1

Passing through a rural area of the city, mainly the outskirts located next to my house, I head towards school. On the way, I pass other students wearing the same uniform as me. Some of them are probably my classmates. As usual, I ignored any conversations that did not directly impact me (so all of them). As I walk, their voices fade to silence as I gradually tune out my surroundings.

Probably the only strange part of my journey (from a normal person's perspective) were the symbols rippling above many of my classmates' heads that specified the time of death. However, I, a mere high school student, do not do anything with this knowledge--as I would rather not be involved in a crisis where changing one person's fate could rewrite the whole future.

10 years… 12 months… 52 years… 34 days… The stream of letters and numbers was unending. Everyone had a number because everyone will die at some point. Whether the cause for them to leave this world is natural or an accident, only time will tell.

The school gates were livelier than ever when I approached the entrance, though I didn't really care enough to find out why. It sounds selfish, but the world would be a better place if everyone minded their own business.

Stopping by the shoe lockers to put on my school shoes, I headed up the stairs to my classroom and my desk by the window. After settling into my seat, I paid little heed to the rest of the room and gazed out the second-floor window.

Watching the sky, I saw birds pierce through the blue sky, flapping their wings as they ascended higher and higher towards the clouds. I checked my watch. Class won't start for another ten minutes or so, so I returned to blankly staring up at the sky. However, my daze was rudely interrupted by the whispers of my classmates discussing the prettiest girl in our grade.

Lily Evergreen. One of my classmates, a popular girl, who has been voted #1 on the list of girls who boys want to date. I never really cared about her, as I don't really care about social hierarchies; however, the moment she stepped into the room, everybody's gaze fell upon her. A gasp of admiration echoed through the classroom.

Though I was considering ignoring her, I accidentally turned away from the window and our eyes met from across the classroom. She locked eyes with me, sent me a quick wave and smile, then turned to talk with her friends standing around her. I didn't think too much into it...until I suddenly saw the bolded letters and numbers floating above her head: 300 days.

I don't know why it stood out to me. I've seen worse. However, my meddling classmate, who sat behind me, started speaking in an annoyingly loud, booming voice that resonated in my ears. He wasn't really one of the popular guys, but he also wasn't a loner type like me either--he lands right in the middle.

"There she goes again, capturing everyone's hearts. I wonder if she has a boyfriend...What do ya think man?"

Deep down, I really hoped he wasn't talking to me (so I could ignore him), but unfortunately I was the only person nearby. Since talking to yourself is a little bizarre, the question must have been directed at me.

Now that I couldn't pretend I didn't hear him, I turned around, looked at the guy (who was currently reclining in his chair with his legs on the desk), and responded to his question.

"Probably. And take your feet out of my face."

He released a sigh of defeat and muttered something under his breath. It was almost too quiet for me to hear clearly, but I could sense a shadow of disappointment slowly enveloping him as he slowly placed his feet on the floor--much to my happiness as (no offense to him) feet aren't the nicest smelling part of the human body.

"Man whatta bummer, and here I thought I would have a chance with her."

I heard chuckling from under his breath. Ignoring his laugh, I once again fell into a daze while looking in Lily's direction. Coincidentally, our eyes met again, and this time, she started approaching me with a gleeful smile. Am I nervous, you ask? Nope, not at all. I'm more confused. No one in my school has ever approached me before--other than my classmate who sits behind me of course.

She marched in my direction, stopping right in front of my desk. Suddenly, in a loud voice, she pointed her index finger right in my direction and exclaimed:

"You! I want you!"

My eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, there was a collective gasp and the room hushed instantly, leaving an echo of her out-of-place words, and I (left without a choice) was forced to respond to her.

"What do you mean?"

Having responded, I turned away and returned to staring out the window in boredom. To my utter astonishment, she laughed uproariously. Somehow, something I said must've been hilarious.

Composing herself, she took a deep breath and paused. The most popular girl in school pointed to me out of everyone here, spouted something surprising, and is now nervously standing right in front of me.

"I want you to do me a favor after class."

"Favor? Why me, may I ask? Why not one of those other males who are willing to jump off a cliff for you?"

"Well…it's something only you can do!"

The whole classroom was dead silent. The only voices in the room were mine and Lily's. My eyes rediverted back to her dark hazel eyes. The silence soon filled the room with anticipation. I could feel the gazes of my classmates watching us--making me feel self-conscious about my answer.

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, the sound of the school bell abruptly chimed through the school campus--hiding my response from her. As the last notes of the bell rang through the air, everyone snapped out of their daze and hurriedly moved towards their desks.

With everyone settling down at their assigned desks, Lily mysteriously smiled once more and whispered to me,

"I'll talk to you later."

and sauntered away from me, towards her desk. I heard her shoes click on the wooden school floor, occasionally interspersed with quiet giggles.

Of course, it was a surprising start to the day, but as my teacher entered the room, I dismissed all thoughts of the encounter from my mind; it just wasn't a thing I normally worry about. I guess I'll hear more about this "favor" after class.

Everyone soon settled down and the school day proceeded as usual. Notes, notes, and more notes. As the lessons changed from English to Calculus, everything blurred together. I usually don't pay much attention to these lessons.

While I was doodling in my little notebook instead of taking notes on the lecture, something hit me on the side of my head. Turning my head towards the impact, I discovered a folded piece of paper on the ground.

Picking up the folded card, I opened it to reveal a note that says "See you later" written in pencil.

Considering the weird start today, the note must have been written by Lily. I glanced at her, but to my surprise, she seemed unaware of the paper attack. Probably pretending. I folded the card back to how it was and placed it on the cover of my notebook.

It still worries me why Lily would ask me of all people for a favor. Glancing at the bolded phrase, 300 days, still bobbing above her head, I wonder what she has planned for after school. Class is almost over anyway. We'll find out soon. Until then, doodling stick figures on the cover of my Calculus notebook definitely sounds more entertaining.