Fragile(30)
Author: M. Leighton

But, time would only go so fast, so he was practically panting by the time he breezed into the lab. He was a full three minutes early, which was a full five minutes before his usual arrival time—which was normally “late.”

Hardy took his seat and pulled his book from his backpack, flipping it open to a random page so that he’d have something to feign interest in until she arrived.

Only she never showed.

The bell rang and there was still no sign of Miracle. Hardy felt prickly and raw and sorely disappointed.

“What’s the matter, Hardy? Did she have to change classes so you’d stop stalking her?”

Hardy raised his eyes long enough to give Cheyenne a withering look. “Shut up, Cheyenne. I’m not stalking anybody,” he mumbled testily.

“Could’ve fooled me. It seems like you turn up everywhere she is. Isn’t that the definition of stalking?”

There was that word again. Hardy glanced up once more, his icy eyes locking with Cheyenne’s fiery ones. “Be very careful, Cheyenne,” Hardy cautioned in a deadly calm voice.

The warning was not lost on Cheyenne. With a huff, she turned around in her seat and proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the class. Unfortunately, that only provided Hardy with one less distraction from pining away for the curiously-absent Miracle.

His mood plummeted after that. Hardy thought about skipping lunch. If Miracle was absent, there was no chance of seeing her at lunch and he had no interest in participating in the social practices of the cafeteria. On the other hand, he also realized his rowdy lunch group was his best chance of finding distraction, so he went. It turned out to be fairly painless; his friends were very entertaining, even to someone in his current state. They provided a sufficient diversion until the bell rang. Then he was right back into his melancholy mood.

Hardy took out his phone to text Miracle at least a dozen times, each time talking himself out of it. First of all, he didn’t know under what guise he could even reach out to her. Secondly, he had no idea how she would feel about him texting her. He knew that the bill was a concern for her, but they’d also just met. What if she thought it was too soon? Or too forward?

By fourth period, Hardy found that his concerns had taken a back seat to his need to hear from Miracle. He broke down and sent her a text, one as casual as he could manage in his increasingly desperate state.

Playing hooky?

He sat staring at the bright screen of his phone, at those two words, for the remainder of fourth period. He never got an answer. Throughout fifth period, Hardy was sure he must’ve checked his phone at least forty times, maybe more, all to no avail. The screen held only his two words. No response. No word from Miracle.

On his way to sixth period, Hardy debated blowing off photography to go by Miracle’s house, but what if Jonah was there? What if she was skipping school to be with him? The closer he got to class and the longer his phone was silent, the darker Hardy’s mood grew.

Mr. Gault started class in his usual manner, but Hardy was too distracted to pay much attention. He couldn’t be sure how many times Mr. Gault called his name before managing to rouse Hardy from his miserable self-absorption.

“Mr. Bradford! Wake up!”

Hardy started. “Oh. Sorry, Mr. Gault. What did you say?”

“I said that your assignment is with Ms. St. James in the conservatory.”

“She’s not here today.”

“Of course she is. She just got to class early. She’s already outside.”

Hardy had no idea what else Mr. Gault said. He had picked up his camera bag and was out of his seat and out the door before he finished. He made himself slow down, realizing he’d look like a lunatic if he was seen running to the conservatory when there wasn’t a fire. After all, that would be the only acceptable circumstance under which to run anywhere in school—a fire. But in his heart, Hardy was already running to Miracle, running to the person who made him feel whole and somehow happier than he ever thought he could be.

When he opened the door to the conservatory, he was completely deflated to find it empty. The room was filled with nothing but plants, hot air and the sweet scent of the orchids. Hardy was just about to leave and go look for Miracle elsewhere when a hint of lavender reached his nose. Letting the door shut quietly behind him, Hardy walked the length of the conservatory to the bend that led to the orchids.

And there she was.

CHAPTER TEN

Miracle had her back to him. A shaft of sunlight was shining down onto her, making the red tones of her brown hair glisten like burnished gold. She was standing still as a statue, observing a single bee as it buzzed from blossom to blossom among the orchids. Hardy knew the fascination she felt as she watched. He felt the same way when he watched her.

Just as he was about to reach out and draw her into his arms like he’d wanted to do every minute since he’d met her, he remembered Jonah’s arrival in her life and he stopped himself. Instead, he quietly called her name, hoping not to startle her.

“Miracle.”

She whirled around, a big smile on her face. “Hey! You’re late,” she teased with a wink.

“At least I attended all my classes today, unlike some people,” he said pointedly, clearing his throat.

“Well, some people had appointments they couldn’t miss.”

Hardy could’ve cut his tongue right out of his mouth. He hadn’t even considered that she might’ve had a doctor’s appointment, although he should have, considering her history. Would it be rude to ask what happened or if she was all right?

As he silently deliberated, Miracle was already moving on. “So, would it be possible to actually photograph these orchids when they open at night? I think they would make some amazing pictures, not to mention that it would be wicked cool to see something like that.”

As usual, Hardy was caught off guard by her charm. “Wicked cool?”

Miracle grinned. “Yeah, wicked cool. You got a problem with that?”

“No, ma’am,” Hardy said quickly, holding his hands up as if in surrender. Miracle giggled and Hardy knew he would replay the sound over and over again in his head. “So, what’s our assignment today then?”

“Bugs.”

“Bugs?”

“Bugs.”

“O-kay, then why are we in here?”

“Well, I’m sure there are bugs aplenty in here, but this isn’t where we are supposed to be working. I just wanted to come in here and look at the flowers again, so Mr. Gault said he’d send you out here to meet me.”