Yesterday : Today : Tomorrow

The alarm went off. Everyday it goes off at 7:30am & everyday, Terry silences it within 5 seconds. Terry got out of bed & looked outside to see that the weather was clear & peaceful. It was Wednesday.
Alright, Terry thought to himself, Today is the day. I will tell her today about how I fell. After what happened Yesterday, I feel that I absolutely must.

"Good morning, good sir Terrance! How are you this fine Tuesday?" Terry turned around, only to see his childhood friend Anna running towards him & waving cheerfully.
"You're weird, Annie." Terry responded, donning a casual grin. "But you're as cheerful as always, so you're also normal."
"How kind of you, Terry." She said plainly.
Terry & Anna always met up on the way to school. Currently, they are in Year 11. Everyday, Anna greet Terry differently (& rather eccentrically too) before telling him about both their horoscopes.
"Capricorns will be facing unexpected experiences in the next few days."
"Annie, you are always unpredictable as it is." When Terry said this, Anna lit up significantly.
"Why thankyou!" Anna takes great pride in being different & Terry knows this all too well; she has very few friends, therefore being social only around Terry. "Now then: Geminis will-"
Terry was quick. "No thanks. I don't believe in horoscopes. They are pointless."
"Oh, is that so?" Anna replied hintingly. "Well, then you wouldn't care that your chances in love today are very high."
Almost immediately, Terry stopped, for he had just bumped into the girl he was walking behind of.
Her name is Louise, a rather timid girl in Terry's class.
"Ah! I'm really sorry!" Terry exclaimed instantaneously. "Are you alright?"
"Umm... I..." Louise began as she got up. "I'm fine, please don't worry! I just zoned out when I heard your friend say... umm... I'm a Gemini, you see, so..."
Terry was in shock: he'd always notice Louise at school & travelling to & from school, but never got to talk to her. He'd been hoping for an opportunity for months, but right now, he wasn't prepared.
"Well, I... err..." Think faster! Terry thought to himself.
"GOOD to see that you are fine," Anna said threateningly. "But WE are going to school, so PLEASE move."
Louise made a very scared expression & moves aside obediently. Anna then grabbed Terry's arm & pulled him along with her.
"That was pretty harsh, Annie." Terry stated.
"We're walking to school together like always!" Anna yelled back to Terry. "It was harsh of HER to interfere!"
What the hell is up with that attitude? Terry thought to himself. It's as if she's saying that I'm hers & not to be shared.

"Louise."
"Ah!"
Louise looked up from her desk, only to see Terry looking down at her. Their first period class had just ended.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Terry asked, gently.
"Well, it's just that... not a lot of guys talk to me, that's why..."
Terry gulped.
"I wanted to apologize for Anna's actions earlier!" He said quickly, startling the unprepared Louise.
That look on her face, Terry observed. What is this feeling inside of me? Should I tell her now?! But... I can't... no way!
"Th-thankyou for worrying about that, but it's no problem at all!" She replied, after a few seconds silence, at equal speed.
They stared into each others eyes for a while, before suddenly remembering where they were. Both their faces were crimson red & they quickly turned away.
"I'll be going back to my seat now!" Terry said to Louise, a little louder than normally to make up for the sudden lack of eye contact.
"Huh?" Louise said, suddenly looking back up at Terry. "Oh! Right! Well... umm... bye."
When Terry moved back to his seat, Louise bowed her head so that her long, raven hair would cover her face, which gave off a big, bright smile.

