The next day, I decided I would come early to school so I could mentally prepare for the science presentation I had at first period. I walked down the long hallway that was filled with the sweet sound of silence. I was of course still thinking about the presentation as I attempted to open my locker. I tried to open it on the first try. It stayed locked. I tried it a second time. It was still locked. I then tried again for the third time but the lock didn't budge. I cursed under my breath. This was beginning to annoy me. I then tried to open it for a fourth and final time and the lock finally sprang open.
"Thank you!" I said a little bit too loud.
I began to retrieve my books from my locker relieved that I hadn't broken the lock. I then noticed a small slip of paper falling out of my locker and landing peacefully down on the tile hallway floor. I did not recall getting a sheet of paper in any of my classes yesterday. I bent over and picked up the small paper. I flipped the paper and it was a note. I proceeded to read the note.
"Opal," it read.
I recognized the handwriting but could not determine who's it was.
" Meet me in my classroom at lunch, it's important. Be on time! Sincerely, The Doctor."
So that's who it was! I had nearly forgotten about the event yesterday because of the anxiety over my science presentation. I felt myself smile. Then my smile faded into a face of utter confusion. How could he have possibly gotten the note in my locker? I didn't tell him where my locker was. Even more concerning was that even if he did know my locker number he couldn't have possibly have gotten the note in there without knowing my locker combination. There were no slits big enough in my locker to send the paper through it. This started to concern me since if he knew my combination, so could others.
I started to feel a bit overwhelmed, the thought of my science presentation did not help. I started to hear high heels clopping against the tile floor coming closer and closer with every passing second. I suppose I must have looked a bit flushed since when I saw the women wearing the loud heeled shoes she had a look of concern on her face. I did recognize the women though. It was Ms.Oswald.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
I nodded yes. She didn't seem to believe me. Probably because I wasn't.
" Opal, come in my class you look like you need some water." She said.
I followed Ms. Oswald into her class, hearing the sound of her high heels every step of the way. I sat at one of the desks and tried to adjust my position in the uncomfortable chair. Ms. Oswald then went to her Brita filter. I remember Tyler telling me about how Ms. Oswald didn't like the taste of tap water of the school, she said it tasted weird. She wasn't wrong. She poured a small glass of water into a red plastic cup and handed it to me with a smile. I smiled back and tried to make it look as real as I could. I was still extremely nervous.
" So what are you stressed about?" she questioned
I wasn't going to waste both of our time denying it. So I sighed and started to speak.
" I have a science presentation next period worth 15 percent of my final mark, miss." I said trying to smile.
She nodded. She understood how stressed students got around finals. I decided to leave the Doctor's note out of the explanation due to how angry she seemed with him yesterday. I sipped at the water Ms. Oswald gave to me. It definitely tasted better than the school tap water.
" To what I've heard from Tyler, you are great at science." Ms. Oswald chuckled.
What she said kind of stunned me for a minute. Tyler talks to Ms. Oswald about me? Why?
"You talk to Tyler about me?" I asked.
She began to smile. She brushed her long brown hair behind her ear before she began to speak.
" He talks about all the facts you tell him. Quite frankly he never shuts up about you." She said with a smile. I could see her biting her lip, as if she knew something I didn't. She then winked at me. This confused me.
"Tyler isn't one to boast," I continued.
This made Ms. Oswald laugh. I smiled still confused.
"Opal, he boasts about you a lot." She said with a big grin.
Tyler doesn't boast. Boasting isn't his style. He is more of a goofy kind of guy.
" I find that extremely hard to believe," I said.
Ms.Oswald then looked at her watch. Her eyebrows began to rise.
"Jesus is that the time!" she exclaimed.
She then began to erase the chalk off the blackboard. I knew I had to get to science.
" I'm sorry Ms.Oswald but I have to go," you said.
I waved her goodbye and proceeded to walk down the hall to get to my science class.
_________________________________________________________________________
It was now second period. My presentation was done so I started to calm down a bit more. It was half past ten. So in fifteen minutes I was going to head straight to The Doctor's classroom. I began clicking my pen, it would always calm me down. The clicking made me less anxious every second of which I clicked. It gave me a sense of peace in a way. I kept looking at the clock, every minute seeming to get slower and slower when ever I looked at the clock. It was agony. Curiosity bloomed in my mind, the wonder of what the Doctor was on about ate at me every second. I looked up at the clock once again. I only had to wait five more minutes. The Doctor figured out my locker number and combination just so he could get this note to me, it must have been very important.
