Chapter 5 The Youthful Timothy
Timothy and Queenie met in the eighth grade when Timothy just skipped to the eighth grade. Timothy's mother was very uneasy, so she personally took him to the office of the teacher who was in charge of the new class and hoped that the teacher would take more care of him.
Her son had been smart since he was a child. He skipped grades three times, so he had even fewer friends as he was already an introvert. He just spent his days reading and studying, and he didn't have any of the liveliness of other children. This time, her son, who was only eleven and a half years old, skipped a grade to a class where his classmates were fourteen or fifteen years old. She was a little worried that her son would be bullied by his classmates. After all, this kind of thing happened when Timothy was in primary school: a bunch of boys locked Timothy in the lavatory in winter and no one told the teacher, so his teacher and his parents didn't find him until midnight.
After that, this introverted child became even more introverted. Once he felt uncomfortable with the learning environment, he immediately skipped a grade. See? He just skipped from the sixth grade.
"Don't worry. The kids in our class are so well-behaved. They're all good kids." Naturally, the class teacher wanted to keep this super learner in his class, so he assured her repeatedly, "I will definitely pay more attention to him. You can all talk to me if anything happens."
"Sure." Timothy's mother nodded her head.
Timothy stood in the office in his big school uniform. He kicked his heels and listened to the two adults talking. At that moment, a girl who was wearing a summer school uniform walked in with a stack of workbooks in her arms and placed them on the teacher's desk. The teacher stopped her just as she was about to walk out, "Queenie Jackson, take the new student to the class."
"Oh, okay." The girl stopped in her tracks and agreed in a clear voice.
When Timothy looked up, he only saw the girl who turned back standing in the office doorway. Behind her was the sunshine outside the door, and her fair skin caught the sun a bit. Her eyes were dark, like watery black grapes. There was a little bead of perspiration on her delicate nose. She had a round face and her hair was cut to her ears. However, because her hair was somewhat naturally curly, she actually looked a little like the Snow White that Timmi had seen in foreign language fairy tale books when he was a child, which was very friendly and lovely.
The girl looked at him with a bright smile. She waved her hand at him and said in a clear voice, "Classmate, let's go!"
Timothy glanced at his mother, and she nodded, so he turned to follow Queenie.
On the way back to class, Queenie asked, "What's your name?"
"Timothy Carter," Timothy replied softly.
"My name is Queenie Jackson." Queenie turned back in the summer morning light, her pretty white dress spinning like a lily. She smiled brightly, "You look quite young. How old are you?"
Queenie asked as she looked at Timothy, who was not as tall as she was.
"I'm twelve years old," Timothy replied.
"Ha, I'm fourteen!" Queenie said smugly, "You can call me Senior Quira. That's what all the kids downstairs call me."
"Okay!" Timothy responded, but inwardly he refused. It was the first time he had ever met such a warm natural socializer. He didn't know how to refuse, so he agreed. Although he agreed to do so, he didn't call her that for a long time.
Later, Timothy was in Queenie's class. He overwhelmingly came first in every exam and almost became a god of learning. The teachers naturally treated him like a treasure. The students didn't dare to mess with him, but they basically didn't play with him either.
He was too young to play with his classmates. Besides, his grades were so good that he gave people a full sense of distance.
Queenie sat behind Timothy, and she occasionally would say a few words to him. Time went by uneventfully. The classroom was always in a jovial ambiance after class and the classmates played wildly together, except for Timothy, of course.
A student rushed in to announce, "The top 100 ranking for the midterm exams is posted."
"Let's go to take a look."
"Go. Let's go."
The students dragged each other and rushed out of the classroom. Queenie knew that she might not make it into the top 100, but that didn't stop her from going along to rubberneck.
Just as she reached the announcement board downstairs, she heard a classmate say, "Timothy Carter is the top one again!"
"Timothy Carter? He's the transfer student, right? He's amazing!"
