"You sure that’s correct? The numbers aren’t really adding up to me.”
“Of course, they don’t, look right here” Lucia retorted, pointing to the book, the numbers within seemed to become even more confusing to her clueless friend by the second. Maths was a subject that Lucia prided herself on, and Physics, biology, Chemistry, English, Music... The list went on for her, being as smart as she was hard sometimes. “So, the hypotenuse is the long one, right?” “That would be correct, Aiden,” She answered. Aiden Wyatt was a popular character around the school, he was charismatic, funny, outgoing, handsome, and brave; It was quite easy for him to make friends and he did not have many enemies either, if any. If only he was smart, Lucia smirked. “What’s so funny?” Aiden asked, staring at her with his curious green eyes “You,” She giggled, “I am, yes, I’m not entirely sure how in this context however”
“Nevermind,”
Aiden stroked his chin, appearing deep in thought for the first time. “Penny for your thoughts?” She asked finally, “nobody says that anymore, it’s really outdated,”
“I say it!”
“Well, maybe you’re outdated then,” he muttered. It was nearing the end of a long day of school, term even, and it was quite obvious that Aiden was as exhausted as Lucia was, he wouldn’t be so peevish otherwise. They both looked forward to the winter holidays: no more stuffy classrooms; no more monotone teacher lectures and definitely no more homework assignments - the wait was driving them mad - just a couple of days left before they could leave. “Mr. Wyatt, would you care to answer the question?” Mr Turner, their professor, asked, leering at the two of them, "Is it the hypotenuse sir?” Was the reply. “No, why were you talking during my lesson?” He frowned; Aiden gave a nonchalant shrug. “He was asking me for the answer to this question,” Lucia stepped in, pointing at her book, she hated seeing Aiden getting in trouble. Mr Turner looked unimpressed by the answer but returned to his whiteboard, nevertheless. “You show unheard levels of incompetence sometimes, you know that?” She scoffed; Aiden chuckled at her brusque remark. They were both relieved to hear the final bell of the day ring break the awkward silence between them, “Class is dismissed everyone, have a lovely rest of the day, I would like Lucia and Aiden to stay behind for a couple of minutes please,” Mr Turner announced. The class stood up and left the room, all except Lucia and Aiden who appeared to be even more exasperated than before. Mr Turner signalled them to occupy the desks closest to him, they moved accordingly. After a difficult moment of silence between the 3 of them, Mr Turner finally began to talk “Aiden, you are a smart student with a high potential” He started “You have a very comical sense of humour sir!” Lucia riposted, chortling at his statement, though at once pausing upon realising the earnestness of his tone. “I’m afraid that, despite this, your work ethic seems to be falling short of what I would expect in this class” He continued “If this does continue, then it might have a long-term effect on your grades, and you know I want the best for my students,”. Lucia was about to input on that before being cut off by Mr Turner “And you, Lucia, you need to stop endorsing this lack of discipline,” He sighed, “I can appreciate that it’s been a long day, but that’s no excuse to disregard expectations completely, do I make myself clear?” They both nodded silently. “Well, I suppose you two should be off then, you don’t want to miss the bus, you’re free to go,” Aiden slung his rucksack over his shoulder and made for the door, Lucia closely following, Mr Turner looked on with inquisition.
(...)
