Synchronicity chapter 1

The bell rang continuously for several seconds in every corner of the school to signal the end of last period. Despite the rules, the teacher was too soft to be able to handle the eager pupils, who were currently throwing their belongings pell-mell into their bags.

"Homework, read page 21 and answer the questions!" she yelled to no avail over the mad rush of pupils leaving.

Among the excited pupils was sixteen year old Alicia Summers, who was the first to dash out of the classroom for the lockers. She stuffed away a couple of books she didn't need, checked her complexion in the mini mirror hung on the locker door and shut it with a final clang. She quickly left the school building to meet her friends outside.

As soon as she entered the yard, she saw her two friends, Tori and Jess, standing near the tree where they always met. Since year seven they had been close friends, and secretly Alicia enjoyed being one of the three most admired girls in the year. Jess was the typical blond girl who resembled Scarlett Johansson, while Alicia was often praised for her Mediterranean olive skin. Tori always excelled in athletics, but her skills in R'n'B and hip hop dance always stole the show.

"Alicia!" Tori called over excitedly.

"Hey! So are we all ready to go?" Alicia asked.

"Yes in a sec. Jess is talking to Trey." Tori pointed out to the bleach-blond haired orange girl talking on the phone further away.

"Has the jerk been found out yet?" Alicia whispered quietly.

"No, they seem to be steady. But she won't believe me when I told her Amy saw him with that slut the other weekend…"

Alicia made a long sigh. "All we can do is be there for her when it comes to the worst, which will be in a week maybe?"

If one thing was certain, Jess always had a knack for choosing the wrong guys. And it was always up to Alicia and Tori to cheer her up once the break-ups occurred.

"So what about you," Tori asked teasingly. "You and Jay-jay made any progress yet?"

"What progress?" Alicia snapped back. "Jason is just a childhood friend. He is like my brother. And I can't date a sibling!"

"Yeah, yeah. That's what you always say…"

"The only reason why we are so close is because we were practically raised together. You would call that a family friend."

"Whatever," Tori said, bored of Alicia's constant denials. "But for a girl to even have a guy as her best friend isn't exactly that common. Plus you're in different secondary schools, but you still manage to speak to each other at least once every day, or else you can't get any sleep if you don't!"

"Tori, that doesn't mean anything. We just happen to live a few houses apart, and so I do need to hear his voice once even if it is on the phone, because he's like a sibling… You have a brother, surely you get what I mean?" Alicia pleaded.

"Alex and I are constantly shouting down each other's throats, so we have no time for bonding together."

"I have a boyfriend anyway, so I can't go for any other guy anyway…"

"Am I interrupting anything?" Jess asked as she walked over towards them.

For some reason Tori always liked to over-analyze her relationship with Jason, so a diversion was always welcome.

"No I was just trying to make Alicia see Jay-jay as a potential romantic interest," Tori replied with a grin, while Alicia frowned.

"Urgh, that again. I don't know why you want to pair up those two Tori! I mean he isn't even good looking…"

"Hey, just because he isn't athletic doesn't mean he doesn't have his good points!" Alicia snapped. "He is incredibly kind, gentle and caring…"

"Says the girl who insists she has no feelings for him," Tori replied back triumphantly.

Alicia scowled as they made their way to the bus stop, while Tori and Jess sniggered uncontrollably. "Stop it you two!"

"Give it up Alicia," Jess replied back, but Alicia didn't hear as her mobile rang at the same moment.

Seeing the caller ID flashing across the screen made her feel excited, even though they had already been dating several months.

"Hi, Ryan," she sung his name cheerfully.

"Hey, how are you?" a deep voice replied back.

"I'm good and you?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you calling? I'm just making my way to the café now."

There was a brief pause. "Er, about that…"

---

"Urgh! I don't believe it! It has been two weeks, two weeks since we last saw each other, and he blows me off for another footy practice!" she exclaimed to a barely awake Jason.

