Adira woke up the next morning with her phone blaring right next to her ear, the presence of the early day an annoying buzz in her head. Grunting, she raised her hand and pushed the snooze button without glancing up. Unconsciously, she fell back into a fitful sleep. Unfortunately for her however, there was more than one alarm set.
Five minutes later, her phone buzzed back to life. Groaning awake, she pushed the snooze button one last time before sitting up hesitantly. She raised both hands above her head, stretching leisurely as she felt her relaxed muscles begin to tighten for the morning activities. Sighing, she stared into the dim room, squinting slightly as a ray of early morning sunshine leaked through a crack of her curtains and glared almost blindingly on the floor.
"Adira!" Her mother's voice carried to her room, the usual urgency in it as the morning ensued. "It's time to get up for school!"
"I'm up!" Adira hollered back, her voice an unattractive scratchy screech from the drug of sleep. Clearing her throat, she threw her covers off and lazily stood, unhurried by the press of time. Yawning, she walked over to her light wooden dresser. Around five dozen pictures hung on the wall around her mirror, displaying her life for anyone to see who entered her room.
Many were of her when she was younger, usually taken with her friends. A few recent ones were of her, Blaine and Khloe, the varied expressions displayed on each face. Khloe, with her bright smile and gleaming eyes. Blaine, and his golden head gleaming with a small smile on his face. And then there was Adira, her expression as cold and stoic as ever. Yet, you could still see the glint of happiness in her eyes.
Moving her attention elsewhere, she began the morning ritual of getting ready. Barely twenty minutes passed before she was showered, dressed and ready for school. Yawning once more, her eyes watered as she went to get her phone still on the night stand besides her bed, her sight slightly blurry.
Squinting at the time, she was satisfied to see that it read 7:20 AM, knowing that she was right on time. Stuffing it into her pocket, she made her way downstairs where the mouthwatering aroma of breakfast filled her nose.
"Good morning Adira," her mother greeted with a warm smile, identical light green eyes staring back at her.
"Morning," Adira rumbled back, the morning sleep still hugging on to her. "Where's dad?"
"Right here," he announced as he walked in. Dressed in black slacks and white button-up long sleeve, he walked over and gave a quick peck on her mother's cheek before going over and kissing the crown of Adira's head.
"What's the plan for today?" he asked jovially, making Adira wonder how a person could be so chipper in the morning.
"So many things," she groaned back, thumping her forehead onto the table. With her head down, she didn't notice the shared look between her parents, nor the small smiles of amusement.
Nina and Curtis Blackwood were the type of parents who treasured their only daughter, even with her strange quirk. They just found it extremely endearing about the fact that their daughter couldn't smile. Or laugh for that matter, but as most parents, their love for their child was unconditional.
"I'm guessing the whole band thing will be taking up most of your time," her mother said, fixing a plate.
"Yes. As well as other things such as track and school work, I'll be out of the house for most of my time." Adira sighed and lifted her head to see a plate full of eggs and bacon laid in front of her. The smell of her mom's cooking filtered through her muddled brain and she straightened in her chair.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, making her mom smile. "I couldn't survive without your food." And after that she dug in. Both her parents chuckled at the sight before getting their plates.
They both just managed to sit down before Adira finished her last bite and stood, taking her plate and putting it into the sink. They were unperturbed by her quick eating and began their ritual as usual.
"Don't do anything that I would do," her father told her as she went and kissed both of their cheeks.
"Wouldn't dream of it," she replied before waving to them and disappearing into the next room.
"Love you guys!" She called over her shoulder before grabbing her bag from besides the door and dashed through the doorway, closing the door behind her. As the spirited girl jogged down the driveway, her parents sat in peaceful silence, sharing a smile.
Nina Blackwood could be described as elegant. With her slender form and milky white skin, it was a miracle that she managed to keep her skin to be unblemished by the sun. She shared Adira's light green eyes but her raven hair kept the two apart. Working at the small library in town, Nina had the soul of a bookworm, taking comfort in the rows of silent words on hundreds of pages waiting to be discovered.
Curtis Blackwood, however, was tan with sandy brown hair. With dark blue eyes that always seemed to be twinkling, he was a man that always tried to please the two most important women in his life. As a professor at the local college in the next town over, it came as no surprise that he was one of the favorites among the students.
"She's too independent for my liking. Where did our little girl go?" Nina pouted to her husband, taking a sip of her orange juice.