The bell rang.
"That's the bell, everyone," The class homeroom teacher, Mr Baines, announced. "Go home & get a good night's rest for tomorrow."
With that being said, everyone hurried out the door. Terry, on the other hand, waited for everyone to leave.
"Good to see that you're not foolishly hurrying out the door, Mr Hurst." Mr Baines said to Terry.
"I'm in no hurry, sir." Terry replied indifferently.
"Well, good afternoon to you. Oh, you too, Miss Valliere."
"Good afternoon, Mr Baines!" Called a very cheery voice that Terry felt he recognized. He turned, only to see Louise at the doorway, smiling at him. her voice wasn't as low & shy as Terry had known it to be. She also looked far more welcoming, as opposed to her usual cautious look.
"Shall we walk home together?" She asked, her face (& noticeably, her hair) shining from the brightness of the sun. Terry was hesitating. "Hmm?"
"Yes, sure!" Terry blurted out.
Louise was beaming. "Shall we go? Terry?"
"Ye-yes! Right away!" Terry thoughtlessly called out.
"Go WHERE?!" Demanded the unhappy voice of Anna. She had appeared behind Louise, who once again wore her scared expression. "Why are YOU forcing Terry to go with you?"
Louise was so petrified that she could not speak.
"Annie, wait!" Terry began. "I invited her to walk with US!" Anna was suspicious at first, but once Terry finally managed to convince her, Anna found herself with no choice but to walk home with Louise, her least favourite person at present.
Throughout their walk, Louise tried socialising with Anna, but only to receive spiteful remarks like "Leave me alone if you value your life." The first time this happened, Louise (subconsciously) grabbed Terry around the waist, (she only needed to crouch a little, because she is only as tall as Terry's forehead) resulting in a flustered Terry & a very tempered Anna. Once Louise learnt to avoid Anna, she chatted with Terry about where they lived.
"Actually, I need to turn into this street now." Louise told Terry.
"Oh," Terry said, half disappointed. "Well, it's been a fun day."
"It has! Anyway, do have a good night." As she turned away, she gave a nervously half-hearted wave to Anna, who did not react at all. After that, she went down the side street & out of sight.
Terry turned around. "Let's go, Annie." He was, in Anna's eyes, back to his usual morning self again. She was suddenly much happier.
"Yeah, let's go!" She ran forward to his right side, almost making contact with him.
What a big day I've had, Terry pondered. After all, I got to talk to & befriend Louise! It's what I wanted for ages! But... can our relationship develop from here onwards?
"Well, this is where I leave you Terry," Anna said as she turned into her street. "Sleep tight!"
Terry waved. "I'll see you in the morning, Annie!"
With that, Terry indifferently walked home alone.

But the question I have to ask myself, Terry thought, is do I have the guts to tell her? No, that's irrelevant! I must!
"What are you thinking so hard about this early in the morning, Terry dear?" Terry's mum asked as she sat to eat her breakfast.
"Nothing, mum." Terry told her boredly.
"Kids these days," with this, she lost all interest. "Just make sure you pay attention at school: you still have today & 2 more days until the weekend."
"Sure." By their standards, they were having a normal conversation.
"Alright," Terry said to himself. "I have made my decision!"

Just tell her, just tell her, just tell her!
Terry was power walking this morning, which he'd never done before. Everyone he passed looked at him strangely, one girl even giggling as Terry passed her.
Finally, Terry had reached the street that Louise turned into the previous day, which was currently vacated. Terry walked halfway down this street, which was approximately 200 metres, & waited.
As Terry waited, he saw a plane flying overhead. He followed it with his eyes, which strangely enough took about 5 minutes before disappearing.
"Terry?" Asked a soft, surprised voice. "Is that you?"
Terry looked to his right & saw Louise, who was bewildered.
"Oh! M-morning Louise!" Terry said. Once again, Louise had caught him off guard.
"Why were you waiting for me this morning?" Louise asked with a tone of interest.
"Well, Louise... there's something that I have to tell you."
"Really?!" Louise gasped. "My horoscope did say that I was in for a surprise today..."
"Louise." Terry gulped. In these few seconds of silence, he thought about everything that he had felt & experienced the previous day. All of a sudden, everything felt much easier: Terry stopped shaking; the clogged up feeling in his throat was gone & he'd managed to pull off a wide smile.
"Louise." He said again. To this, Louise looked more intensely at him, as if to say "Please go on, it's very important to me!"
"I... really... like you." I finally said it! But now my heart is beating rapidly; how will she respond?
Louise had bowed her head, hiding her face. But then, she lifted her head up. Her raven-coloured hair swung elegantly in the air, revealing her face. Her cheeks were red from blushing & she smiled the same smile she had hidden from him yesterday, only this time her eyes amplified that look of happiness that was only so obvious on her face.
"I'm glad." She said. "Because I feel the same way. I genuinely like you too!"
Without a second to spare, Terry & Louise dropped their schoolbags & ran into each others arms.

