Chapter Five: Days had gone to dreams

A numbing sensation had grew on Anne's stomach, as though she was empty. After a few moments, the bell rang, and a smile inconspicuously reached out to her lips. 

'A sandwich will do', she thought and patiently waited till her classmates gradually left the room, her hand tapping her seat impatiently, the rhythm sounded unstable. 

When everyone had finally disappear, least she thought no one was there, she stood up and headed towards the doorway. Halfway there, she felt an impression that someone was watching her. It felt as though a pair of eyes were piercing through her soul.

Inwardly shaken, she instinctively turned around, her gaze focused on the guy at the other end of the row. At the same time, he turned his direction on the late morning light coming from the window, his fingertips propping up his chin, a faint smile then emerged on his lips.

Anne let out a weak shudder and walked away, her hands fixed on her pocket. 'Weird,' she said to herself as she made her way to the cafeteria. 

She grabbed a sandwich paired with a carbonated drink then dispatched from everyone's sight. She made her way to the deserted rooftop, settling down, eating her snack. 

Exerting a little force, she twitched the cap open, finishing the drink with two gulps. Anne unawarely squeezed the bottle, settled it against the ground and pressed it down forcefully. The poor bottle instantly became deform, and with the tissue from the sandwich, she aimed at the trash bin without getting up, and threw the trash. 

Out of sheer boredom, she rummaged through her contacts, she then paused as she stared at her screen. The screen displayed a name, Ellie. Anne pressed the dial button but Ellie didn't answer. Anne canceled the call and looked at the time. She still got time for herself before class resumes. 

She hid her phone in her pocket and leaned back against the railing, her eyes looked up, the sun scorching a little amid the clear blue sky. 

Anne sated there, thinking endlessly about nothing. She decided to stay there till the recess was finish. The noises from the campus became inaudible for a moment, and a cool breeze of late summer passed through. The seemingly eternal tranquil moment was abruptly interrupted when the familiar sound of the bell sounded on her ears.

Annoyed, Anne let out a sigh and tiredly stood up. It just had been a second and it was already time. Frowning, she languidly made her way down, and after a few steps, got her way back on the hallway. When she arrived on the classroom, out of sheer luck, the teacher wasn't there. 

The people were busy talking that they didn't notice Anne made her way to the back. She sat on her seat and leaned back informally, closing her eyes to sleep. After a few seconds, the teacher arrived.

Ms. Helen was at her late fifties, she handled History and her vision wasn't quite good. Of course, Anne knew this and took advantage of the teacher's poor eyesight. With her settlement on the back, she seemed very lucky. 

Anne started losing interests in everything back then at tenth grade that at school hours she either fall asleep or fill her notes with her dramas to ease up a little. 

Even so, in actuality, it does not matter whether she listens or not. She still got a fair grade, and seemingly without effort, could climb her way on the top two or three. Anne only trouble herself to study when there's some tests to answer, the rest of the school days were spent on idling. 

Of course, she wasn't that really troublesome lady. She pays attention on only one subject which was Mathematics. She like Math but could hardly understand it. In actuality, the subject was easy when given concentration and triple times hard if she won't pay attention. 

Taking advantage of the fact that Math needs a lot of focus, Anne was highly motivated since engaging herself with the subject could avert her attention, for example, away from the unstability going on inside. To make it simple, she needs the distraction other than anything else.

The third subject of the morning had been finished just like that. Everyone else's notes were filled while Anne remained unconscious at the back. 

At the other end which settled the transferee, before the third subject started, the teacher who introduced herself as Ms. Helen asked where was the new kid. 

The guy having a meager interest, forced a polite smile as he raised his hand, "Here," he announced.

Ms. Helen narrowed her gaze at the last row and made a slight nod as she had seen him. She faked a cough, seemingly vocalizing, as she began her lesson. 

Everyone started listing down the keypoints about the discussion. The guy reached out to his bag, pulling out a notebook. He also began to jot down some notes as he patiently listen to the teacher. After around five minutes, Jake began to get bored and started to doodle on his notes. 

He didn't payed attention to what he was drawing at first but after staring at the quick sketch he made, he couldn't help himself smiling. It was a vague art of the girl on the other end. When he turned around, he caught her sleeping. Her resting position made him thought she was at peace. The feeling wasn't clear at first, but the guy started envying her. 

Without his knowing, Anne on her dreamscape was having nightmares. Sweat started to rolled down from her forehead but she remained as placid as ever. Nightmares aren't stranger to her, Anne knew that very well. 

In her sleep, there was still a relentless feeling of surviving. Of all these day, being awake and being asleep doesn't make such big difference. The treadmill of a tiring routine was fix even from the start. 

Nightmares and awakened monsters, they collide and complement each other. As if without the other, the other cannot live. As if without the emptiness she was used to be with, she can not go on.

But the same as her appearance: collected and calm, amidst the chaos she remained the same. She stayed apathetic while caring more.