shuffling them.

“W-what do you mean “I came”?” I inquired her.

“I sense a strong aura around you. Would you like a free reading?” She smiled impishly, not answering my question.

Before I could even mutter a reply, she set her cards on the table and picked 8 out of them, arranging the cards in three columns: two cards set on the middle and three cards lined up on either side of the two.

She opened the card on the lower right facing me. “Ace of wands - oh, it’s good news. An invitation for an activity by means of a phone call or letter is coming. I can sense your anticipation for this news so you do not have to worry about it.” She smiled again before opening another card which is above the recently opened one.

“Hmm, Knight of Swords. I can sense a dashing young man... with a clean heart and fierce courage who will sweep you off your feet.” She picks it up and examines it closely. “But it does no good to confront him because he's too stubborn to listen.” She chuckled.

“What?! Are you predicting my love life now?” She merely laughed at my reaction. “I am looking at your destiny... this is the destiny spread. I never fail. Is a brown haired man making your heart race lately?” I was taken aback and flushed.

She narrowed her eyes and smiled satisfyingly, flipping another card open. “The Eight of Coins, reversed. Be wary, a past lover will try to deceive you.” I do not even have a past lover. I rolled my eyes at that. She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have a past lover, do you?” She smiled satisfyingly.

“King of Coins, money is on your way.” She opened another card which made me shudder. She eyed at me, smirking. “The Death Arcana, interesting.”

“Geez, this is boring.” Okay, this tarot reading is preposterous. I turned to leave but she called out to me, “Listen to me first, the card wants to tell you something.” I glanced back.

“Death does not mean death literally. There is a deeper meaning in the cards and the spread.” Her tone is serious. “There must be a meaning in our meeting this afternoon. The cards want to convey a message for you.”

I walked towards her, sighing. I was getting a little curious about what she was telling me now.

She gazed at me for a moment before continuing her speech, “The position of the card tells about a trip. A journey.. There is an end, but with the promise of a new beginning. The situation comes where you’re about to face failure and disappointment. Learn from it and use that experience to guide you to controlling your destiny for there will be renewal and another chance.”

I gave her a puzzled look. I did not really understand the gist of what she was saying. I don’t know.. Maybe.. “Okay, I hate to be rude and I do not have enough patience with things that doesn’t concern me. But I really do not believe in fortune telling.” I handed her a dollar bill and quickly turned away.

Maybe I’m afraid to know more.

“We will meet again, Althea.” How did she know my name?

Just then, Courtney walked out of the bookstore. “There you are. I thought we were going to share the cost for the latest volume?” She looked at me closely. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

“Am I?” I chuckled and stroked her curls. “Let’s go to Sweet Frosts.” We went to the ice cream parlour to eat some sundaes.

The manager inquired us if we wanted to work part time and we politely said no.

“I can’t apply for the job, Thea. I have duties at home.” Courtney declared as soon as the manager was out of sight.

“It’s a good opportunity though. They’re really insistent on hiring us and the pays’ decent.” I shrugged.

“Well, I still got some math homework to do. My partner’s coming over.” She rises up and arranges her skirt. “Shall we go?”

“You have to remind me of that. My partner is absent today.” I sighed and grabbed my bag.

“Who’s that guy anyway? He was really rude at you.” She clicked her tongue while shaking her head. I shrugged. I was only familiar with his family name.

“Oh well, you take care.” Courtney’s house is nearby so we parted there. I walked towards the station but when I passed by the bookstore again, I was surprised that the fortune teller was gone. Instead, a shoe shiner was cleaning a gentleman’s shoe exactly on the same spot. Was I delusional? Come to think of it, when I approached her, nobody has acted like they noticed her even if she or her work stood out.

I felt a cool shiver ran down my spine. Something’s making me uneasy. It’s like somebody’s watching me. I fumbled at my collar nervously and took a deep breath. “It’s just my imagination playing tricks with me again.”

Maybe it’s just that I’m all alone right now. I quickly walked towards the Cornwall station to get back home.