The Prescient

|Chapter 2|

I walked down the stairs, feeling fresh. Entering the kitchen, I sat beside Matt and poured me some cereal in an empty bowl.

I grabbed the tv remote and turned on the TV, going through the channels. I stopped on the news and sat the remote down, eating my cereal.

My mother rushed around, coffee in one hand, and her cell phone in the other.

"—is serious. Locals are going crazy about this recent oil spill in the ocean. Authorities are trying to keep everything under control and not have it spiral downhill like the cell phone towers."

The gears in my head started to turn. Oil spill? This is getting out of control.

"Can Zoe take me to school today?" Matt asked. My mom nodded, clearly not listening to his question. I smirked and looked over at Matt.

"You sly fox. Hurry up and eat so we can stop at the library." I said. His eyes went wide, and he nodded, a smile on his face.

I ate the rest of my cereal and got up, putting the dish in the sink. I walked to the front and grabbed our jackets and our book bags.

"Do you think Ashley will be there?" He asked, slipping on his jacket. I shrugged.

"Most likely. If we get there sooner, maybe we can catch her before she leaves." I said. He smiled, grabbing his bag, and opening the door.

"Come on! Let's go!" He ran out of the house, causing me to shake my head at him.

"Wait, Matt! Don't run off." I closed the door behind me, locking it. I turned around and caught up to Matt, grabbing his hand.

"What have I told you about running off?" I asked.

"Never run ahead without you because there might be someone waiting around the corner." He grumbled.

"That's right. You have to be careful. Especially now." I looked around the neighborhood. Some people were getting into their cars and heading to work while others were taking out their trash.

"What do you think will happen, Zoe?" He asked. I smiled faintly at the name. He's the only person that calls me that for some reason.

"I know that something bad is coming our way. It's like I can feel it in my bones, you know?" I said, glancing down at him. He shrugged.

"No. I don't know." He said. I rolled my eyes, switching his hand from my right to my left.

"Of course, you wouldn't."

I pressed the button for the walk signal and waited.

"Why do you and Ms. Archer fight?" I looked down at him to see his brow raised. I looked ahead and saw it still had a red hand.

"She doesn't believe me, Matt. She thinks I'm just paranoid and is making up excuses for dropping out of school." I said. I pressed the button again.

"Why is this taking so long?" I felt a tug on my arm, causing me to look down.

"Look. Something's happening." Matt said, pointing across the street.

I looked and saw several people yelling. Cars were everywhere. People were getting out of their cars and yelling at each other.

I looked at the sign and saw it still had the hand up.

"Come on," I said, gripping his hand. He stayed rooted to his spot.

"We're jaywalking?" He asked, surprised. I chuckled.

"Want to stand here another ten minutes?" I asked. He shook his head no.