"I heard he's only twelve years old. He skipped a grade to eighth grade."
As her classmates discussed, Queenie squeezed through to the bulletin board surrounded by people. She looked up and saw that Timothy was indeed the first. This young boy, who just transferred to the class, already topped all the exams in the class this semester. However, she didn't expect that he would also be the first in the ranking of the whole school. "Wow, he actually scored over 30 points more than the second one. He scored almost full marks in all subjects. He got 695 points out of the 700 points! He only lost 5 points for language.
"He's not a human being. He's actually a god of learning!" She thought.
Queenie was envious. She looked further down the ranking and actually saw her name at the end of the hundredth place: Queenie Jackson, 621 points, ranked 100th.
Queenie jumped up happily, "I'm on the list! I'm on the list!"
"Where, where?" Her best friend Monica came over to see, "Really, you are the 100th! Haha! There are the first one and the last one in our class! Quira, you must treat us today!"
"My treat. My treat. Let's go to the grocery!" Queenie and Monica ran to the school's grocery shoulder to shoulder. Queenie bought a bunch of small snacks at 50 cents a packet, including small raccoon instant noodles, Doritos, twizzler, and watermelon-flavored bubble gum...
Queenie returned to the classroom with her snacks in her arms and enthusiastically shared them with the students around her. A male student who also scored in the top 100 said, "Queenie Jackson, you're being unkind. Aren't you forcing us all who made it to the top 100 to treat them?"
There were nine classes in the eighth grade at the school. Basically, there were about ten people in one class who could get into the top 100.
"We're not the same. You often make it into the top 100 and this is the first time I've gotten into the top 100." Queenie smiled, "I won't treat them if I get on the list next time."
"You treat them as you just rank 100th. What's the big deal? Timothy Carter didn't show off like you even though he was the top one in the exam." A classmate who disapproved of this was green with envy.
"It's none of your business. I didn't spend your money and I didn't treat you. You're one to talk." Queenie dissed the female student who said jealously, and made her speechless.
Timothy couldn't help but turn around to look at her. "I didn't expect that this girl is quite fierce." He thought.
Queenie didn't care what others said and continued to share the snacks happily. She took a packet of Little Raccoon instant noodles and handed it to Timothy, who was sitting in front of her, "Timothy Carter, one for you."
Timmi shook his head and refused, "I don't eat this. It is unhealthy."
Queenie didn't feel humiliated by his rejection. Instead, she showed him the rest of the snacks, "So, what will you eat?"
Timothy scanned the pile of snacks in front of her with his pretty eyes. He picked out a piece of bubble gum from them and said, "This one, I guess. Thanks!"
Queenie was so happy that she smiled with narrowed eyes, "You're welcome."
Timothy looked at her smile and smiled with her. He found it quite easy to get along with Queenie. He always skipped grades since his childhood. When he first joined the class, everyone was older than him and already had their fixed circle of friends, so no one played with him at all. Besides, he didn't know how to break that barrier. He tried before but failed, so he didn't care anymore now. It's fine that he couldn't break it because he finished the courses of junior high school on his own and was planning to go straight to high school next year.
During class, the teacher praised Timothy and the ten students who made it into the top 100. The teacher hoped that they would continue to work hard, keep their grades up, and make better performance in the final exams.
Queenie jumped all day and went home with her head held high, waiting for her parents to praise her. Her parents were so happy that they set up a table of dishes under the osmanthus tree that night. The family had a meal mirthfully.
Queenie's father Kelvin was so satisfied and pleased with his daughter, "My daughter is so amazing!"
Her mother Ruby said, "Don't praise her. If you praise her too much, she'll forget who she is, and maybe next time her grades will drop."
"Look at you, you just wouldn't encourage your child." Kelvin criticized, "It's not right for you to do that."
"You're right, you're right. She only did well once. Look how happy you two are. She just ranks 100th now. She'd be on cloud nine if she was the top one!" Ruby said.