They both walked down the hallway in silence, despite the windowless nature of it, they could feel the winter darkness creeping in, leaving them with a curious sense of uncertainty. Lucia glanced over at her now reserved friend in an attempt to try and read his thoughts, Aiden acknowledged her perusal and repaid it, both eyes narrowing in attentiveness until they both started to smirk, they’d never take each other seriously, they were too close for that. The hallway was almost empty and only the two of them remained walking. “We better get going, you heard Turner, we don’t want to miss the bus” Aiden reminded. And in those moments of realisation, a relaxed saunter between the two of them transitioned into a hurried dash as they both scampered down the hall to the main exit. Their instincts were vindicated as they stepped outside into the central courtyard, the sky was pitch black, and the path beyond them was lighted by the small number of lanterns scattered across the yard. Ahead of them, the sound of an engine revving could be vaguely heard in the distance. They both exchanged a look of realisation before continuing their wild sprint across the yard, the shape of the bus could be barely perceived from their distance, yet it was clear that it was about to leave. “WAIT!” Lucia screamed, she had an uncompromising schedule and couldn’t afford to miss the bus, as for Aiden however, he could afford to be late, there was always the next one. Fortunately, they arrived just in time, they started to hammer at the door before it eventually opened for them. They stepped on, too exhausted to speak, though giving an appreciative nod to the driver who nodded back with a faint beam. The people on the bus, however, weren't so happy, shooting daggers at them, clearly Lucia wasn’t the only person on a strict schedule. They manoeuvred past the bags across the floor until they found vacant seats towards the back of the bus, they collapsed in them and paused as they regained their energy, breathing heavily. “What was the hold-up?” A voice behind them started, they both turned their heads back to see who asked the question. Magnus Altan was that person, a close friend of Aiden, sitting next to him was Cynthia Lopez looking at both with an amused expression. Magnus and Cynthia despite being very similar, were opposites in a great deal of things, where one thrived academically, the other failed. They both had very different fashion styles and they never seemed to be able to agree on most things. Those facts often caused rivalry between the two of them, though never long-lasting. “Well?” Magnus was still waiting for an answer. “We were held back by Mr Turner” Aiden answered. “Again?” Cynthia sighed, “This is the 3rd time this week,” She looked at Magnus, who shook his head in pity. “Well, we have an exam coming up, we should go to the library to revise for them,” Lucia suggested, in an attempt to change the subject. “I suppose we do,” Magnus answered, with a raised eyebrow, clearly aware of her attempt, but showing no further concern. “The library is near, about 3 stops from now, if you all want to gather your things?” Aiden announced, “How can you tell? The windows look like they’ve been covered in tar,” Lucia asked, “I can just feel it, it's somewhat of a sixth sense, I'll admit”.
“Well, he’s one sandwich short of a picnic...” Cynthia muttered, triggering a chuckle from Magnus. Aiden rolled his eyes in ire; putting on his headphones and sitting back drifting into a well-earnt doze. He loved to sleep, so much so that it had become a game between the three of them to predict where he’d decide to rest next; though the places were so bizarre, it was rare they’d succeed in doing so. “Oh? It seems like I may not be able to go to the library today,” Cynthia frowned, looking at her phone, “I have to help my Ma with some chores”.
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“There’s always the next day, I suppose we can go tomorrow?” Lucia assured. They all nodded, except for Aiden, who still seemed to be dozing.
(...)
The walk home was just as eerie as the hallways, if not more, especially without the company she had in the former. The same sombre road faintly in view due to the prominence of ill-lit windows from the neighbouring houses. Although Lucia had a hard time traversing through the unlighted streets without underlying feelings of insecurity and trepidation. She had learnt to tolerate those feelings and continue; though still getting startled by the odd car or so. During the summer, it was different, sunny skies and the sounds of excited children gambolling on the streets, she enjoyed returning home during those days and felt safe in the warm company of the crowd. Perhaps one of the reasons she hated winter so much. On this specific walk, however, she felt more comfortable. The thought of not having to traverse the gloomy streets again in a couple of days was a thought bright enough to make her forget about the place entirely, and as a result, ignore the person she happened to bump into.
“Sorry!” She started. “I should really look where I’m going,” scratching the back of her head. She looked up to see who she happened to collide with, a man of tall stature towering over her, wearing baggy jeans and a grey hoodie which concealed his face completely, leaving nothing but a shadow for a face. He did not speak, just continued to gaze at her with anonymity. “Do you know of the location of the Filmore estate? I have a parcel for the residents,” He rasped, the only evidence of a mouth being the breath of air around his face becoming visible due to the cold air around the two of them. Lucia gulped; his unusual aura made her ill at ease. “That’s where I live” She stuttered, the man crouched down so his face was level with hers, “Very well then,” he said, reaching into his pockets. He picked out a small present, red with gold ribboning and placed it in her palm. “You take care of that, it’s very important” he continued, Lucia took it and placed it in her rucksack, turning her back away from the silhouette man for a moment just to find no trace of it once turning back.
