Mascot of Ramshakle (TWST Fanfiction)

The same place I've always been

• • •

She scribbled away on the paper. Opened books and scattered notes were everywhere. She had stayed up late and finished most of the homework. They were given on Monday, and due in a few hours. There was too much theory, none of it stayed in her head. She thought she would never have to deal with math again, but here it was with another set of formulas. She closed her eyes.

Idiot. She thought.

She didn't need to get scolded on the first week after the summer holidays. Just then her mother warned her of the bus coming soon. She got up, chair screeching in the process. Grabbed her bag and stepped out the door.

Warily, she stepped into the class. The first two periods had been fine, but she was dreading the upcoming lesson. She went and sat down in the middle, the perfect place to sit in order to avoid attention. The front was too close, and there's something wrong if you sat in the back. Kayra continued her incomplete homework, until a nearby figure forced her to look up. One of her classmates sat behind her, another stood between them.

"Hey, can I sit there?"

Kayra scanned her surroundings. The class was mostly filled, the vacant seats being in the first and second rows.

"I donno..." She muttered. She really didn't want to move. Even without the homework problem, she was comfortable in this area.

"Please? Just for today."

She closed her books with a "Fine" and moved to the second row.

The teacher arrived shortly after. The lesson began smoothly- until the moment of truth.

The teacher moved from table to table, carefully checking and correcting the homework. Then she came to Kayra. At first nothing was said since she had done some of it, but soon the teacher was mad.

"Lewis, where's the rest of this?!"

Kayra stood up. She could feel the piercing looks of her classmates, especially Anna. It was almost Autumn, she felt like it should be colder.

"Uhh... I couldn't finish it..." Anyone who payed attention would've caught the quiver in her words

"How come?! You had five whole days!"

" ... " The air felt warm. There was no breeze.

"I expect to see this completed on Monday, alongside today's homework." She would have been expected to give it in the following day, if it wasn't a Friday.

She sat back down a little too fast, and didn't look anywhere but at the table, till the teacher resumed the lesson. At first, she payed attention just fine, soon she began to loose focus. When she came back to her senses, she was about to complete another doodle. Frustrated, she erased the drawing.

• • •

That evening was a regular for Kayra. She had been going through the most recent photos she took, then she came downstairs on the whims of her mother. She still hadn't done her own laundry. Halfheartedly, she tossed everything in.

Would those be good entries for the photography competition?

Mr. Lewis, who came home, was watching the news. Two mugs of tea on the coffee table in front of him. Eyes glued to the screen, he reached out for his own. His fingers touched the rim of the wrong one. Before he could take it, Kayra grabbed it.

"Mine."

The object was cold to the touch. It wasn't long after the sun went down. Must have been a while since Mum made the tea. How long would it be before dinner is ready? She peeked into the kitchen. A middle aged woman was rummaging through the fridge.