"Hey! Terry!" Anna called out as Terry left the street, with Louise by his side. Anna noticed this & twitched her brow a little bit.
"You two should spread apart more! People might think that you're dating!" Louise gave a small gasp.
"Aha, you think so?" Terry asked, giving a small chuckle. He wasn't going to tell anyone about his new relationship with Louise, especially Anna, who now seems to be much more friendly towards Louise for some reason.
"Anyway, let's go you two! School time!" Anna said happily.
"Umm... is something happening at school today... Anna?" Louise asked cautiously. She is still unsure about Anna.
Anna turned to her, making her jump back a little. "Yep! Cooking class starts today for me." She seemed as friendly as ever. "Only thing is, we have to carry all our apparatus between home & school, it feels weird."
The rest of the walk to school went by with Anna talking, while Terry & Louise exchanged glances. Anna had informed them that she will have to stay back after school for reasons to do with her cooking lessons. This enlightened Louise & Terry, as they could be alone together after school.
"I'll see you guys at break!" Anna called as she disappeared through her classroom door.
"Bye Annie!" They both called back.
"She really," Louise noted. "Isn't such a bad person, isn't she?"
"I know," Terry responded. "But she is very weird, so I don't know if we should tell her our little secret just yet."
Louise thought for a few seconds. "I guess that's unavoidable."

"Another day, another 6 hours that I'll never get back." Mr Baines joked, receiving polite laughter from his students. "Go home, & rest well everyone!"
As usual, Terry waited for everyone to pile out of the classroom, this time accompanied by Louise. Once all their peers left, Mr Baines smiled & nodded to them, telling them to lock up before dashing off himself.
Terry grabbed Louise's hand & looked into her eyes. "Shall we?"
"Yep." Louise responded, smiling as she looked up into his eyes.
"Mr Baines sure is a funny guy, "Terry said, as he & Louise left through the school gates. "The way he bids farewell & jokes about everyone as they leave."
"I agree," Louise said, brightly. "I for one am VERY glad that I got into his homeroom." She squeezed Terry's hand a bit, giving her statement a double meaning.
"I'm glad." Terry pointed out, smiling as he had since morning.
Eventually, they had reached Louise's street.
"Terry," Louise began. "I've never had such a wonderful day. Thankyou... very much... for loving me."
"Same to you, Louise." Terry told her, as he leant forward & kissed her. When they separated, Louise took a last look at Terry.
"Good night." Louise told him, as she ran down the street.
"Same to you!" Terry called back, chuckling a bit.
However, when he turned around, he stopped immediately. There, standing across the road, was Anna. Her mouth was partially opened, whereas her eyes were as wide as humanly possible.
Oh crap! Terry said internally. She must have followed us!
"Annie..." Terry muttered.
Anna took a step, still looking like she saw a ghost. She then painfully closed her eyes & ran off. Terry didn't do a thing for a minute, displaying an expression of melancholy, before deciding to just go home.

The alarm went off. This morning, however, Anna violently hit the clock, knocking out its batteries. Anna's eyes were partially open, her eyebrows showing depression & her lips showing utmost apathy. If her personality wasn't enough, her current appearance more than makes up for her mysteriousness.
"Good morning, Anna!" Her father announced cheerfully.
"I hardly think so," Anna answered back, in absolute monotony. "I am going to school."
As she went towards the door, she saw an optical illusion book on the ground. She inserted it into her schoolbag & walked off, leaving her father extremely confused.

Terry was about to pass Anna's street in hope of not seeing her. However, as if luck seemed to be against him, he was just in time to run into Anna.
Oh no... she looks pissed, Terry noted. Her uniform & hair are unkempt. She must have slept in her school uniform. But, now that I look again, she isn't so much angry as she is defeated. Just what on earth is going on?
Anna glanced at him, but ignored him right after. She walked onwards, with Terry following close behind.
After a walk without saying so much as a single word, they had passed Louise's street. Louise has just left the street & caught sight of them.
"Terry! Annie! Good morning!" She called out as she began to run towards them.
Suddenly, Anna reacted. "Shut the hell up! If it wasn't for you... then I'd..." Without finishing, Anna dashed off.
"What's wrong with Annie, Terry?" She asked, tears slightly generating in her eyes. She was scared again.
"She saw me kissing you yesterday & now she's in this bad state." Terry answered, as he pulled Louise gently into his arms & wiped away her tears. "We'll talk to her, don't you worry."

