vivid

vi. normal girl

The next morning came faster than usual. All of a sudden the sun was on its way up before I'd even gotten a proper night's sleep. I headed for the bathroom as I noticed the guest room door hung open. The bed was empty, sheets sat neatly over the mattress as if untouched. He must've left just before morning. Couldn't wait to get away from me huh. Strange boy. Although I hadn't forgotten his last words that night.

"... I'll protect you... I promise."

I wondered if he really meant that, but yet again, he was the serious type. Why feel so obligated to protect me like that? Why be kind?

He better be more careful, say something like that to the wrong girl and she might just fall in love with you. I bet that would've been his worst nightmare.

I prepped myself for school. A cold shower would do the trick to slap me back into normalcy. This would be my first time back in class since everything... The thought of faking a smile around my friends made it significantly harder. I just wanted to stay in bed all day.

I walked to school on my usual route, another quick commute. Although, it was getting colder. October was starting to turn for its bitter weather.

"Y/n! Hey!" My best friend waved to me in the crowd of rushing students. The school parking lot was bloated with teenagers once again.

"Hey Ren." I said through the skin of my teeth and plastered on a shiny smile. She caught me off guard with a hug.

"Dean said you were alright."

"Yeah, I'm okay." I chuckled. She pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

"I'm glad... Don't ghost me like that again!"

"Sorry..."

"It's okay, I'm kidding." She scanned me up and down. "Did you get any sleep Y/n?"

"Why? Do I look bad?"

"You never look bad." She laughed. "You just look exhausted."

"I kind of am."

"Take a nap first period. Mr. Spencer's oblivious, he won't even bat an eye beyond his morning coffee."

~ ~ ~

I lugged my bag beneath my desk and examined my missing worksheets. My mind was on empty however it was force of habit to try and get my assignments done.

Mr. Spencer lolled down the rows and made inanimate small talk with students in his tracks, finally reaching my desk.

"Miss. L/n, you've been MIA lately. Gettin' a head start on your work? I gave you the rest of the week to finish so don't worry."

I forced a grin, "Thank you Mr. Spencer."

"Of course." He lowered his voice, "You're the top of the class so I'll cut you some slack."

"Hah, I appreciate it."

First period was about to start as Mr. Spencer handed out the assignment. He'd sit back down behind his laptop, typing away for the rest of the hour and let us figure out the work—not that anyone was actually going to do it.

The kid in front of me turned around in his chair.
"Whatcha doin?" He asked, slapping his gums with an overzealous minty smell.

"Minding my business Jack, it's truly an art form."

"So cold, still up for that date?"