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Remember It All
Phoebe Trahar
I remember it. I remember it all. I was staring out the car window
watching raindrops against the glass race each other down the frame
gaining speed by collecting little drops on the way. What once was
delicate pitter patters soon evolved into a thunderous drum roll of
heavy droplets on the roof of the car as my mum drove me to
basketball.
“Harper,” my mother badgered. “Where is your jumper? You’re
going to be freezing!”
The smooth leather seats are so frosty they seem to bite my bare
skin making my teeth chatter and goosebumps rise.
“What about your drink bottle or your phone? How are you going
to call me to pick you up?”
“It’ll be fine”.
“No it won’t.” She drew a deep sigh. “Did you even finish your
homework or put your computer on charge? Harper, you need to be
less forgetful.”
This was our usual routine, I forget something, my mum notices
and then proceeds to list everything I’ve ever forgotten in my entire
life.
They say that in moments of terror time switches to slow
motion. But this crash came in an instant. The car suddenly
appeared meters away in what seemed to be magic, my stomach
flipped and an irresistible force catapulted us both forwards. In the
final milliseconds my jaw dropped to let out a scream, before the
cacophony of screeching tyres and shattering glass hit like a
tidal wave.
Breathe. Just remember to breathe. It’s been a week since the
accident. I need to concentrate on right now, right here. I glance up
to the ticking clock and rows of hunched over students scribbling
on their papers then back down to my own science test. I re-read
and re-read the first question hoping if I stare it down long enough
it might just answer itself. Suddenly a squeaking white board
marker alerts my attention and I look up to find my teacher crossing
off minutes. Something about the image sparks a match in my brain
immediately taking me back to all of the science lessons. To my
surprise and shock all the answers begin to flow frommy pencil. My
hand swiftly moves across the page as I see flashes from every single
class, exercise and note. I remember my teacher’s chirpy voice
explaining frequency, the smell of chemicals in the lab… Once I
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