She entered the house in stunned silence, daunted by her encounter, the home returning the quietude. Her family was small, and she was an only child, so silence was to be expected. Her father always worked late nights, so she never saw him during the day, and her mother preferred to keep to herself, though always happy to engage in conversation, Lucia had an older brother, Kieran, who moved out a few years ago, though mysteriously disappearing months after, since that moment all the smiles and beams from her family shrivelled up into a vague hatred that pervaded the household for the years to come. He was well known around her neighbourhood and was a model pupil at her school who went on to develop more research abroad. They got along well and did a great deal of activities together, so his announcement saying he’d return for Christmas all those years ago elated her. And to find out about his disappearance was crushing. Perhaps another reason as to why she hated winter. Though, she did not like mentioning that topic, she had always wished that she had a lead on her missing brother and would be the one to find him; his return would reunite her once-broken family, it would always remain a wish for her though.
She placed the gift on the table in the parlour and sat down on the couch in front of it, surveying it with fascinated eyes, she noticed a tag underneath reading the name ‘LUCIA’ in silver calligraphed letters, she turned the tag around and read the note in the back...
“Merry Christmas!
An early present for the season
It’s special, so I pray it finds you well
Yet there be some terms and conditions
This gift is to be opened, upon the ring of the final bell”
Final bell? What did it mean by that? Was it a riddle of the sorts? Her line of questioning was interrupted when the door to the parlour opened, hurriedly, she stuffed the gift in her pocket and turned on the television instead, pretending to watch a sitcom. Her mother peeped through the door, regarding her. “Welcome home sweetie, how was your day?” She smiled faintly. “It was fine, mum, how was yours?” She emerged from the door, leaning on a near wall next to it. “Oh, I can’t complain, I haven’t done much today, apart from rest” She grinned. Silence. “You’re awfully quiet today, are you feeling well?” She asked, “I’m feeling well, just a little tired is all,”
“Ah, I understand. I forgot to tell you, dinner is ready, if you are feeling hungry, I’m feeling quite worn out today so I might go upstairs to sleep in a bit, call me if you need anything”. Lucia frowned, she was always fatigued nowadays, she was a hard worker and never gave herself a break, or any time to herself. Usually, the lack of sleep would make one short-tempered, yet it seemed to make her jaded and more restrained. “Thank you, mom,” she said, watching her as she walked off with sympathy. She sighed and pulled the gift out once more, shaking it against her ear in an attempt to predict the gift from the sound alone, but to no avail. This thing was really beginning to get on Lucia’s nerves, she threw it across the room in frustration and glowered at it from a distance, the time ticked by, and the sound of the clock could be heard through the silence, the box made no sound upon impact, and glided across the room as if it were weightless. She had to tell her friends about this, maybe they would know how to make sense of this gift, and potentially the peculiar man who had gifted it to her earlier. She had so many questions that she couldn’t answer herself, and she hated questions she couldn’t answer. Lucia grabbed her phone and started messaging, now all she needed to do was wait.
(...)
Lucia had just finished dinner, and occupied herself with many activities, such as playing games on her console and reading books - which were things she kept around with her - in an attempt to take her mind off the mysterious package, or atleast until she could make sense of the thing. Everyone had agreed to meet up and discuss the intentions of the package and until then, she had nothing to do. The day was almost over, and she was beginning to feel drowsy, she got up from the couch and picked up the box on the way upstairs, juggling it on her palm, she had no intention of letting it out of her sight, whatever the contents within the box were, they were evidently very important. Arriving in the bedroom, she placed the box in her bedside drawer, contemplating it one last time before sealing it away. She yawned as she got into bed, her mind was fuzzy from all the mischief she’d been through. Mr Turner’s lectures, The Mysterious Man and now the queer gift.
“This could become a potential detective mystery!” She thought to herself, as she lay down and began to drift to sleep.
Now wouldn’t that be cool?