"I'm not quite she was ever a little girl. Even as a child, she always loved going on her own way." Curtis chuckled lightly at the memories, causing Nina to smile along with him.
"I guess you're right. But I wonder where she gets it from," Nina mused thoughtfully.
As the husband and wife chatted freely before going to work, their daughter was enjoying her walk in the morning sun. Tilting her head back, she inhaled the salty air while the playful breeze teased her warm skin.
Adira took a second to look up at the endless azure sky, no clouds in her sight. Facing forward she continued on for another five minutes before she heard the familiar sound of fast approaching feet come up from behind her.
"Morning Adira." Blaine greeted while sidling up to her.
"Good morning, Blaine." She replied, raising her hand to ruffle his hair. Swatting her hand away, he looked up at her with a frown.
"Don't ruin my hair. It takes me forever to get it like this," he grumbled while patting the untamable strands back into place. "You wouldn't understand since you don't have this problem."
"Hey, I have bad hair days too."
"The only day you'll ever have a bad hair day, Adira, is when the world ends. Even then only one strand will be out of place probably," Blaine said with a scoff.
"You know, I'm not perfect," Adira gave a small pout. "I don't know why you and Khloe think so. I mess up all the time." Blaine couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. Not once had he ever seen her mess up on anything, making her words seem like a fairy tail to him.
"Adira, there is nothing that you're not good at." She didn't waste any time sharing some of her top failures in her life.
"I found out at age ten I could kill any plant under my care within two hours. As I got older, I started to figure out that kids hated me with a passion, and I am not sure why. I got in my first car wreck my sophomore year, totaling my car beyond recognition."
"Hold up, you wrecked your car?" He was filling with disbelief as he listened to all of her misfortunes in her life, and he just couldn't believe it.
"Yeah. I T-boned a poor old woman in a four way. I swear she wasn't there when I pulled out." She shrugged sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck. "I'm actually a terrible driver."
Blaine stopped and openly gaped at her, his eyes wide. Adira stopped alongside him and stared at him levelly, a feeling of embarrassment creeping into her mind.
"Is that why you don't drive anywhere?" he asked her. She nodded and looked away, continuing to walk.
"That and I didn't want another car. I thought if I wrecked my first one so bad, then I should probably wait a few more years to practice. You know, to be on the safe side." She shrugged again and Blaine was blown away when he saw the light pink tinting her cheeks. "It's definitely not one of my greatest moments in my life."
Blaine didn't know how to respond to her embarrassment, the idea of Adira Blackwood feeling sheepish in the slightest seemed almost impossible in his mind. But the realization of Adira as a mere clumsy human still felt wrong in his thoughts. But he knew that's just what she was—only a human that made mistakes.
"I bet you had put me on some pedestal, didn't you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Blaine shrugged and dug his hands into his pockets.
"I won't deny it. But you can't blame me either. When we first met, I never once saw anything go wrong for you. You did everything with a perfection that nobody else could achieve, and I guess that impression led me to believe you were some alien or higher being of some sorts." She hummed in response to his words, leaving him to wonder just what she was thinking. If he could have read her mind, he wouldn't have been able to handle the flurry of thoughts whizzing around her head like a hurricane.
She never knew he had thought of her like that, and she wondered if part of it was due to the fact that she always had a stoic sort of expression. Tapping her index finger to her chin thoughtfully, she pondered not for the first time for a solution to change this.
She has tried to smile, to smirk, or even a just a twitch. She can remember all of the hours she had spent sitting in front of a mirror, glaring at the two lumps of fat on her mouth. She would try so hard to manage even the smallest of smiles, but to no avail. However, one day she did succeed, in a way. But it was so horrendous it instantly dropped off of her face and never made a reappearance ever again. She made sure of it.
After that fiasco, she stopped trying and just let things be. But that still didn't mean she was completely happy with it, but grudgingly accepted it.
"I am as imperfectly perfect as a person can be," she finally said. "Remember that, Blaine."
"Will do," he replied.
The two were left once again in silence as they made their way to school. As they walked, Adira felt a looming sense of foreboding. A warning to what was to come in the future and she could already feel the weight of the world on her shoulders.
What Blaine didn't understand was, the reputation of being 'perfect' came with heavy bags the size of boulders. Placed on her shoulders, it was her responsibility that she didn't disappoint the ones around her.
She could feel it now, along with the upcoming responsibilities, sitting on her shoulders while looking down on her mockingly. It was as if she had her own demons floating in the air besides her, taunting malicious words of her failure.
