Diffraction

The school bell tolls the end of the day.

As always my stuff lay on the table haphazardly, and I pull my bag to the side of the table and simply slide everything in. Looking out at the class, they seemed to be shuffling out much faster than usual. Makes sense, it's the beginning of the weekend. Two whole days of nothing. That used to excite me, but now it feels... boring? Imagine that, a lazy kid calling the weekend boring. And yes, just this once, I will admit that I CAN be referred to as lazy.

Manas didn't come to see me today, probably had to run off to the junior editorial committee. I debated with myself on whether I should walk home or take the bus. On the one hand, I can sleep on the bus, and the conductor will wake me up when it is my stop.

But if I walk, there is a cafe I can stop by and get some snacks... Yep, walking it is. A sandwich and iced tea sound great after a long day. I pulled out my earphones as I walked out the gate. The streets are no longer as dusty as they used to be, so walking on them no longer means you need to get your throat destroyed every time the wind picks up or a vehicle rushes past. I walked into a park and looked up at the trees as I walked through. The leaves were falling off and the early evening joggers were warming up before they got started. My music was starting to make me feel sleepy but I couldn't give in just yet. The bakery was just outside the park.

I had made it. The smell of fresh coffee woke me up a bit. Man, some people don't even need to drink the stuff to feel awake... or is it just me? I placed my order and as the barista went to prepare my order I looked around and spotted a familiar face. But what was she doing here?

Picking up my order I went over to her, "Melinda?"
She turned back and looked at me, "Oh, hey."
I pointed to the seat next to her, "Can I sit here?"
"Hmm, sure," she said as she shrugged. She looked down for some reason.
I climbed into the seat as I looked at what she got, "Ooh, you like ice tea too?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah,"
"What flavour is that?"
"Apple," she looked at my food, "What about you?"
"Lemon," I said taking a sip before digging into my sandwich. Then I noticed Melinda had nothing to eat.
"You don't want anything to eat?"
"Hmm, no, I just forgot to bring extra money..."
"What do you want?" I offered her.
"Huh? No, it's okay, you don't have to..."
"It's fine, don't worry about it,"
"Well, I would like a doughnut."
A minute later Melinda had cheered up as she took a chunk out of her doughnut.
"Thank you so much!" she said covering her mouth. Watching her smile made me feel better. I tucked back into my sandwich, my feeling of fatigue no longer present.

We chatted while we ate; about school, about the books we read, about the movies we watched. Melinda seemed to cheer up the more we talked. We finished eating around the same time, took our drinks and, walked out.

"Well, that was fun," I said.
"Yeah, it was," she replied.
"Well, I should be off, take care, Melinda!" I said waving and walking backwards.
"Oh..." her face went shallow. I stopped in my tracks.
"Oh, right, have a good day!" she said breaking a smile.
I walked back to her, "Melinda? Is everything all right?"
"Hmm?" she seemed taken aback, "Oh, yeah, everything's good,"
I stood there unconvinced. She looked back at me. Then she widened her eyes for a brief second.
"Actually..." she began, "there's something... I want to give to you,"
Now I was taken aback. "Wait... what?"
She rummaged around her pocket and pulled out a keychain. "Could you hold onto this for me?"

The keychain was nothing remarkable, it was a piece of smooth glass shaped like a pyramid.

"Hold onto... you mean you want it back?" I asked her.
She hesitated before dropping it into my hand and saying, "Yeah, next time you see me in school hand it back," She took a step back smiling again, "or hold onto it, I don't care about that one anymore. I have dozens more."
Once again there we stood looking at each other. Finally, Melinda let out a sigh.
"Well, you were heading back home weren't you?" She began, "I should head back to," she smiled again.
"Yeah..." I replied, still fazed. Something was on her mind, there was no doubting it. But I can't keep prying. "Well... goodbye then," I said waving again.
She waved back, "Goodbye." She turned around and started skipping back towards the park.

I turned to leave, my books in my backpack wheeling around with me.

...My backpack.

Wait a minute...

Melinda didn't have her backpack with her that entire time. And she lives nowhere near this side of town, so she didn't leave it at home to come back out. But, that is irrelevant. What was she doing on this side of town, right after school? I could have sworn she was at school. There was no way she went back home and then reached here no matter what...

...Her clothes didn't match either...

I wheeled back around, but Melinda was long gone. I stood there trying to make sense of what I just experienced. The keychain was still in my palm. I held it up, dangling from my fingers. The glass caught the sun, momentarily blinding me. Opening my eyes again I saw the colours of the rainbow coming from the keychain.