"She should improve her ranking one by one. Quira, do you think you can improve your ranking to the ninetieth in the final exam?!" Kelvin pounded on the table and asked.
Queenie was apprehensive. She thought, "Oh, please! I'm lucky to rank 100th place this time. I usually rank between 150th and 180th at best. Who knows what my final ranking will be? But I couldn't make my dad lose face." So she said, "Yes! I'm sure I can!"
"I promise first. If I can't rank ninetieth, I'll blame it on the difficulty of the questions." She thought.
"Okay! If you rank ninetieth, I'll reward you with a hundred dollars!" Kelvin said.
"One hundred dollars!" Queenie's eyes lit up. She was determined to study hard for the bonus!
They finished the meal happily. The next day, Queenie rode her bike to school and saw that Timothy was waiting for the bus at the bus stop from afar.
Timothy was holding a small vocabulary book in his hand. He lowered his head to recite it while sucking the milk in his hand. He was covered in a wide school uniform and even his chin was covered in the upright collar. He, a small one, was particularly cute standing over there.
"Well, he didn't get first in the ranking of the school for no reason. Look how diligent he is! He doesn't even know that the car is coming and is still reciting the words. He doesn't even notice that the car drove away." Queenie thought.
Haha! Queenie couldn't help but laugh. "What a nerd-like kid." She thought.
She rode the bike and stopped in front of him, "Hey, Tommi, the car has driven away several times!"
Timothy looked up from his vocabulary book and looked at her with a bewildered expression, "Has the car left?"
Queenie nodded. She pointed to the bus that was already driving away and said, "The next one won't come until fifteen minutes later, You're definitely going to be late. There's a flag-raising ceremony today. Don't you have to go up on stage to receive the award for being first in the grade?"
"Oh, right!" Timothy said as if awakened from a dream, "Then I'll run to school!"
After saying that, he put the word book into his pocket and ran forward with his backpack. Queenie rode along with her bike and laughed, "Timmi, run faster! Come on, come on!"
"How about I give you a ride?" Queenie said kindly. "Sure!" Timothy didn't refuse. After all, he couldn't run anymore because he lacked exercise for a long time. Queenie didn't expect that Timothy would agree, but it was not a big deal. The students in the class usually gave each other a ride. So she slowed the bike down and let Timothy jump on the back seat. The bike was so stable and she couldn't feel his weight at all. She said, "Oh, Timmi, you're so light!"
"No, I'm not. I'm forty kilos." Timothy said.
"Ha, you're lighter than me." Queenie laughed and pedaled her bike cheerfully.
"Why do you always call me Timmi?" Timothy couldn't help but ask.
"Because you're tiny! Haha!" Queenie replied justifiably.
"......" Timothy didn't want to engage in such a boring conversation with her, so he took out his word book to memorize it.
"Hey, recite it a little louder so I can hear it too." Queenie said, "Maybe if one person recites it, two people will remember it!"
Timothy didn't believe it, "How is that possible?"
"Just try it!" Queenie was now so enthusiastic about learning for the sake of a hundred dollars! She wished that she could spend the time on her way to school memorizing more words. But she had to ride her bike!
"Okay!" Timothy was sitting on Queenie's bike, so naturally, he couldn't refuse her. Therefore, he recited the words in a louder voice. Queenie found that he had different methods of memorizing words than she did. He didn't memorize unit by unit. Instead, he connected the words of the whole book. He memorized words that were so similar that only one letter was different together. In a twenty-minute trip, Queenie actually managed to memorize quite a few words and learn a mnemonic!
Queenie felt that this trip was worthy. The god of learning led her to memorize words, perfect!
Moreover, Queenie actually wrote out all the words of the English dictation that day. What a surprise!
