chemistry ➸ hallie

i. || take a chance

Allie knows it's going to be a bad day when her mom tells her they ran out of Earl Grey.

"What? How?" she practically demands, crossing the kitchen floor and opening the cabinet herself. Just to make sure.

Her mom shrugs, sipping at her own cup of coffee. "You must've used the last of it without realizing. There's none in the pantry, either."

Allie groans, letting her head drop and sending a long, exasperated look at her bunny slippers. No tea today, then. What a great start to the morning.

She grabs an apple from the basket and then trudges back upstairs, feet heavy. On the bright side, she just saved herself five minutes now that she doesn't have to make tea. As she makes her way down the hall, she peeks into Cassandra's bedroom. Of course her sister is already ready for the day, lying on her bed and reading a book. Allie sighs quietly, slipping back into her own bedroom without another sound.

Even with the extra five minutes, she's running short on time. Yet another stark contrast between Cassandra and her—Cassandra wakes up an hour before they need to leave. Allie gives herself fifteen minutes, including the usual tea break. Sometimes Allie wonders if she and Cassandra are even blood-related at all.

She throws on a sweatshirt and jeans, slips into her old sneakers, and gives her hair a quick finger comb—it's not perfect, but it's looked worse. Shrugging her coat on and grabbing her backpack, hastily shoving binders inside, she holds the apple in her teeth until the bag is secure on one shoulder. She takes a bite out of the apple and finally gives herself a once-over in the mirror, her fingers absently settling on the star-shaped pendant of her necklace. Presentable enough.

"Hey, you ready?" comes Cassandra's voice from behind her door.

"Yep, just a sec!" Allie replies, digging around on her mess of a dresser for a pack of gum. She knows she bought one the other day. If only she could remember where she put it.

"I'll be in the car, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be right out."

Allie curses under her breath. The gum seems to be a lost cause—go figure—so she can only hope Cassandra's stashing some in her car or something. She probably is; her sister's got the tendencies of a 40-year-old mother, meaning she always has everything. Too many times Allie has relied on Cassandra for makeup, food, hygiene products, everything.

So she cuts her losses, giving her room one last sweep before finally leaving, bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she gives her mother a sideways hug goodbye and walks outside, probably closing the door a little bit too loudly behind her.

Cassandra's already got the car running, heat blasting to combat the early morning temperatures of a New England January. Allie pulls her coat tighter around herself, paying close attention to the driveway so not to slip on any black ice. Her dad salted the driveway last night, but in Allie's opinion—and experience—you can never be too sure.

She slips into the car and closes the door quickly behind her. "It is way too fucking cold out there," she mutters, fumbling with her seatbelt.

Cassandra waits until Allie is secure before backing out of the driveway. "Welcome to Connecticut," she quips with a slight smile. "Just be glad we don't live in Maine."

Allie can't really argue with that, so she stops complaining. Instead, she turns to her sister with a hopeful grin. "So. Got any gum?"

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧

Fourth period means calculus, and calculus means death.

Allie tries her hardest to stay awake as the teacher drones on and on about functions and parabolas and a bunch of other things that sound beyond boring. She glances at the clock. Ten minutes left. Ten long minutes.