Remedy

Act I

ACT I

– 218 Days

Most people imagine spring as a new beginning, snow is melting, birds are chirping, all that crap. It was never like that where I lived. It was cold and cloudy up until the very first day of summer, and even then the sun was reluctant to show its face.

I was never all that popular at my school. I'd been coming here for the past three years, and my only friend, Kate, transferred last semester. I was alone.

"Lily, I think it'd be nice if you made some new friends this year, don't you?" my mom had said to me on the car ride to school. "...Maybe someone a little more... polite? That other friend of yours always left a mess in the living room whenever she visited." Her eyes lit up, "Maybe... you could see about getting yourself a boyfriend this year?" I had told her more than a dozen times that I was, in fact, not attracted to guys. She either didn't believe me, or just tried to deny it. Regardless of that—, and regardless of the fact that Kate had said that she was straight in front of my mom—, she had a firm rule that my door must always stay open when the two of us were in there together.

"I—doubt that will happen" I responded to her, watching the raindrops glide past each other on the car window.

"Why not?" She questioned. I could see she knew what I meant, but continued.

"A fine young girl like yourself should have no issue finding an attractive boyfriend, maybe if you changed your hair—or changed your clothes..." She trailed off.

"You know what I mean, Mom."

The sound of slamming lockers echoed through the hallways. I didn't understand why they assigned us a new locker every semester, there were plenty for new students, and all it did was mess up the flow of classes for us seniors. It was just another new thing we had to drill into our brains each year. The lockers were a light, sickly blue color that gave the hallways a fluorescent, hospital vibe. Really set the mood for a learning environment.

But even as I meandered down the hall, my eyes caught a glimpse of something:. aA smile. I whipped my head around, searching for the flicker that had caught my eye. It was a girl I had never seen before;, she clutched her books against her chest, smiling and chatting with another girl I had seen the previous year, but had never spoken to.

I must have seemed like a nutjob standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking the flow of foot traffic. People's shoulders brushed against mine as they were forced to squeeze around. This girl was.. beautiful;, her curly brown hair flowed down her back, emphasizing her slim figure. She appeared tall and athletic, she looked so.. pPerfect. I despised it.

First period was a breeze—, some ice breakers and introductions., I expected more of my classes to follow a similar pattern.

After spending a bit too long messaging Kate about the first day in a bathroom stall, I ended up having to rush to my next class. I jogged down the hallway, the soles of my shoes creating an echoing clap on the linoleum in the near-empty halls. I quickly turned a corner... and ran headfirst into what felt like a brick wall. I stumbled, falling back and landing on my wrist. I looked up to see what the hell I had just ran into.

It was her. It was the girl. Miss–perfect. She stood over me with her hands cupped over her mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh my god, oh my god—I'm SO sorry!" She took off her backpack and kneeled down, starting to help me up,

"I'm sorry," she repeated frantically. "I was on my phone trying to figure out where my next class is—I wasn't looking where I was going, are you alright?" I picked up my phone and began to stand up to face her.