Under the Gray Willow Tree

Chapter 1

The dreaded sound of the alarm wakes me up from sleep. Groaning, I force my eyes open, glancing at the clock on my bedside table, before switching the terribly annoying sound off.

7.20 am.

The day has come, hasn't it? The first day of senior year. t's time to go back to the place rules and social norms force us to, to learn things, like calculus and world geography, that we'll probably never use ever again after we leave.

Oh joy.

I rub my eyes sleepily, clumsily throwing the covers off my body, standing up and make a beeline towards the bathroom. The shrill sound of my phone's ringtone drifts into my ears. Groaning in annoyance, I turn on my heels and head towards the chest of drawers where I normally keep my phone during the night. I pick up the call, only briefly glancing at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I say groggily.

"Hello," he chirps happily. How can he be up at this ungodly hour and still be cheerful? I can never understand morning people. "Willow tree, it's me."

A smile tugs at my lips. There's only one person who calls me that.

Only one person I'll ever be close to.

"Gray? Is that you?" I reply, stifling a yawn.

I can tell, somehow, that he's smiling. The smile seeps into his voice as he speaks. "Who else would it be Willow tree?"

I chuckle. Gray has always called me Willow tree because he claims that my parents must've thought of my name when looking at pictures of willow trees. I'd always laugh it off because his theory sounds too ridiculous to be true. But who knows? Maybe they –

No, Willow, you can't think of them anymore. I can't put myself through all that emotional torture again. I can't.

Instead, I turn my attention back to the conversation. "Oh, I don't know," I reply sarcastically, finally starting to wake up.

"Oh really?" he answers, his voice challenging me.

"If I knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now, will we?" I say, chewing my lip to stop myself from bursting out into laughter.

"You have no idea? Not a single clue as to who this may be?"

"Nope," I say, popping the 'p'.

"Could it be a certain someone named Gray?"

"Perhaps."

"Willow tree, you might want to hurry up before I leave without you. It's nearly 7:40."

"Umm— Please explain."

"Look outside."

I head towards the window and push the curtains aside, peering onto the sidewalk. True to his word, he's outside my house, leaning casually against his black Sedan, his phone pressed against his ear.

"Oh."

"Can I come in?"

"You always let yourself in. You have a set of keys after all. Why ask now?"

I see him shrug, looking up at my window. "Maybe I just wanted to be a little more polite today."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "Whatever, Gray. Just come in if you want. I'm going to jump into the shower real quick."

He nods. "Alright then."

"I'm hanging up now."

"See you soon, my Willow tree."