“What a strangely warm morning for early spring,” was the first thought I had after looking up from the book. I checked my watch briefly as the chemistry professor finished his explanation. The following inscription was on my phone:
London, 21 March 2021, 11.56 am.
It was Sunday, but, quite extraordinarily, the student committee had agreed with the principal to obtain an entire week's holiday. The price we had to pay for enjoying the first days of spring was precisely that half day. Classes would be over soon and I could already see my phone filling up with notifications. I silently swore to myself that I would kill my best friend Leon. He knew I should come home immediately, but he kept bombarding me with messages. The last minutes were missing when, by chance, I found myself looking at the sky. It was something I had hated doing for as long as I could remember. My seat, however, was right next to the window, so my gaze often ended up falling towards the blue expanse. I inevitably scanned the sky and noticed something, presumably a plane, that was out of place among the white clouds. I strained my eyes but, at that moment, it seemed nothing more than a strange moving shape. The ringing of the bell brought my eyes back to the blackboard.
«Good, now guys, follow me out. The assembly is about to begin» declared the professor.
At those words, an uproar immediately broke out. My classmates reacted with superhuman reflexes, preparing with disarming speed. Not even two minutes had passed before everyone was ready.
«Excellent, I'd say you were quick» our teacher noted.
"I should move too if I want to go home and get back here in time so I don't get caught."
But only my mind could hear those words. I got ready as quickly as possible and joined the rest of my classmates after taking one last look at my classroom.
That would have been my last year; I could already savor the nostalgia I would have for those days, the feeling that all the laughter and crying would never return, our little world would become inaccessible forever.
The chemistry professor noticed my moment of distraction and called me from the door after positioning himself at the exit: «Everything ok, Adam?»
«Yes professor, I apologize. I was just... checking to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything», I replied, casting one last glance at the class.
«Of course, I understand» I saw him strain his eyes to analyze my face. «I’m curious to see what you have in store for the world.»
«I don't think I'm following», I said, confused.
«Yes, I know we've only known each other since this year, but I see how you're always lost in thought; like you, I also always have that desire to leave a sign of what my mind thinks, be it drawings, texts or anything else. So, is it a deal?»
«Okay professor, I promise.»
«Perfect. Now let's join your companions.»
The professor took his bag and straightened the collar of his shirt, then preceded me, a decisive step that masked a kind soul. Helius Wine, that was his name, a teacher that the students couldn't help but love, secretly we all knew him as Eli but, as a matter of respect, we avoided saying it at school or in his presence. I followed the man through the corridors and towards the courtyard; in the meantime, I met other people I knew. The first was Marianne.
«The meeting is… now?» She asked, fixing her hair.
«No», I replied, clearly ironic.
The girl punched me on the shoulder, «Come on, be serious!»
«Yeah, hurry back to class instead.»
«Later!» She waved at me before running away.
Rounding the corner, I encountered two more familiar girls, who glanced at me briefly as I walked down the bathroom hallway. I gave them a courtesy smile; the smaller one reciprocated by raising his right hand and waving at me. Her name was Irina Redfield, who moved with her parents last year near my house and then moved across the Thames, Scandinavian origins and a couple of problems with English. The hand was lowered by her friend, shorter than her and much darker: my sister.
«Idiot» commented the rebel.
«You know I didn't do anything, right?»
«You always are», she said, rolling his eyes at the ceiling.
I tilted my head slightly, «Very mature of you.»
«Don't start again, you're the one who runs away from school.»
«Do you need anything, Sarah?» I cut the conversation short.
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«My clothes», she replied, pointing to his school clothes, «I can't stand these uniforms anymore.»
Our bickering stopped when I decided to continue. I continued walking towards the exit of the courtyard without answering her. I heard her voice shout at me, but luckily, Irina was able to stop her. I gave Mr. Wine a quick check in the hope that he hadn't been eavesdropping, but a look on his face told me otherwise; that meant my plan had failed.
The teacher approached with his classic shocked expression, «Adam, I wish I could help you, but you know that it is forbidden to leave the school during the assembly. You are a minor, I have a duty to look after you. Wait these two hours and then you can go.»
«Professor, I would, but I live quite a ways from here, and there's no way I can get faster than the taxi that's waiting for me outside.»
The professor seemed to give in to curiosity and asked, «Why is it so important for you to return now?»
«For my... for my dog», I lied, «My parents have to work and I have to make sure he recovers, given that he has been struck by various illnesses lately.» I stopped for a moment, «Really, believe me. As soon as he takes the drugs, I will return immediately.»
