Lush ✵ Luke Castellan

i. Liquid Smooth

" I'm beautiful, I know
cause it's the season
but what am I to do with
all this beauty? biology,
I am an organism, I'm
chemical that's all, that
is all "

    PERSEPHONE JACKSON STARED BLANKLY AT THE WALL. Her mind was clouded with images of the boy from her dream from the previous night. She'd been dazed all day. All her mind was able to grasp on was the curly hair she saw in his shadow, everything else slid right off her brain.

"Seph!" A voice yelled out just as a ball came and smacked Persephone in the head with a 'thwack!'

See? Slid right off her brain.

"Okay, ow." Persephone blinked, turning her gaze away from the wall as she cradled her head with her hand, looking around with a confused expression.

Her teammate, and friend, Julianna, sighed. "Baby, what's 'goin on with you? You seem... out of it." The redhead frowned.

No, Persephone and the girl had nothing like that going on — it was just her friends manor of nicknames.

"I'm fine, Juul," the blonde nodded, "just tired." She gave the girl a smile just to assure her.

Julianna sighed, and with a shrug she turned back to the volleyball net. "Okay, just pay attention so coach doesn't get mad and yell." She instructed.

Persephone nodded, and fixed her stance on the polished wooden floors as she fixed her gaze to the volleyball net as well, her hands stretching out to prepare her for the oncoming ball.

No, there wasn't a game happening, just practice. If Persephone ever zoned out during a game, her coach would hit her over the head with one of the bleachers.

On cue, Persephone's coach, Mr. McSwords blew his whistle, "That's enough for today, god, you're killing me with this bull-crap." He turned his attention to Persephone. "Jackson, get your head out of your butt! Straight, stop looking over at your boyfriend! Raftery, stop laughing every time someone gets hit by the ball! And Mills, would you please, for the love of god, stop picking your nose on my court?!" He went on to discipline some of her teammates as well as herself.

Persephone was close to snickering at the sheer funniness of her friends getting their asses busted as well as her own.

See, she knew her team like family.

There was Julianna Straight, who went by Juul, she was her red-headed friend that she immediately got along with when she met her on her first day at Napeague's Academy for Girls, and the two had been inseparable since.

Kira Raftery was thrown into the picture a few minutes after Juul was, as those two had already been friends before Persephone was a new student.

Now, Persephone didn't know Audrie Mills all that well, the two primarily met in History when Audrie kept asking for all the answers, then the two were on the Volleyball team together, and they became closer friends.

On the team was also Sarah Thorpe, and Mihayla Jones. She knew them well, but they mostly kept to themselves, and Persephone respected that.

"Jackson! Stop giggling. Next time I hear that annoying crap I'm making you run the court five times." Mr. McSwords shook his head disappointedly.