Later, when Queenie came out from home, she would ask Timothy to come along as long as she saw him waiting for the bus at the bus station. She took him to school by bike and let him sit in the back to recite his books. Sometimes, she would order it on demand, "Timmi, today we're going to write the classic soliloquy of Hamlet from memory. You should recite that one!"
"I memorized the classic soliloquy of Hamlet a long time ago." Timothy said.
"I can't! Please. If you recite it to me once, I can remember it better than if I recite it seventeen or eighteen times." Queenie really found that Timothy's recitation was magic. She could remember it by hearing him recite it once!
"Don't be so dramatic."
"It is true. It is true. The light of the god of learning that covers me suddenly enlightens me! Recite it now, please." Queenie was enthusiastically brown-nosing.
"Okay!" Teenager Timothy was not used to such enthusiastic begging and small compliments. He pursed his lips a little proudly and recited the literature text twice. He even recited the notes as well.
That day, Queenie wrote the literature all from memory. Since then, Queenie had been worshipping Timothy as the god of learning and brought delicious food to this teenager every day. She found that Timothy was only unapproachable and indifferent on the surface. In fact, he was just a little introverted and shy, and didn't know how to socialize. If someone asked him a question, he would answer it patiently.
Of course, Queenie would not take advantage of Timothy for free. She often bought him something delicious and sent him some small gifts. When the teacher in the class asked the students to do activities in teams and Timothy was left behind, she actively brought Timothy with her. She would bring Timothy when she went out with her classmates on weekends.
Queenie was the most popular girl in the class. She was pretty and extroverted with a generous and friendly personality. Both boys and girls enjoyed playing with her. With her help, Timothy seemed to suddenly integrate with the class. Even Timothy's mother noticed that he seemed to have made friends and there were often kids downstairs asking him to go out to play. Timothy was obviously a little happier than before.
Queenie was also very happy. With the light of the god of learning covering her, she really ranked ninetieth in her final exam!
Queenie was ecstatic. As expected, with the help of the god of learning, she was able to improve her grades. She was determined to keep a good relationship with Timothy in the next semester.
However, just after the second semester of the eighth grade began, she heard that Timothy was going to skip to ninth grade and take the senior high school entrance examination this year.
With a sad face, Queenie lay on Timothy's desk and asked pitifully, "Are you going to skip a grade again?"
"Yes. I've taught myself everything in middle school." Timothy said.
"So are you going to be in high school next year?" Queenie never doubted that Timothy could get into high school.
"I think so!"
"My God, you're only thirteen years old and you're going to be in high school. What if the students in your class bully you? The Center High School a residential school."
When Timothy heard her say this, he recalled some unpleasant memories: those torn homework books, the ink in his school bag, the moments of isolation, and that cold and smelly lavatory.
Timothy couldn't help but hold a pen tightly with both hands. He looked up at her and said with some uncertainty, "Maybe... I won't be bullied..."
"How do you know? You have good grades and you're small, so it is easy to bully you. What if someone is jealous of you? Do you think every class is as united and friendly as ours?" Queenie scared him, "Jealousy makes people crazy!"
Timothy thought about it and said, "Well, I will tell the teacher if I get bullied."
"Okay!" Queenie sighed and thought sadly, "My god of learning left me. I'm so sad."
Timothy flipped through the book in his hand. When he looked at Queenie's grieving, desperate face, he couldn't help but ask, "Do... Do you hate to part with me?"
"Of course! How can I bear to let you go?" Queenie looked at Timothy with big sincere shining eyes and said, "I want to be with you all the time! I want to get into the same high school and even the same college with you!" "Let the light of the god of learning cover me forever!" she thought.
Hearing her say that, Timothy was actually a little happy. After all, he considered Queenie as his first friend, and he quite liked to play with her.
Timothy had to pass an internal school exam to skip a grade from eighth grade to ninth grade. On the weekend, when he was studying at home, someone suddenly shouted his name downstairs, "Timothy Carter. Timmi!"