Having to cancel her date last minute did not bode well with Alicia. Writhing silently with anger she left at the next stop, after bidding a quick goodbye to her friends, and stormed her way to Jason's to vent out her anger.

"Okay, I can see you're upset, but at least let me get you a drink before you begin," he said to her nonchalantly, as the girl walked towards him demon-faced outside the front gate. He unlocked the front door and entered first. The girl stormed up the stairs towards the bedroom, which made him chuckle slightly as he prepared the snacks for her to eat in the kitchen.

Bringing a tray with two glasses of orange juice and a plateful of cookies into his room, he left it on his desk and listened to the angry girl rant.

After her outburst, he could see it was time to calm down the roaring creature. "Cookie?"

"Yeah!" she replied back snappily, snatching it from Jason's hand before he could take a bite.

"Oi! How rude! I was going to eat that!"

"Well, it was closer," she replied in a babied voice.

Although Alicia was often wilful, he had long given up having petty arguments over her overbearing attitude. Plus, he secretly enjoyed spoiling her rotten.

Still he didn't let it show, as he gave out a subtle sigh and reached out for another cookie.

"I think your reactions are a little disproportionate,"

"How so?"

"Well, the final game for the school league is coming up, which could make the difference between becoming the city champions."

"Yeah, I guess it is that time of year…" she replied a little calmer now. "It's just that it has been two weeks, and this is the fifth time he's had to cancel on me…"

"I know you're upset. But…" He had to stop for a moment to contemplate on what to say.

"But?"

"I'm sure he would rather be with his girlfriend… If it were me, I would" he added in a small voice.

Alicia beamed, not noticing the strange way he ended the sentence. Instead she got up from the bed to the desk chair he was sitting on and gave him a tight hug.

"Yeah! You're right. Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you. Love you!" she exclaimed innocently.

Jason paused for a moment. "Me too Allie," He replied back tenderly, hoping she didn't notice the skip in his heartbeat that second.

After breaking away from the hug, she was lying on his bed half an hour later watching the room in silence, while he studied his textbook for his homework. She always felt peaceful as she watched him work in silence. She always liked the way his hand held his pen in the air in a careless studious way, and the thin rimmed silver spectacles empahrising his intellectual air. When she was a young, she always mercilessly threw tantrums and argued with him, because in a way it helped her mask her jealousy of knowing she was less talented and bright. Somehow it was so strange for her to think she once hated him…

"Are you okay Jason?" Alicia asked suddenly.

Jason turned his head to face her. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"No, because your glasses kind of covers it up, I didn't notice those bags under your eyes…"

"Is it bad?"

"No, not really, but you do seem to have less energy these days… Is everything alright?"

"Erm… Yes. Everything is alright. No need to worry," he replied with a nonchalant wave. "The exams are near, so that's what's stressing me out."

"Yeah…" Stressed out?! The lie didn't escape her, but she didn't press him because he didn't want to talk about it. "Just make sure you get some sleep, you'll feel better you know."

"Or more lethargic, if I was you," he grinned back.

"Hey! I love my sleep – "

"Ha. If you could, you would sleep for years, Sleeping Beauty."

"Hmph," she knew he was right.

While the two were playfully fighting, in the empty street long black clad stranger stood across the street by the lamp post. His face could not be seen since the hood was up, but the robes he wore fluttered eerily with the breeze, as he watched them through the window until Alicia looked out.

Little did Alicia know that at very that moment her fate had changed forever.

A/N: Year seven is the first year (or "freshman") of secondary school when pupils are aged from about 11/12. That is my first chapter done, just an intro. I hope you guys like it, or else I'm taking it down. I don't care if you flame or whatever, but as long as I do get some feedback it would be great. I was going to include the turning points, but I thought it's probably better for chapter two, so please review, pretty please? I am sorry for the unsightly begging, but I just don't have the confidence to write… Anyway thank you for reading up to this point :D