Alex walked out of the classroom, yawning. She had another late night. She had stayed over the Parkers more than she thought.

If she could have redone it, she would have answered her homework while Logan slept.

Alex followed the crowd on the path towards her locker. She popped on a pair of earphones and closed her eyes. They felt too heavy. To anyone who’d glance at her, they’d think she was sleep walking.

When 4am hit last night, Alex decided to sleep. She felt lucky that her unfinished homework was for her afternoon classes.

She could do them during lunch break.

Alex partially opened her eyes. Closing one’s eyes while walking was both stupid and brave but it would be embarrassing if she passed by her locker.

Fortunately, she spotted it only a few feet away from her.

Phew.

She hung her head, walking over to the direction of her locker. She closed her eyes again, groaning. She really shouldn’t sleep that late again.

Opening her eyes into slits, Alex searched for the lock. She dialed her passcode that she had memorized like the back of her hand. When she pulled on the locker door, she saw an empty shelf in front of her.

It looked like the perfect size and height for her head to fit.

Maybe a few minutes of rest wouldn’t hurt, Alex thought. She placed her chin on the shelf, relaxing her muscles against the locker.

Despite the cold metal, Alex found the position quite comfortable. She couldn’t tell how long she stayed that way but it seemed like her temporary peace turned out to be short lived.

“Are you alright?“She heard a silky voice ask her.

Alex couldn’t really see the person’s face. In front of her looked like an endless white horizon. She stood alone and the voice seemed to come from her left but when she turned her head, she found no one.

Alex pressed her lips together. Would the faceless voice find it rude if she didn’t answer?

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I—um. I’m okay” Alex replied, scratching the back of her head. She didn’t even know if this voice was talking to her and not someone else.

“You seem really tired though.”

“I had a lot of homework to do and tests to prepare for.”

“Wow, you work hard” the voice complimented her, “Your grades must be all As.”

Alex smiled shyly, “I try.”

“How many hours does it take to study everyday in order to achieve that?”

“Ugh” Alex groaned, “Normally not until 4 in the morning. If you aim for good grades, my word of advice is to not cook chicken noodle soup on the same day all your teachers decided to give schoolwork.”

“You cook?” The surprise tone didn’t go unnoticed by Alex.

“Yeah, when I have the time.”

“Then, I’d like to have a taste sometime.”

A loud crash against metal broke the white cage Alex stood in. The floor shook. Alex bent her knees to steady herself. The walls collapsed around her. Soon the ceiling followed and crumbed, making Alex shield her head with her hands on reflex. The floor split open between her feet. The two pieces moved away from each other, stretching Alex’s legs until they gave in and she fell into abyss.

It all happened in less than five seconds.

Then, it ended just as fast.

Alex woke up with a gasp. The white horizon had been replaced by darkness. She squinted her eyes. Then, the sound of the students chattering registered in her ears.

She pulled her head back. The rest of the locker now filled her vision. She quickly fished out her phone and checked the time.

15 minutes had already passed since the lunch bell rang.

Alex squeezed the bridge of her nose. Had she been that tired that she’d dream as soon as she rested her head in the locker?

“Do you have a headache?”

Alex jumped at the sound of the voice from her dream. When she turned her head towards the left this time, she saw someone standing next to her in a cheer outfit.

The girl had her head tilted to the side, a worried expression on her face. She had the same height as Alex. Her red hair curled into ringlets around her face and the freckles on her nose matched the flecks in her brown eyes.

“Oh, wow, you’re real” Alex said without much thought.

The girl giggled, “Dreamed about me, did you?”

Alex pressed her lips together, forming a tight smile. She shrugged off her backpack and arranged her things. She left almost everything inside the locker and only kept the materials she needed for the rest of the day.

“Am I being too forward?” The stranger asked, “I’m sorry. My name is Courtney Wilson. I saw you sleeping in your locker and I remembered you from the time we had baseball in gym class. My friends told me you’re the smartest person in our year. I found you admirable since then.”

“Oh” Alex replied, not taking her eyes off her things, “Uh, thank you.”

“And you can cook too” Courtney continued to gush, “I thought guys like you only existed in movies.”

“I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll realize there’s more guys like that than you are aware of.”

“Yeah, maybe” Courtney nodded. Then, she hit Alex’s shoulder, “But I bet none of them could compare to you.”

Alex hid her choke with a cough. Hastily, she closed the locker and zipped up her bag.

Not the type to be rude, she gave Courtney a small wave, “Thanks for your concern but I kind of need to go now. Bye.”

Then, she brisk walked away from Courtney and her locker.

“Hey, the cafeteria is this way!” Alex heard her shout.

She turned around, walking backwards in the same direction that she took, and pointed her thumb over her shoulder, “Yeah, I’m going this way. I still have some stuff to do.”

“But what about lunch?” Courtney asked, taking a step forward towards Alex.

Alex immediately held up her hands, hoping Courtney would finally get the message, “I’ll worry about that later. I have a few priorities.”

Courtney shook her head in awe, “You are so amazing.”

Alex laughed through her teeth, “I really don’t think so. I’d say don’t be like me and go get your lunch. See ya!”

Then, she ran for it before Courtney could find anything else to say.

After she turned a corner, she stopped and placed her hands on her knees, panting. That had been too close. Never in her life as a boy had a girl ever walked up to her like that.

So far, all the girls she met had been chill—cool and easy to talk to. Alex hadn’t even met Courtney for five minutes and she already felt suffocated.

Was this normal? She wondered if guys experienced that strange feeling around girls often.

When Alex caught her breath, she straightened her back and continued to walk towards the library. Not many people knew about the lone stairs at the farthest corner that led to the back of the library. She purposely chose it to confuse Courtney in case she decided to follow her.

Alex didn’t want to say that the girl was crazy but she didn’t want to take the chance either.