Timothy poked his head out of the window and looked out, only to see Queenie with two classmates standing downstairs calling him. They shouted when they saw Timothy, "Come out and play!"
"Sure!" Timothy agreed and changed into a thick down jacket to go downstairs. When his mother saw him go out to play, not only did she not stop him, but she also gave him five dollars. When Timothy walked downstairs, he saw several classmates riding their bicycles. Queenie waved to him, "Let's go. We will take you to a fun place!"
Timothy sat on the back of Queenie's bike. It didn't take long for the kids to ride to an old bungalow in a highlands. Before they reached the place, they saw Monica calling from above, "Queenie Jackson, come on. We got it!"
"Here we go, here we go!" Queenie stopped her bike and ran up the stairs with her classmates, followed by Timothy. When they reached the end of the stairs, they saw a narrow slope of concrete with ice frozen on it.
Monica said, "We poured water on it last night. Look, it froze up early this morning."
It was about 14 degrees Fahrenheit in February in northern cities. On weekends, kids liked nothing better than to find a sloped area, pour water on it, and freeze an ice slide.
"Hahaha! Get the stuff now!" As Queenie said, her little friends all ran into a house and dragged out three disused car tires. Queenie also dragged out one and asked Timothy, "Come on, I'll take you to play."
"How do I play with this?" Timothy had never skated in such a humble place, so he has no idea how to do it.
Before he finished his question, he saw his classmates screaming and sliding down the slope on tires one by one, leaving screamings behind.
"Let's go!" Queenie dragged Timothy a little. He was a little worried, "It will not flip, right?"
"It's okay. It won't flip!" Queenie pressed him down first, then sent him forward with a push and a kick. He instantly slid down!
Timothy, an old head on young shoulders, could not help but scream under the excitement of such a stall and the cold wind, "Wow ah ah ah!" After he took a breath of cold wind and slipped down in circles, he fell to the ground and collided with the students who had just slipped down.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief in dizziness, he heard Queenie scream and slide down. Then she collided with him. The classmates were laughing in a heap.
"Is it fun?" Queenie asked.
Looking at her bright smile, Timothy couldn't help but nod and laugh, "it's fun."
A few children dragged the tires and climbed up from the other side, and then slid down screaming again and again. In those days of scarcity where there were basically no amusement facilities, this was their most fun game in the winter.
"Can't you keep the noise down?" The owner of the house who lived on the slope was finally annoyed by the sound of the children's laughter. He took a look outside and instantly got angry, "Which little br*t froze the road again? I'll beat you to death!"
"Oops! Run!" The children immediately scattered.
"Stop right there!" The owner of the house shouted.
Queenie and Timothy happened to be standing closest to the house owner. Queenie nimbly turned to run away. Timothy was young and well-behaved, so he naturally obeyed and really stood still when he saw the adult. She looked back and saw that the boy was really that dumb. She tutted and ran into an alley as soon as she turned back and dragged him by the hand. The owner of the house chased after them. Because of the slope of this area of his house, his house would be watered by the children every year to freeze as an ice slide. He kicked them out every year, but the kids came every year. "It is so infuriating! I must teach two kids a lesson today so that no one would not dare to come again!" He thought.
When Queenie saw that the owner of the house was in hot pursuit, she dragged Timothy and ran through corners. When the owner of the house didn't notice them, she dragged him to hide under a pool made of stone. There was not much space under the pool and it was just enough to hide two skinny teenagers. The two squatted inside, face to face, knee against knee. Queenie was still holding Timothy's hand tightly with her hand. With her slightly disheveled hair in a ponytail, she gasped in a small voice. The white breath towards Timothy was floating together with his breath. The two looked at each other and were both a little nervous. They pricked up their ears to listen to the sounds outside, and it took a while before they heard the house owner cursing and walking past.
Queenie moved her big beautiful eyes and said softly, "He seems to be gone."
Timothy nodded and agreed.