"Adira?" Blinking, Adira never noticed Blaine speaking to her, nor did she realize that they had made it to the school. "Are you okay?" Sighing quietly, she nodded.
"Yeah, just thinking is all." Her words were absent minded and Blaine continued to look at her worriedly but before he could say anything, Khloe had arrived along with Nolan.
"Good morning you two. I'm hoping the walk here wasn't too strenuous for you, Blondie." His familiar scowl became evident as she spoke.
"We agreed that you would never call me that again," his hissed at her with annoyance. She rolled her eyes and the ritualistic bickering began. Sidling up to Adira, Nolan tilted his head towards the duo.
"I'm guessing this happens all the time?" She sighed in response and stared at the two stoically before glancing up at him.
"You have no idea." Nolan grinned and chuckled, catching her attention. "What's funny?" she questioned.
"Nothing really. Just, I'm glad I moved here." His smile was genuine, making his light brown eyes even lighter. Adira gave him a curious gaze, questioning herself as to whether she should ask or not. Deciding against it, she simply patted him lightly on his arm, a brush of her fingers. Still, the contact shocked him and he looked down at her wide eyed but she was already walking towards the entrance.
He stared after her, unmoving until Khloe calling his name brought him out of his revere.
"Nolan, are you coming?" Both Blaine and Khloe looked back at him, expectant. It was only day two of his living here, and yet he already had a group of friends waiting for him. Smiling, he nodded and followed after them.
Time passed quickly for the four, each early morning class passing without a hitch. But still not quickly enough, lunch finally arrived. And of course, all eyes were trained on the four as they entered the cafeteria, but they paid no mind.
"I'm just saying, aliens are a possibility." Khloe argued, making Blaine shake his head energetically.
"What, if aliens exist should I start believing in mermaids too?" he shot back sarcastically.
"It's a possibility. It's a fact that the human race has discovered less than five percent of the ocean. Who knows, mermaids could be lurking in the depths of the other sixty five percent," her tone became quieter, making it sound more like a conspiratorial. "Heck, I bet Megalodon still exists too."
This brought on another wave of debate while all of them continuously went into the lunch line and paid for their food before settling down at their table. Through the whole process, Adira tuned them out and instead made their voices only a slight disturbance in the back of her mind. Instead, she did not waste her time delving into the cheese pizza calling her name.
"Your school has surprisingly good food," Nolan commented, watching in amusement as he watched Adira take one giant bite out of her pizza. Unabashed by her sloppy behavior, she chewed and swallowed before giving him an answer.
"This is only just a sliver to what they have. Some days, they serve this dessert with light whip cream and sugary peaches. Now that, is what I would kill for. No one gets in my way when they serve that." Her voice expressed her excitement, her eyes almost glowing as she described one of her favorite sweets. Yet, her unmovable mask forever placed on her features countered her energy, showing something completely different.
Nolan smiled faintly but he couldn't help but scan her face thoroughly, observing the way her eyes never crinkled in the corners or how her lips gave no notion to ever lift up in a quirky tilt. He could see from the smooth sweep of her cheeks that there was not even the slightest indentions of a smile. Not even a sliver of a wrinkle was seen. Most of it was due to the fact that she was young, he knew, but even then there would still be something.
As he continued to stare—rather creepily at this point—he noticed the way her right brow dipped downward, the only indication that there were muscles in her face. And at that point, he also noticed that she was giving him a rather strange look.
"Sorry, did you say something?" he asked smoothly, trying to play off the fact that he was indeed caught staring at her.
"Are you a secret creeper?" she blurted out. Nolan choked on the air that he was breathing and shook his head almost violently.
"No. I promise I wasn't imagining anything inappropriate. I-"
"Ooh! Is Nolan having dirty thoughts about Adira? Let me guess, you like things freaky behind closed doors." Khloe waggled her eyebrows, a salacious smile wide on her lips. Adira closed her eyes and tried to reign in the embarrassing blush that wanted to creep up her neck and fill her cheeks. What made things worse, however, was Nolan's response.
"You sure you wanna hear my secret?" By this time he was whispering, leaning in close to make the whole situation have more mystery. Hook, line, and sinker she took the bait without a second thought, leaning in as well to hear his words.
"Tell me," she breathed, anticipation coursing through her. Blaine rolled his eyes at her naivety before digging into his own lunch. Adira quirker up an eyebrow and continued eating as well.
