The Time Bender (Excerpt)

        Alexis walked down the high school hallway, the small head phones vibrating in her ears. With her backpack hanging heavily on one shoulder, she opened her locker and tore down the schedule for her senior classes.

         I won't be needing this anymore, she thought, relieved. She folded the paper and put it in her pocket. She stared at her empty locker for a moment, when the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. A shiver ran down her spine. Cautiously, she peeked around the door of her locker, and saw something she didn't expect.

         At the other end of the hall was a man dressed completely in black, with dark sunglasses covering his eyes. She knew immediately he wasn't a student. But, he wasn't a teacher or staff member either. A parent, maybe?

         Just at that moment, the man seemed to melt into the crowd of students in the hall. Alexis  blinked. Where'd he go?

         “Hey, Alexis!” A voice called from behind her. She knew who it was. Just one of her annoying classmates. She didn't turn around.

         Alexis closed her eyes tightly as a sudden headache began pounding relentlessly inside her skull. She rubbed her temples with her hands, grimacing. The bell rang. She turned to see Nathan, the Asian American history genius, waving at her with a smug grin on his face.

         “You know how Mr. Banks is about being late for class, girl!” He yelled. “You better get movin'!” He disappeared into the classroom, as the bell's incessant ringing finally halted. She felt a brief moment of dizziness, then, the headache was gone as quickly as it had come. Alexis slammed her locker shut, adjusted the straps of her backpack, and walked quickly toward Mr. Banks' classroom door. Before she entered, she glanced back once at the empty hall, wondering who that man was.

         “Alexis McCallen!” Mr. Banks voice cut through her thoughts like an echoing gunshot. “Find your seat, please.”  Alexis gathered herself, glanced at her teacher across the room, then slowly made her way toward her desk.



* * * * *



         The day passed by like a dream that seemed blurry when you tried to recall it. Alexis left her Drama class, and headed straight for the double doors at the end of the hall. Her brother would probably be waiting for her in the lobby. Sure enough, as she pushed through the doors and into her freedom from High School, the redhead was sitting on the steps, scratching his head as he glanced nervously over his shoulder at her.

         Alexis immediately noticed his busted lip. Scowling angrily, she stomped over to him and grabbed his backpack, yanking him up off the stairs.

         “Joshua,” she said menacingly through tightly gritted teeth. “What did I tell you this morning?” Her little brother covered his lip and stared up at her innocently.

         “It wasn't my fault, Alex!” He protested. “The guys were―”

         “I don't care what the guys were doing!” Alexis said, dragging him out of the lobby by his wrist. “I told you not to get involved. Period! I don't care if they're mouthing you or they say something offensive. You're job is to bite your tongue and walk away,” She stopped and snatched his hand away from his mouth. “Or stuff like this will happen.” She indicated his swollen bottom lip.

         “Alexis!” Joshua yelled, ripping free from her grip. “Just listen to me for a second.” Alexis sighed, and turned to look at him as he continued. “I wasn't going to get involved but...”

         “But what?”

         “They started talking trash about mom...” He mumbled, looking away.

         Alexis felt sorrow tug at her heart. She knew how sensitive the subject of their mother was. He always had been a mama's boy up until the day she died. There were many rumors that circulated around the community concerning her death two years before. Many of the boys in his class would gang up on him regularly, bringing up those rumors and being immature jerks, not taking into account his feelings on the subject. This is often what got Joshua into trouble.

         Alexis sighed and placed a gentle hand on her brother's shoulder. He looked up into her hazel eyes, his throat burning. “I know it's hard.” She said softly.

         Joshua leaned his head forward on her chest as she wrapped her arms around him. They embraced warmly for a moment, then she draped her arm over his shoulder and they walked to the bus together.



* * * * *



         A good majority of the bus route was on muddy gravel back roads. It usually took about an hour to get home, because Alexis and Joshua were the last ones off the bus. Joshua always asked Alexis why she never drove to school since she had a car. Alexis would always give the same reply.

