cigarette daydream ━━ the raven cycle

3; quiet before a storm

I STARTED DRAWING.

I never expressed an interest in the arts before, but I found that sketching has kept me from going insane from the persistent buzzing in my ears. And when I really focused on drawing, the buzzing would stop temporarily.

"Elizabeth?" My mom chimed from the door. "Did you take the papers out of the printer?"

"Mhm." I responded, not taking my eyes off the book.

"Why?"

"I needed papers." I answered simply.

I glanced up to see my mother staring sternly at the floor. I was aware that my room was a mess; there were pieces of papers covering every ounce of the room, my clothes piled up on the couch, paint sputtered on the wall. I ran out of paint in the middle of the night. So I melted crayons with my blowdryer. Unfortunately, it resulted in my hands being painted with multicolour stains that wouldn't wash away.

"Pigeons?" She asked, picking up a painting of a raven.

"Yeah, I paint now." I informed her, then turned my sketchbook around to show her the process of a corpse drawing. "And draw."

"Gruesome."

"I didn't say I was good at it."

"Go get us papers from the store, would you?"

I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to go out, so I agreed. I wasn't grounded, per se, but my parents have become fairly strict of my outings since the incident with the cabin. Last night, it took an hour to convince them to let me go to Nino's to get takeout. Nino's didn't deliver, or so they know, so they eventually agreed.

Grabbing my car keys, I headed out. I drove to the stationary shop near my house, brought two stacks of papers, and headed to Nino's.

I clasped tighter onto my sketchbook as I entered the restaurant, making my way to the barstool seats. "Is Red here?" I asked a waiter, receiving a puzzled face.

"She means me." I heard Blue sigh from behind me, heading to the other side of the counter. I greeted her with a smile. "Did you sleep, at all?" She looked at me inquisitively.

"No. I know I look horrible." I rose a hand, weary. "Spare me."

"Actually, you look perfectly fine." Blue said. "Which reminds me— that's another reason why I hate you Agnetha girls so much. Have you ever even suffered through a bad hair day like the rest of us— god." She scoffed, sliding her a cup of coffee.

I normally dislike coffee, but I chugged it down when I figured I could benefit from the affects. "I tried all the home remedies I found for Tinnitus, and still, nothing." I huffed out a breath. "Most of them just said to drink enough water. I swear I went through two packs of water bottles—"

    "Plastic bottles?" She exclaimed in horridness.

I placed my hands on the table, leaning in observingly. "So you are as much an activist as your profile says you are."

"You googled me?"

"Of course I googled you."

"I googled you, too." She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing came up. Just your family's real estate company."

"What can I say, I'm a woman of mystery."

     Blue stared at me poker-faced as I sipped on the coffee. "Don't you think in order to be friends, you should actually share personal information? All I know about you, you have admitted against your will."