Professor Wine hesitated for a moment, scratching his neck which began to turn red, a sign of the probable discomfort that the shirt was causing him given the heat of that day. He stared at me hesitantly before closing his eyes and, grimacing, agreeing.
«Okay, the meeting lasts two hours, I want you here before 1.05 pm. As soon as you get back, I want you to come and let me know. Agreed?»
«Absolutely. Thank you, professor», I replied, nodding.
I immediately ran towards the school exit, while everyone's attention was focused on the influx of students in the main courtyard; I could see Professor Wine giving me one last look before inviting my classmates to continue and I silently thanked him. I had almost reached the secondary gate on the side of the car park when a boy crashed into me. We both fell to the ground.
«Got ya!»
I rubbed my sore shoulder and replied annoyed, «You could also apologize or be more careful...» then I recognized the face and voice of my attacker, «Leon.»
I sighed as my best friend gave me a playful smile. As usual, he wore his clothes, i.e. our school uniform, less than flawlessly. The unbuttoned black jacket covered a white shirt that peeked out from long black trousers; completely inappropriate shoes and the lack of a tie completed my friend's look. Leon Smith, my lifelong partner in crime, practically born together, we had spent most of our childhood playing with each other. Our parents had had no doubts about the choice to make and so we found ourselves in the same school, in elementary school and middle school and, finally, there, in high school.
I stared sternly at my friend who rolled his eyes and moved his head a little, thus causing that part of his purple hair that hadn't been gathered in a pigtail to move. «Come on, it was just a joke!»
«You dyed your hair, again» I noted with a grimace.
«Yeah, they're fine, right?» he bowed his head slightly to show them to me, «They're also a dark purple, so they don't look like those alternative things that make you look like a highlighter.»
I nodded before getting up, «You’re right, but I have to go now.»
«What? Are you skipping the meeting without me?» he stared at me with disappointment.
«You know why I do it.»
«Ah...» he realized with a regretful expression, «Of course, then I will warn the others that you will join us later.»
«Thank you, Leon.»
My best friend smiled, «You're welcome, I'll wait for you at the usual place!»
«Yes, I know, roof of the B-5 building. Later.»
«Bye bye!»
We each went our separate ways without looking back. To this day, I regret not giving a glance in his direction. That doesn't mean I wouldn't see him again, but at that moment it would have been better to do so.
I should have turned, I’m sure of that.
I reached the taxi; I was probably late, as the driver seemed quite annoyed when I told him to hurry up. Unfortunately, that request of mine was not accepted; instead, we spent a good ten minutes stuck in traffic. When it finally looked like the outflow of cars was complete, my cell phone began to vibrate. The incoming call was from my mother.
«Adam, where are you?» She asked.
«I'm on the road mom, there was traffic but now the tax-»
I didn't have time to finish the sentence when she replied in an imperative tone, «It doesn't matter, go back to school.»
The voice I heard from the phone seemed foreign to my mother's; her tone wasn't as calm as her usual, she seemed scared and on the verge of a panic attack. I heard her say something to me, but the country music on the radio drowned out her voice.
«Excuse me, can you turn the volume down?» I said to the driver.
«You, new generation teenagers, don't know how to appreciate real music» he complained.
«As you say, but I'm on the phone,” I commented before putting my ear close to the phone again, «Mom, then-»
«Listen to me Adam, go back to school!»
«But dad is at home-»
«I know, I'll bring the drugs to your father. You go back! I already left some things for Sarah there, she's waiting for you.»
«Mom, can you explain to me what's happening?» I asked worried.
A smoky gray car shot past us like a bullet, the driver groaned and honked, but it was already a safe distance away when the sound had spread into the atmosphere. It would have been a normal event, some crazy person driving recklessly could have happened anywhere. The only problem was that the gray car belonged to my mother.
«Adam, think about taking care of Sarah. I love you both.»
«What-» the call ended before I could finish the sentence.
Indecision washed over me as I weighed which choice would be best. I could have listened to my mother and gone back to school, or I could have chased her. After making my decision, I leaned towards the driver, but only then did I notice his gaze directed towards the sky; we had stopped.
I forced myself to take a deep breath and did the thing I hated most: looking at the sky.
My eyes widened instinctively as I saw a rocky boulder of colossal dimensions obscuring the view beyond the clouds; there were blue and red flames around the object which demonstrated that it had now entered our orbit. I saw it with my own eyes, and my mind thought one thing, a single thought that I was unable to shake away.
"This is the end".
The radio, which I had tried to ignore until then, changed frequency without warning. The obnoxious country music was replaced by a message, spoken by a frightened voice, just like my mother's:
«Asteroid 2001 FO32 unexpectedly changed course and entered orbit. The expected crash site is London, the capital of England.»