Beginning of Something

“Earth to Blythe, Earth to Blythe. Do you copy?”

Blythe dropped the textbooks she had been holding as she snapped out of her stupor. She was still standing in front of her locker, despite already collecting the books she wanted. A quick look around the nearly empty hallway told her she was going to be late for first period. Crouching down to pick her books up, she became aware that a familiar silhouette was observing her blunder.

Her best friend, Cassidy Williams, leaned lazily against the neighboring locker with a wide smile, showing her perfect white teeth. She was clad in salmon pink collared knitwear, a brown high waist skirt and a pair of matching oxford shoes. The outfit looked simple at first glance, but a closer inspection would reveal the surprises: a leopard-printed hair elastic band which held her light blonde hair into a messy bun, white sequins sewed onto the collar of the top, polished gold and silver buttons of different sizes hanging at both sides of the skirt and dangerous metallic spikes at the toe cap of the shoes.

“Welcome back to Earth!” Cassie exclaimed with her arms spread out wide. Blythe simply looked at her, still trying to collect her thoughts. “Victoria High School awaits you! Good morning to you, babe.”

“Oh!” It took a second later for her to realize her best friend was waiting for a hug. She threw her arms around the other girl and gave her an affectionate squeeze. “Good morning, Cassie.”

Cassie eyed the books she was holding with a pair of raised eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure we don’t have Biology until lunch. Did you get your timetable from the office?”

Blythe slapped her free hand on her forehead. She had forgotten to collect her class timetable for the new semester when she had entered the school earlier. Her thoughts were so preoccupied with last night’s event, she had not thought much about school. Having a stranger intrude your bedroom probably was not the ideal night before a new semester.

“I’ll go get it now,” she sighed, her shoulders sagging down a bit. “How do you know we have Biology together anyway?”

“I pleaded with Martha to show me your timetable. We have tons of classes together! She insisted for you to go get it yourself so I returned it afterward.” Cassie winked, already turning to leave. “I also heard the lady mumble something about a transfer student in our year. Better be a charmer!”

Blythe gasped at the words “transfer student” and managed a pat on her best friend’s shoulder before she threaded down the hallway. Normally Blythe would have been impressed at Cassie’s ability to persuade the office lady, Martha, to even let her catch a glimpse of another student’s timetable. Martha was a strict and grumpy woman, and she frightened Blythe sometimes. However, she could not shake off her thoughts about the boy—she remembered his name was Alec—and the vanishing act. Was he the transfer student, then? She pondered if it was all just a horrible prank played by a mischievous youth. She had even thought this morning that their meeting was nothing but a mere dream.

The sight of her bedroom when she woke up told her otherwise though, so she immediately ruled it out. The bloodstain had dried to a giant dark spot and the pocket watch still lay where she had dropped it. It was not vibrating nor was it heated up anymore. In fact, she had seen with a little disappointment that it was no longer ticking—its hands stopped at the time Alec disappeared—and she didn’t know how to wind it up, or if it could even be wound up. She had kept it under a pile of unused towels in one of the drawers of the room. No matter how hard she had tried to remove the bloodstain, a hint of dark red still remained on the wooden floor.

When her mother questioned her about the broken vase, she had blamed it on her six months old Pomeranian. Truth be told, the puppy never gave the family any problem since his arrival six months ago. Her mother, who was a heavy sleeper, looked furious but she did not express it verbally, so Blythe thought all was good. She did feel bad for lying, but then decided if she ever met Alec again, he would own up to it and pay for a new vase.

Blythe rounded the last corner of the school hallway and sprinted across the foyer to the office. She pushed the glass door open; the bell hung at the door handle rang with a soft ring. Martha glanced up through her round-rimmed glasses and grunted impatiently.

“Finally here for your timetable, I see.”

“I am so sorry, madam,” Blythe said, bowing slightly to greet her. “May I have it, please?”

“Your blonde friend was here just now, bouncing up and down like a little girl!” Martha scoffed and slammed Blythe’s timetable down on the counter-top. “Count yourself lucky because there is still someone else later than you. Oh, how I hate transfer students—they give me additional work to do.”

Blythe’s curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “Do you know his name?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

At the same time Martha had spoken, the bell at the doors rang. Blythe stood frozen with her timetable clutched tightly in her hand. She was afraid of the face she would see if she turned toward the jingle. The disgruntled woman waved the approaching student over and turned to her with a mocking expression, clearly amused at the perfect timing.

“Me?”

Blythe let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding. It was a different voice. She was comforted by not only that, but also because she was absolutely certain she had heard a distinct British accent from the transfer student. A smile of relief crept to her face as she turned to face him.

It belonged to a boy who had jet black hair and intense blue eyes. He wore a teal Everlast hoodie matched with white skinny jeans. Blythe thought he looked a little lanky—he was probably a little over 5’ 7”—but his angular features made up for it. It was hard for her to look away from the pair of alluring eyes, she found out with fascination. She had never met anyone with eyes that were so shockingly blue. As though he thought her smile was directed at him, he returned it at once.

With cheeks flushing, Blythe broke her gaze away and strode out of the office hastily. She was embarrassed for practically gawking at him, not to mention how rude it must be to stare, and then having him mistake what her smile was for.

“Hold for a minute!”

She had barely made it across the foyer when she stopped reluctantly at his request, chiding herself in her mind. The transfer student caught up with her in a jiffy. He peered at her timetable, and then back to his. As if satisfied with what he had seen, he nodded at her with relish.

“I was hoping we would have first period together so you could guide me there,” he said sincerely. “Indeed we do. Can I walk with you to class?”

Blythe looked at him wordlessly, once again mesmerized by his eyes.

He shrugged, looking more uncomfortable by the second. “Or I could just walk myself there.”

“I am sorry,” she blurted out, secretly hoping he could not see her nervousness. “We can go together. I’m Blythe. Blythe Miller.”

His smile was warm when he said, “Jude Aylward. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Along the way to class, Jude introduced himself properly. It was all Blythe could do to not be distracted by his British accent. She tried to make a mental note of every detail he had spoken of.

Jude was born in Wales but raised by his parents in England. A year and a half ago, he moved to New York because his father got a job here that offered a far better income than the one he previously had. Instead of immediately attending school, Jude took one year off and idled, trying to adapt to this foreign country and hopefully make a few friends to begin the new school term with. His mother fussed over which school to send him to, claiming that the nearest one to their home had a terrible reputation. Her choice of sending him here was one he went against adamantly, because they had to move again or it would take a forty-five minute drive for him to and from school every morning.

Dismissing Jude’s wishes, the family moved to an apartment a couple of blocks down the street from school. He was apart from the friends he had made in his old neighborhood, so he did not have anyone to show him around here.

“My closest friend now lives away from me. It is frustrating because we used to be neighbors,” he sighed and shook his head. “It is excellent that I met you though. I think I will need a tour guide.”

“Well, I can’t say you have found the right person for the job but I will most certainly try to help in every way that I can,” Blythe gave him an assuring smile and clasped her hands together in delight. “My best friend will most willingly show you around too.”

Bit by bit, the memory of Alec slipped away from her mind even without her knowing as she began to speak about herself. Little did she know that her link to the mysterious disappearing boy was so much closer than she could ever have guessed.