I began to gaze out the window. It was better than maths. I looked and saw saw birds flying away from the school. Oh how I envied that. I wanted to fly away from this dump. The only exciting thing that was happening was a note in my locker from a bloody teacher. Two more minutes is all I had to wait. The curiosity was getting worse. I began to bounce my knee to entertain a fidgeting feeling eating at me in my mind. Everyone in the maths class started to clear their books, so I proceeded to do the same. I got my enormous maths textbook and began stuffing it in my tiny bag. The bells began to ring. The sound was sweet to my ears. As soon as the teacher dismissed the class I sprang out of my seat and headed to the classroom. I was so curious on what was happening. A finger began to tap my shoulder. I whipped my head around to see Tyler smiling at me.
"You coming outside for lunch?" Tyler asked smile still wide.
I knew I had to see the Doctor. I could always talk to Tyler later, I knew he would understand.
"Sorry Tyler, I have to go see the Doc-, I mean, Mr.Smith." I said with an awkward laugh.
" We'll hang out after school, yeah?" He said with a smile.
I nodded. Then waved goodbye, as I began to walk to the classroom. When I finally did get to the classroom, I peered in the class to see if the Doctor was there. He was there alright. Pacing up and down the classroom with every passing second. He flipped his watch around to check the time. He then put his wrist back down pacing once again. He then stopped to fix his bow tie. I entered the classroom with a smile. The Doctor saw me enter and proceeded to smile with me. I needed to ask him a question before this began.
"How did you do that?" I asked him.
He seemed confused. He scratched his chin and combed back his hair. I could hear him start to speak.
"How did I do what?" the Doctor asked me with a look of puzzlement on his face.
"How did you get the note in my locker? There isn't a slit big enough to stick the paper through." I asked.
He knew he had been caught. He adjusted his bow tie again and sat in his leather chair. I knew that was my cue to sit in the wooden chair directly in front of his desk.
" Tell me Opal," He began.
" What are your thoughts about the universe?" He finally asked me.
I had no idea how to respond. I couldn't begin to try to explain my thoughts of the universe to another person. It would be extremely hard to explain, but I decided I was up for the challenge.
"Well, sir, the universe is a vast and complicated...thing," I began.
Thing? Really Opal?
" It has so many different galaxies co-existing in a same time frame, always changing, always moving, never looking the same for a nano second. The universe is a mystery that probably won't be solved in my lifetime, though I would be willing to assist the people who will." I finally finished.
The Doctor had a huge grin on his face, he knew I had put quick thought into what I was saying. He didn't seem to care though.
" What about Aliens?" he asked me.
I thought I didn't hear correctly. Why was my english teacher asking me questions about Aliens? It seemed odd. I decided I would answer any way.
"I'm sorry, but you would have to be quite ignorant if you do not believe in Aliens. How likely would it be to be the only planet in this huge universe to harbour life. They don't need to be the aliens you see on star trek, they could be bacteria, but it would still count as alien life." I concluded.
The Doctor looked at you as if I were his teacher. Of course he knew a lot more about the universe than I did, he was once a substitute teacher for my science class. I learned so much that day.
"Opal, I'm going to need you to trust me." The Doctor said eyes wide.
I felt shivers down my spine. Why would I need to trust him? I did trust him, but why would it be an issue if I didn't?
"Okay," I responded.
He looked at me again, as if he was making sure I understood. I nodded to his look and he nodded right back at me.
" I need you to come back to me after school," he said with a small smile.
I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. I had said to Tyler I would hang out with him. He is going to be pissed at me. I needed to find out what this was.
" Alright," I said.
He could tell I had something else on my mind. He began tapping his foot on the floor.
"What is it?" He said with a sigh.
" Nothing, I was going to hang out with Tyler after school, but this seems important, sir." I said with a smile.
The Doctor began to smirk. He raised his eyebrow. This was starting to become strange.
" You know, I think he fancies you." He said with a smirk.
I felt myself blush. I don't fancy Tyler but I had never had someone think he liked me before.
" I don't think so, sir" I responded with a awkward smile.
He began to laugh. He straightened his bow tie for a third time.
" Of course you don't," He said with a grin.
I had no idea what that meant. I couldn't manage to keep my confusion hidden on my face. Though I wasn't really sure, I didn't really care that much. I wanted to solve the mystery of what the Doctor was hiding. It was a puzzle I was eager to solve and I would not rest until I succeeded. The Doctor then dismissed me to go to my period three class. I walked down the hall slowly, still trying to solve the puzzle.
