As the Dawn of the night was looming above us, the long, stretched highway felt long and tiresome. Not a single vehicle was seen in sight, and with the gush of cool wind blowing through the mid-open car door windows, we remained silent. The silence was so intense that you could even cut it with a knife, but what got us to this point wasn't out of spite; instead, out of regret. Lyla chose to stay silent after I told her where I came from; it was either this or something else related to the disappearance of both the Diaz brothers. Other than that, I am not too sure. One thing is for sure that Lyla was too focused on keeping her thoughts behind the wheel as she drove us through the lonely road.
Driving on the long and quiet road for a period of time will make me feel uneasy, to the point that I will get bored and irritated. To prevent myself from going insane, I chose to start another descent conversation with Lyla, who seemed to be all quiet and too focused on the road, and just by looking at her, I noticed her expression of feeling lonely and sad. Realizing how much she misses her dear friends, A.K.A. the Diaz brothers.
It doesn't take a psychic to see that she's hurting right now. However, Lyla notices me looking at her, not realizing how much I can't stop admiring her. I was too distracted, that I wasn't aware that she was asking me a question,
"What is it, Chloe? Is there something in my face?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the road. "Hello! Hello! Earth to Chloe!"
"What? Oh right, I am sorry….must have dozed off." I answered, finally snapping out of my trance. "I was just wondering about the kind of position you have."
"Ok!? And?" she responded, feeling a bit awkward.
"You mentioned that you are moving into a new town for this job opportunity that you've mentioned recently. So what kind of job are you doing?" I said, trying to maintain a peaceful conversation with her.
She looked confused after I asked her a simple question, and with a raised eyebrow, she proceeded to tell me the kind of position she has.
"Ok! Well, this new position is basically a teaching position." She replied, feeling a bit calm, "It's basically a new position, a switch from working a stressful job, behind a desk. I was completely burned out and having to cope with a bunch of stress, I was not in my right mind and chose to start fresh elsewhere, and I, so happened to have stumble upon this new flyer online that was indeed seeking out new teachers to teach at this new school that just opened up recently at a new town, located here in Oregon….called 'The Blackwell Academy'."
I stood there shocked, hearing the name of my old school, but it couldn't just be a mere coincidence. For I knew, perfectly well, that the old school itself was destroyed by the massive storm that wiped out my old hometown….years ago.
"SHIT! Hold up...Blackwell Academy? Seriously!?" I said, with a shocked expression.
Lyla was just as shocked as me when she noticed me freaking out about the name of the old school itself. "Uh-huh!? What's with that expression, Chloe? Are you familiar with that school?"
"Obviously, because it was the name of the old high school I used to attend during my teenage rebel years. However, I ended up getting expelled by none other than Principal Well's" I responded, feeling a bit discomfort….especially when it came to hearing the name of the old school.
"Wow, Chloe, that's shocking," She shot back, with excitement.
It wasn't long before I began to yawn, feeling my eyelids heavier than usual; a sign of them wanting to close on me. Meanwhile, Lyla noticed me, looking all tired, and suggested that I lean back the seat cushion all the way down. Begging me to get some rest, "Try to get some sleep, Chloe…..we are almost there."
I began to yawn again, as I nodded in agreement with her request…. "Ok, but what about you? Surely, you are beginning to get tired as well."
Lyla, giving me a quick smirk, replied to me with confidence in mind, "Oh! Don't you worry about me? For I don't tire that easily, but I will get some shut-eye just as soon as we are near the border edge of the town. But, in the meantime, is best that you rest….ok."
"Yeah, alright." I nodded, while yawning in agreement.
As our journey on the road was coming to an end, I took this opportunity to adjust the car seat back. After the car seat was positioned on a downward slope, all the way back down. I carefully positioned myself and slowly drifted off to sleep. However, something strange happened while I dreamed. This dream felt so real, it almost felt like a nightmare. A nightmare of my past, something that I tried so hard to keep well hidden; was finally crawling its way out of me.