Queenie climbed out a little to peek in. After making sure the house owner was really gone, she draggged Timothy and whispered, "Come out. He's really gone."
Timothy also came out. When the two looked at each other's messy appearance, they found it funny and exciting. They couldn't help but laugh loudly.
Queenie said, "Come on. Let's go home."
After the two of them walked for a while, Timothy suddenly said, "We should come here to play next time!"
This was the first time he invited his friends out to play and he was actually a little nervous and expectant.
"I guess it won't work this year. It will get hot and the roads won't freeze. We could only play it next year winter." Queenie said.
"Then we'll come back next winter to play." Timothy said.
"I can come, but I guess I can't play it with you."
"Why?" He asked.
"We don't have the same schedule. I've heard that the winter break for the ninth graders is short. They even have classes on Saturday!" Queenie said.
"Really?"
"Yes!" Queenie put her hands behind her head and said leisurely as she walked, "when I'm in the ninth grade, you will be in high school. When I'm in high school, you will be in college. When I'm in college, you will be working. It will be difficult for us to meet in the future."
"Is that so?"
"That's for sure!"
The two people just walked one after the other. As Queenie walked in jumps and hops, Timothy thoughtfully lowered his head.
A week later, Timothy was still sitting in the eighth-grade classroom. Queenie felt strange and asked, "Hey, aren't you going to be in ninth grade this week? You passed the grade skipping exam, didn't you?"
"No way. Timothy is a god of learning, not an ordinary person. There's no test he can't pass." she thought.
"No, my dad said that I should study steadily. It's not good to skip grades frequently." Timothy lowered his head and flipped through his textbook somewht nervously.
"I think your father is right! I also think that it's not good for you to skip grades too often!" Queenie jumped up happily when she heard that he wouldn't skip a grade.
"Great! Just listen to your dad. Don't skip a grade! Take the high school entrance exam with me later! How about we get into the same school?!" She said happily as she held Timothy's hands.
Timothy hastily draw back his hands with slightly red earlobes, "You... Improve your grades to the top fifty in the whole grade and we will talk about going to the same high school!"
"Top fifty?" Queenie was instantly discouraged, "That's too hard! Guru, help me!"
She held Timothy's arm and yelled. When the other students in the class heard this, they rushed toward Timothy and shouted, "Guru, help me!"
Timothy struggled to shake off the hands of his classmates and said, "Oops, you guys are so annoying!"
Although Timothy said so, he looked happy with shining eyes. "The people in this class are pretty cute...
Well, it's the cutest class I've ever been in. It would be quite interesting if I stay here. " He thought.
Later, with Timothy's help, Queenie really improved to the top fifty in her grade. She even got into the same provincial key high school as Timothy.
But when Queenie entered the provincial high school, she cried again after her first yearly exam ranking was released, "I managed to get into the top fifty in the grade, but I ranked after three hundred again when I got into another school!"
She looked at Timothy, who was still firmly in first place in the grade. She hurriedly reached out and dragged him, "Timmi, I want to sit with you. I'll die without you!"
"What are you talking about?!" Timothy blushed and shook her hand away.
"I want to sit with you. I want to sit with you! Remember, save the seat next to you for me!" Queenie asked anxiously.
Timothy glanced at her. He walked in with his schoolbag without saying anything. The seats in the class were arranged according to grades, and those with good grades could go in first to choose their seats.
Timothy was the top one, so naturally, he was the first person to go in and choose a seat. After he entered the classroom and looked around, he chose a seat at the back. Then he occupied the seat in front of him with his school bag.
Queenie ranked about 30th in the class. When she came in, most of the seats in the class were already filled. She looked up and saw that the seat in front of Timothy was really empty. She immediately rushed over and sat in there. She looked back at Timothy excitedly and said, "Ahhhh, Timmi, you're so wonderful! You are my heaven, my earth, my only myth!"