Later on that day, during break, Terry & Louise say Anna sitting on a bench all alone, muttering to herself, looking into space.
"Though it may be risky," Terry warned. "We should confront he & fill her in."
Louise was standing slightly behind Terry, so as to feel safer. "Yes, let's go."
As they cautiously walked past everyone toward, they noticed that Anna's eyes were once again wide open, her mouth slightly opened & laughing: she looked psychotic.
"Annie?" Terry began. "Are you alright? We want to talk to you."
Anna's eyelids dropped a bit & she stopped laughing. She turned to look at them & asked "Are you two dating?"
This question had been too sudden for Terry, so he took a step back & hesitated.
"We are." Louise answered, clearly yet calmly.
"I see." Anna said as she stood up. "Terry. Meet me at the park tonight at 8pm. Alone. WE will talk then. Hopefully, it will resolve everything." With he monotonous request delivered, Anna got up. She gave Louise a quick glare just before walking away.
"Are you going to go, Terry?" Louise asked nervously.
"Yes. I need to resolve this issue with Annie if we are ever to live comfortably." Terry looked right into Louise's eyes. "I promise you - she won't be a hindrance from tomorrow onwards."
Louise looked unsure at first, but then told him "I trust your judgement, Terry." She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I'm a little early, Terry thought. It's still 10 minutes to 8pm. She might already be here: she never said where in the park we would meet up. Terry was just sitting on the park bench he'd walked into, alone.
It was getting very dark. The wind was blowing softly, the sound of leaves scraping the ground were clearly heard in the silence.
"I'm glad you came." Anna's voice, monotonous but relieved, said.
Terry stood up, but before he could even notice her, Anna's hand was on his left shoulder, signalling him to sit down again. He did, as did Anna.
"Annie, what's been going on with you today?"
Silence. Annie appeared to bite her bottom lip.
"Annie?" This time, she looked at him.
"I love you, Terry! I always have! Why did you go for that Louise girl when you already had me by your side?!" She had found herself in a fit of hysteria.
"Umm..." Terry hesitated. He took a deep breath. "Annie, it's not that I dislike you or anything. It's just that I only see us as friends. it'd be great if you could get along with Louise & myself just as you had yesterday. Remember how happy you were?"
Annie glared at him sharply. "I suppose."
"Great!" Terry said, a little too enthusiastically. "So now, we can-"
"I have no chance over her, do I?" Anna asked looking down at her lap.
"Annie," Terry said seriously. "I love Louise more than anything in the world. I'm sorry, but nothing can change that."
More silence. Terry glanced down at her lap too, noticing that her hands were clinging onto a red book & shaking.
"What is that, Annie?" Terry asked, hoping to change the mood. Surprisingly, it did: Annie looked much more interested now.
"This is a book of optical illusions." She explained. "There is a particular page in it which always lifts my mood."
"Can I see this page?" Terry asked gently, wanting to keep the positive atmosphere.
Anna flipped through the pages to one that was entirely blank, with the exception of a red cube in the very middle.
"If you stare at this image closely for long enough, the vast emptiness on this page will change colour into red."
Terry put the book on his lap, bowed down & stared at the cube. Anna stood up & went behind the part of the park bench that Terry was sitting on.
"Keep staring," Anna encouraged. "You're doing fine." Anna reached into her bag...
"This is a pretty strange puzzle, Annie. Nothing is happening."
"Patience, Terry. It'll happen very soon." She slowly pulls her hand out of her bag...
"Strange things really do fascinate you Annie." Terry let off a chuckle.
"Yes, you'll find that they do." She raises her hand over Terry...
"Trust me, I already kno-"
"Watch out, Terry!" Shrieked a desperate voice.
"Louise?!" Terry said, alarmed, as he tried to stand up.
"Goodbye." Anna said, as she stabbed her kitchen knife into the back of Terry's neck.
As she forced out the knife, Terry fell to the ground, blood pouring onto the page he was looking at. Louise was running over to Terry's body, crying very hard.
"Terry..." Louise said in a croaky voice. She looked up at Anna. "Annie, how could you?!"
Anna's expression was back to how it was during break - wide eyed; laughing; psychotic.
"He said that he can never fall in love with me," Anna began, dropping her knife as she stared at the crescent moon. "So if he can't be with me, he cannot be with anyone! I've made sure of that." She then laughed at an inside voice volume.
Louise's tears were burning now. Without thinking at all, Louise got up, took the knife & stabbed Anna in the heart. She fell down, but laughed for as long as she could before her life ended. Louise then realized what she'd done & fell onto her knees, crying harder than ever before. She lifted Terry's lifeless body & hugged it tightly.
"Terry..." She said, more calmly now that she was alone. "I heard what you said - every word, actually - you said that nothing can ever change your love for me. I feel the exact same way & it will never change." Louise cried for a bit more before having the breath to continue.
"I love you. I always did & always will. That will never change. It didn't Yesterday, didn't Today, & will not Tomorrow. It will never change."