Poppy Jameson has lived her life as an average. An average student. An average daughter. She isn't the favourite child, or the best student, and she has never been in a relationship. She doesn't want to fit in, but she doesn't want to stand out. She...
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poppy
Faye had thought ahead and had brought an umbrella. The two of us were practically hugging each other trying to stay dry as we hurried down the pavement, trying our best to avoid deep puddles.
The rain had ceased to stop falling all weekend. The river on the edge of town had swelled and there were flood warnings for those who lived near the banks. But despite the heavy downpour and permanent chill in the air, Faye and I had ventured out to see one of our favourite bands play at a seedy venue downtown.
Inside had been hot and stuffy, so the cold air was a relief.
I gripped Faye's hand and pulled her towards the bus stop shelter.
"I wish it would stop raining," she muttered as she put her umbrella down.
We were the only two beneath the shelter, but the last bus of the night was due in ten minutes, and the last bus was always packed. Even on rainy Sunday nights.
I slipped the hip flask out of the back pocket of my bag, the part the bouncers never thought to check, and took a quick swig. We passed it back and forth, the Jack Daniels warming our throats and stomachs.
I could feel myself growing sleepy. It had been a long day and the whisper of rain against tarmac was like a lullaby.
The shelter filled with tired faces and when the bus finally pulled up, we all sat silently in our seats. Faye and I sat upstairs. I had the window seat. Even though I couldn't see anything though the condensation on the windows, I leant against it and watched the blur of street lights and car headlights pass by.
Faye's head slowly fell against my shoulder. The humidity had made her tight curls expand into a bush on her head, and the stray hairs tickled my face.
"We should ditch school tomorrow and go to that cool vegan place downtown for lunch," she said quietly, referring to a small cafe that had opened up on the high street.
"I can't," I groaned. "I have a stupid meeting with Miss Jensen. I've been given a tutor."
Faye gasped and sat up. Her chestnut eyes narrowed as she examined my face for any indication that I was joking. "What?"
I shook my head. "I know. It's shitty, but she called my parents and you know what they're like."
"Lame," she said quietly. "I was so pumped to try their breakfast sandwich."
"We'll go next weekend," I offered.
Once Faye got it in her head that she wanted to do something, she didn't shut up until we did it. While that meant that we did a lot of cool stuff and went to a lot of cool places that she'd seen on Instagram, it was also annoying as hell. Especially when the days were getting shorter and the temperature was dropping as the weeks went by.