         Shortly after their mother passed away, their father suspiciously disappeared. He left the family car covered by a tarp under the carport. The two teenagers were heartbroken to find that their father had abandoned them. Out of a blind rage, Alexis tore all of the family portraits from their walls and cut her fathers face out of each one, burning them all. She later felt guilty having done such a terrible thing in front of her little brother. From that day on, she decided not to have anything to with the car. Their father must have left it for a reason, but she didn't want to be a part of it.

         Alexis was sitting in the back seat with her brother, staring out the window as the thick trees flew by. She was lost in thought, thinking about what she was going to do with her life not that she was no longer in High School. I'll look after Joshua. She thought, coming to a conclusion. She glanced over at him to see him with headphones in his ears, drumming out the beat to whatever he was listening to with his hands. His red head bobbed up and down slightly as he enjoyed his music. Alexis allowed a grin to touch her lips.

         The moment she looked up a splitting headache pounded through her skull. Grimacing, she peeked over the seat and saw the man from the school suddenly appear in front of the bus. Yelling in panic, the bus driver swerved to avoid hitting the man. Alexis felt time slow, whether in reality or her own mind. She reached to embrace her brother as adrenaline flooded her veins. She waited, stomach in her throat, for the impact.

         Nothing happened.

         Everything was completely silent. Alexis looked up slowly. She gazed out the window and saw a screen of mud and gravel shooting up outside. But, something was horribly wrong. The gravel was suspended in the air, the bus was tilted and falling. Yet, it wasn't falling. Standing up, she looked at the driver and saw his face frozen in fear, the wheel gripped tightly in his hands. Everybody was still. Everything was still. Alexis looked down at her brother, he was bent over, hands on the seat in front of him. He wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing.

         The mysterious man was standing frozen outside with a grin on his sinister face. Oh my God! Alexis thought, completely shaken. What's happening?

         Suddenly, everything roared back to life. She watched the driver jerk the wheel, she heard the kids screaming, she felt Joshua fall against her leg. She was jerked recklessly toward the window, slamming into it.

         Everything went dark.



* * * * *



         “Alexis!” a voice cut through the silence. “Alex, wake up!” Slowly, Alexis' eyes fluttered open. She watched as Joshua's face came into focus. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern dominating his voice.

         “I'm fine.” She said, although she wasn't quite sure. She felt something warm and wet on her forehead. She raised her hand to her head and brought it away. It was stained with dark blood. She didn't panic, however. Instead she sat up to see what was happening. She saw all of the students that had been in the accident getting on the bus again.

         Wait...she thought. That wasn't the same bus. She stood up with her brothers help, feeling a little dizzy, and turned to see what used to be the bus they rode every day. It was caked in mud, tipped sideways in the ditch, and many of the windows were broken. Her jaw dropped open as she gazed upon the extent of the damage.

         “The paramedics said everybody's fine.” Joshua said quietly, shivering. “Only you and the bus driver are the ones that got hurt.” She looked down at her little brother and then hugged him tightly. She looked up to see a man in a white shirt and navy trousers approaching them.

         “You got quite a blow to the head.” He said, touching Alexis' shoulder. “Mind if I get you checked out so you can go home?” Alexis let him push her blonde hair away from her face as he studied the injury. “I think you'll be fine. You'll just have to be careful not to move too fast or you may collapse from dizziness. Take this and clean out the cut every day. It will heal on it's own eventually.” He handed her a small bottle of antiseptic and some gauze bandages. “It's a miracle you don't have a concussion.” He finished, as he applied one of the bandages to her wound. He stood and looked down at Joshua, smiling. “You be sure and take good care of your sister here, sir.”

         Joshua nodded. Alexis found herself suddenly in awe of what had just happened. Should she tell Joshua? She felt as though something she did affected the accident. Almost as if...she had stopped time...