Just to cause more torture, Nolan waited four more beats before leaning in closer. In reaction, Khloe mirrored him. By now, they were so close their noses were almost touching, but Nolan couldn't help notice he didn't feel anything romantic towards this girl, but simple amusement.
Finally, to put the poor girl out of her misery, he whispered to her, "I like trains."
Blaine choked on his water and ended up coughing violently. The kind that shakes your whole body and makes you wish you could rip out your own throat. Adira herself twitched in surprise.
Pulling away, Nolan could be seen wearing a cheeky grin with his eyes mischievously glinting. Khloe in the meantime, was too stunned to do anything, her eyes glazing over. She had no words to his response and the only thing that broke the silence between all of them was Blaine's coughing fit that was quickly turning into bellows of laughter.
"He totally got you," he howled. He slammed his hand on the table while his form bent over, his slight shoulders shaking heavily as he gasped for air. "Oh man. He got you good." He straightened and sucked in a deep breath, tears glistening in his eyes as he smiled widely.
"What is that even from?" Adira asked, his earlier words bringing back a feeling of familiarity. "I feel as if I heard that before."
"Probably because you have. Remember that video I showed you a while back? That little cartoon where the guy would comment 'I like trains' and then get hit with one a second later?" Blaine wiped his eyes and seemed to have settled down even though he was still trying to stifle his chuckles.
Adira tried to recall what he was mentioning, and then it hit her. Shaking her head, her eyes glinted with humor.
"That video wasted five minutes of my life that I will never get back."
"Oh come on. You thought it was funny too." He grinned at her before looking at Khloe, who still hadn't said a word. "Hey, what's the matter with you? Did he break you? Correction, did you finally get that life would be more peaceful if you stopped talking?"
Slowly, oh so slowly, she lifted her head to stare at Nolan, whom at this point was starting to become worried from her silence.
"Are you okay? It was a joke, I didn't mean anything." He tried to somehow offer comfort but he didn't know how since he didn't know what he did wrong. He then finally noticed how Khloe's eyes seemed far off, her mind elsewhere. Adira only watched, not alarmed by her friend's behavior.
She had seen this a few times before, while she was at the receiving end herself. Opening her water bottle, she took a sip. There was only one thing that would get her friend out of her funk, and that solution was not the best, but probably the most efficient.
Without warning, Adira took her open water bottle and jerked her arm forward, the water from inside splashing onto her face. With a shriek, Khloe reared back and fell off her seat. All eyes turned to them as they watched the spectacle while Adira simply yawned before standing. Both Nolan and Blaine stared up at her, wide eyed. Adira's action stunned the both frozen and they couldn't form a single sound as they watched her.
"Don't worry about her. She goes into this trance-like state when something totally unexpected happens that she wasn't expecting. I think it's some defense mechanism of some sorts but I'm not quite sure. So good job Nolan, you've managed to do just that." Adira laid her hand on his shoulder, as if she was proud that he had managed to do it, before picking up her tray and walking up to put it away. Khloe was surprisingly still on the floor, still not speaking.
"What is going on?" Nolan muttered over to Blaine. He looked as dumbfounded as the rest of the cafeteria and he shook his head.
"I have no idea. I didn't think it was that surprising." Blaine scratched the side of his head before snapping his eyes to Adira's approaching figure.
"Like I said before, don't worry. This is all normal behavior for her so continue your lunch." She bent down to help her friend up, and still Khloe still seemed dazed but seemed to be coming to.
"What happened?" Khloe looked around in question, the hazy look in her hazel eyes clearing some more.
"Nothing you need to worry about. Now come, my clumsy self has spilt water all over you." As if realizing for the first time that she was wet, she wrinkled her nose.
"You need to go see someone about that little problem. This is the fifth time you've done this," she whined, picking up a strand of damp hair off her cheek. Adira nodded and patted her head tenderly.
"I know. Now let's get you changed before your next class starts. I don't think Mrs. Bancroft would be very appreciative of you if she found that you were dripping all over her classroom."
"But technically it's your fault," she pointed out. Adira rolled her eyes and began pushing her out.
"I know, now move your feet if you want to get dressed in time."
"Fine, I'm going," she grumbled before she disappeared through the doors. The whole room was silent as they watched her back, the prickling stares poking at her like a cactus. Taking in a deep breath, she turned and gave them all a level stare.
