Stonebrook High School

Chapter 15

Rain.

It was raining.

During the end of summer.

Jess had a sudden indescribable attraction to the small drops trickling down the edge of their French porch door. Why was the light bending within the tiny water droplets so interesting to her? For some reason, the vivid visual of the droplets splitting apart and skittering down the tempered glass was captivating and had completely enamored the bright-eyed girl. She surprisingly was enjoying the sight of the rain on the blurred windows.

Wasn't there a word on The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows for this?

... Oh, yeah, it was 'ambedo.'

Hm. She'd also forgotten today was a Saturday.

Two weeks ago, they all left the plaza and said goodbye to Gabriel. She didn't think it wise to try and contact him in this weather– so what else could she do?

Trying to fool around with her brother wouldn't work. He was fast asleep and she didn't want to wake him from his deep slumber. Also, waking him up would probably need an air horn, and Aunt Carrie was also in bed, meaning she would probably wake up an irritated Aunty as well. (Aunt Carrie had returned on a temporary break as her team's equipment was damaged and needed to be repaired.)

All she could do was wait until after 8 A.M. What an unlucky person she was, waking up at 5 in the morning while everyone else was still asleep. Not to mention the fact that it was raining. She couldn't exactly leave the apartment for a quick walk and come back. (The rain was probably hot too, seeing as it was still summer.)

She got up from her bed and hugged the walls of the room, feeling the cold surface for the light switch. Making sure the light was set to a low brightness with the bar, she flicked the lever. A dim, white light shone down on her face, making it seem oily although it wasn't.

Jess narrowed her eyes. It was still fairly dark in the room, but she had grown accustomed to the darkness, and the light was now hindering her sight. Blinking a few times before attempting to look around again, she shut the light off.

"Forget it," she mumbled under her breath. A sigh escaped from her lips and she opened the door, walking into her hallway. She wove through the obstacles she couldn't really make out in the dark and grabbed a glass cup. Hot rain really made you thirsty.

The cool liquid left the cup as soon as it was filled up. She swallowed the water quickly, leaving no drop behind.

It just came to mind that she was standing in the kitchen with no pants on, only her button-up, long-sleeved pajama shirt and underwear.

Whatever, she thought. She filled up the glass with water again.

Taking it back to her room, she set it on the nightstand and wrapped herself in her uncomfortably warm blankets, staring out the porch door again. Watching the rain fall for another two hours wasn't so bad. She had already done it for fifteen minutes.

Her phone vibrated where it lay next to her cup of water. Curious, she reached for her Cloud and checked the notification, scrunching her eyes together when the brightness practically blinded her. After lowering the brightness to a tolerable level, she read the notification, secretly hoping it wasn't some boring "You have mail!" announcement.

As if her prayers were heard, it was a text from Lukas. What could he be doing this early in the day?

Hey. Idk if you're asleep but wanna call? Can't sleep.

She smiled in a reluctant yet acquiescent fashion. At least she would be doing something despite it being early in the day.

Her fingers tapped the screen, flying across the virtual keyboard. You can't sleep either? Sure, let's call.