TWENTY SIX

VERA

The time was a few minutes past six. I got up grudgingly from the bed. I didn't want to get up, but it was school day and I had already missed two days at the beginning of the spring term.

I didn't want to miss again.

And…we had physics classes today. I nearly flunked physics last term, and it was supposed to be my favourite subject.

Preparing for school took almost three hours, mainly because I fell asleep on the kitchen counter after eating breakfast. By the time I got on the bus, it was already some minutes after eight.

I sighed as I slipped my phone back into my backpack. I was thankful physics wasn't the first period, or that would be a bad start to the term, as bad as it was already.

When I alighted in front of the school gate, it looked like everyone was in class already. No gisters on the quadrangle, no iPhone flaunters on the stairs, no lovers under Lincoln's statue.

My stomach dropped. It must be a considerable time into the first period already. I wasn't familiar enoug