Hundreds of eyes watched her like hungry hawks, watching her every move. Swallowing from the attention, she straightened her back and set her shoulders.
"I would love it if all of you did not mention what you just saw. And what I mean is, do not breathe a word to this to Khloe." All of the sudden, her light green eyes narrowed dangerously and the atmosphere around her suddenly felt more hostile. Nolan was beyond stunned to see the sudden change in her, as was Blaine.
Knowing her for only a year, he had thought that he had a good grasp on her character, but seeing this sudden change in her, it felt as if she was a stranger that he had never seen before.
"Please, do take my words to heart." Those words seemed harmless enough, but to Nolan, the hidden threat underneath struck him hard and it was clear that if anyone disobeyed Adira Blackwood, you would be on the receiving end of her wrath.
With one last warning stare, she finally turned and left the room. As she did, it felt as if the air in the room was lifted. As she instantly disappeared, whispers scattered throughout the room without missing a beat.
"What just happened." Nolan spoke lowly, his eyes still on the doors. Blaine had no clue. Not only did he not understand what went down with Khloe, but Adira's own reaction to it all didn't make sense.
He had never seen her so menacing. He hadn't even seen her angry, and seeing her like this so abruptly, it shook his very thoughts to the core.
"I don't know." And for once, he never felt so lost.
***
"So what happened with you at lunch?" Austin spoke from besides her, casting a shadow on her sitting form. Squinting, Adira looked up to see him looking down at her, his expression cast in shadow.
"A misunderstanding," she replied. She continued her stretches for practice, her mind wandering everywhere. She ended up not going to Chelsea's after lunch, and instead finished up with some last minute student council plans for the band competition.
You practically threatened the whole student body and still have the decency to call yourself the president of the council. What a disgrace, Adira let that thought echo around her head before Austin caught her attention, making her freeze.
"Khloe still doesn't know, does she." He wasn't asking, merely stating. Without saying a word, she stood up slowly, her eyes meeting his. His dark brown eyes were knowing, and skeptical.
"You are quite the intimidating woman, Adira Blackwood. You can keep the whole student body quiet by simply using your words and so I have to applaud you for that." He did indeed do just that, slowly clapping his hands together. Adira huffed and blew a stray strand of her hair out of her face.
"I swear I wasn't trying to come off as threatening or anything. I just became serious for a moment," she grumbled and stretched her arm. He gave a low whistle in awe.
"Well from the stories that I heard, the death glare that you gave could have made a corpse shudder from fright." He grinned and she flicked his forehead.
"I can't help that I look scary." He threw his head back and bellowed out a laugh before wrapping his arm around her shoulders loosely.
"Oh Addie. What is this school going to do once you graduate." He ruffled her hair playfully and she shot him a look before pushing him away.
"They'll be fine. They don't function on one student." She grumbled to herself while she fixed the disarray on her head.
"We'll see." He smiled faintly before his expression became serious. "But Adira, what are you going to do about Khloe? You can't protect her forever." Her hands stopped and slowly she lowered them, her eyes looking off into the distance.
"I may not be able to keep the truth from her for much longer, but." She snapped her eyes back to Austin and he inhaled sharply, surprised at the vicious way her light green eyes flared with resolve. "I will protect her as long as I'm alive." He didn't say anything, and instead the two held each other's gaze intensely. As Austin studied her, he could clearly see her unwavering strength to protect her friend and he could feel his pride in her swell to new heights, as well as his respect.
"I just can't compete with you," he muttered under his breath. Louder, he said: "I'll support anything you do. Just don't burn yourself out, okay?" Her eyes twinkled up at him and she nodded her head.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to give you guys the brunt of the work once things begin to really start." He laughed and ruffled her hair again, causing her to slap his hand away once more and grumble.
"Good. You baby us too often." Once she smoothed her hair out, she noticed Coach start making her way over.
"I'm glad you noticed. Now, ready to lose again today?" The provocation would not go unheeded and he smiled ruefully.
"Bring it on Prez. Today is the day I take you down, I can feel it." The look on her face was as blank as a landscape of new fallen snow, but the brightness of her eyes were like that of the sun, the contentment as clear as a cloudless sky.
YOU ARE READING
The Five Steps To Smile
Teen Fiction"Your persistence in this matter is becoming somewhat irritating," Adira couldn't help but give him a look of slight annoyance. "Why must I smile if you already see my amusement?" The boy before her shook his head determinedly, his mindset of that o...
