As soon as I realized what 'Plan B' was, a gasp leaves my mouth along with a muttered 'shit.' Seriously, I don't want to come to school on Friday. Today is Monday, and the next day is a holiday for some reason. After doing the calculation, I understand that I'll be sitting next to Alexander on Friday, thanks to the stupid seating arrangement.

If you've forgotten, Alexander sits just five benches away from me. If tomorrow is a holiday, then on Wednesday, I'll shift a bench forward and he'll shift one backward, leaving three benches between us. On Thursday, the same thing happens, but this time there will be only one bench between us. Finally, on Friday, Alexander and I will be sitting on the same bench. Crap. How nice that will be! (Note the sarcasm.)

Apparently, I wasn't too discreet about figuring out their 'Plan B,' because as soon as the gasp leaves my mouth and my finger points towards the bench where we'll be sitting on Friday, Ian calls out to Alexander, "Alexander, she found out about Plan B too."

"Now, who told her about that? How did she find out?" he asks, exasperated.

"Nobody told her. She figured it out on her own. It was really weird that she understood it in a second," Ian answers.

"Damn! She's much smarter than I thought, and not just study smart," Alexander mutters, but I can hear him as clear as a bell. I try to look like I wasn't listening to their whole conversation.

"Fine, I won't come to school on Friday. What else?" Alexander says. When he says that, I almost sigh in relief out loud but catch myself just in time. It's all because I really don't want to make things awkward between us, especially since we've started becoming good friends.

As they say, 'All good and bad things come to an end,' and this school day finally does too. As I leave the classroom, I mutter a "FINALLY" and find Amelia standing at the beginning of the staircase. We start descending the stairs, and Amelia immediately bombards me with questions.

"What happened? Did you talk to Ian? Did you talk to Ethan or Jane? Most importantly, did you talk to Alexander? What happened, Violet? Start speaking right now!" she demands, her breathless urgency almost making me laugh.

I roll my eyes and start explaining, "First of all, breathe. Second of all, I did talk to them, but not directly. I talked to them indirectly. So..." I proceed to tell her everything from the weird conversation between Ian, Ethan, Jane, and Alexander, to how I figured out their 'Plan B.' "...So you get what I'm saying, right? I just hope he keeps his word and doesn't come to school on Friday," I finish my rambling.

"First of all, it's absurd to think he should skip school that day. But think about it this way: whenever he does come, you'll both have to sit together eventually. Wouldn't it be better if this drama gets over with as soon as possible? Second of all, I also think you're right about this whole thing now. But we'll see," she says. I can't help but nod along because I don't know what else to do. We part ways, and I finally reach home.

Once home, I go straight to my room and flop onto my bed, thinking about how weird and tiring this day has been. I just want to sleep and not wake up for a whole week. But apparently, that can't happen, and my mom calls me from the kitchen, telling me lunch is ready. Good, I'm starving. All this thinking and weirdness has drained my energy, but this is just halfway through the day. I still have to go to my math classes and all that. Groaning, I bury my face in the pillow.

My mom calls me again, so I drag myself to the kitchen for lunch. She asks how my day went at school. Seriously, of all days, she chooses today to ask? On the same day I don't want to talk or remember, the day that exhausted me completely. But I still answer, "It was tiring but fine," which is the truth.

After lunch, I take a quick shower to freshen up before my classes, which start in about an hour. Feeling a bit better, I help my mom with some household chores and then sit down to read the material I think will be covered in today's class. I also review last lecture's work. After a good twenty-five minutes, I'm satisfied with my preparation and start packing my bag. I leave my room, telling Mom I'm ready for class, and she drops me off.

Finally, the day ends. With tomorrow being a holiday, I plan what I'll study in the late morning and afternoon. I go to sleep quickly, not wanting Alexander to invade my thoughts again.

--------

The days pass by quickly, and before I know it, it's Friday morning. Right now, I'm freaking out while getting ready, wondering whether or not Alexander will come to school. But as I think about it, I realize there's a slim chance he would miss school for this. We're the type who hardly miss school unless it's for very important reasons.

As these thoughts swirl in my head, I realize it's time to leave for school. I call out to my dad, and we leave. As I ascend the stairs, I keep praying that maybe, just maybe, Alexander won't be on our bench today. But as I enter the classroom, I see him sitting in his place, writing something. Only two or three other students are in the class.

I make my way to my place beside him and sit down, putting my bag between my legs. I take out a book and start reading, or at least pretend to, not wanting to make things awkward by just sitting idly.

"Good morning," Alexander says suddenly, looking up from his notebook.

"Good morning," I reply, trying to keep my voice steady. Suddenly, I feel very aware of how close we're sitting.

He continues, "Hi, how did your holiday go?"

"Great, I completed most of my pending work, caught up with school, and my family and I went out for dinner. What about you?" I reply.

"Well, I didn't study as much as you did, but it was still a nice and relaxing day for me," he says. To be honest, I don't even notice when the class fills up with students.

I see Amelia and wave at her but can't go meet her as the prayer starts. As I get up for the prayer, suddenly I feel...