"Bah." Timothy spit lightly. At this time, he was almost fourteen years old and had long gotten used to her bold tongue, but he just liked to hear that. She could coax him to be very happy every time.
Later, in the second year of high school, they had to choose between liberal arts subjects and science subjects. When Queenie wanted to choose liberal arts subjects, Timothy stared at her unhappily and asked, "Didn't you say you would always be in the same class and school as me? How can you be in the same class with me if you choose liberal arts subjects?"
"But it's too difficult to learn science subjects." Queenie said as she lay on the table. She looked so cute in her sad face.
When fifteen-year-old Timothy saw her like this, he slightly curled his fingers and wanted to touch her head. But he resisted the urge. He just poked her head with his pen cap and smiled to encourage her, "It's easy. With me around, you won't find it difficult."
Queenie looked at Timothy and then looked down thinking, "Yeah. If I choose liberal arts subjects, I'll have to leave the god of learning. Without the god of learning, maybe I couldn't even keep my current performance."
She bit her fingers and raised her head. She looked at Timothy and said, "Then you will be responsible for my English, mathematics, French, biology, physics, and chemistry from now on. You have to teach me the subjects that I'm not good at!"
"All right, I'll teach you when I' m available." Timothy held his head on one hand with a leisurely look.
"No, you have to promise me." Queenie stressed.
"No." Timothy turned his head.
"If you don't promise, I'll choose liberal arts subjects!" Queenie capriciously knocked down the table and looked at him rascally.
"......" Timothy had no choice, "Okay. I guarantee."
"Yeah!" Queenie immediately stood up happily. She picked up the subject selection form and wiped it, changing the liberal arts subjects to science subjects, "I'll choose science subjects. I will stick with you!"
"If I follow the god of learning, I can be taught well even though I am not good at science subjects!" She thought.
Timothy held his chin with one hand and covered the corners of his mouth under his palm. He smiled secretly with eyes full of unconscious joy and tenderness.
Later, throughout the eleventh grade and twelfth grade, Timothy really kept his promise to help her maintain her score above 80 in every subject. Sometimes when she didn't want to study, Timothy would still push her to immerse in exercises. What she remembered most from high school was his little pen cap. There were many times he poked her in the head with his little pen cap and said, "Think again. You're so smart. You definitely know how to solve this."
"No. My brain is already in a mess."
"Come on, I, the god of learning am giving you a boost." After saying that, he would replace the pen cap that poked her head with his hand. The fingers were slender and fair as if there was light on them. He gently stroked the hair on top of her head, so gentle that it instantly dispersed the fog of confusion in front of her eyes. It invigorated her as if she was re-empowered...
When Queenie opened her eyes, she saw a hand gently stroking her hair on top of her head. She instantly lost track of time.
The sixteen-year-old Timothy in front of her in her dream turned into the middle-aged Timothy now. He was like a statue frozen in time, covered in a light frost, deep and lonely.
Queenie lifted the quilt that covered her body and sat up, "Why are you here?"
"I've always been here all these years." Timothy murmured as if he was still in a dream, "I've always sat here all these years. I always tell myself that maybe you'll come back when the sun rises."
Timothy's voice was distant and deep. The profound affection in it was like knives, knocking on her heart again and again, "Queenie Jackson, you are finally back."
Queenie bit her lips and felt a little sad. She replied in a small voice, "Well, I'm back."
Her reply seemed to bring Timothy out of his hallucination in a flash. He hurriedly took a step back and stood up with his hands tightly clenched into fists. Queenie was taken aback by his sudden action, but she immediately realized why he did that.
"Right. Now that he is remarried, he shouldn't say such words with nostalgia to his ex-wife." She thought.
Queenie hurriedly turned her head and asked, pretending not to care, "Don't you have to send your son to school at this time?"
"No, he's in eighth grade. He can go by himself." Timothy seemed to calm down and his voice was a little more stable.
Queenie breathed a sigh of relief yet was melancholy.