Storms they may come, but I'm here to stay
—bella ferraro
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AUDREY
THE TREE BRANCHES swayed back and forth rhythmically, their leaves rustling softly at the movement. The soothing smell of eucalyptus stroked my nostrils gently and warm sunlight tickled my skin, as I hung from a tree branch like a wild macaque, struggling to get the camera to focus.
"Are you quite done there?" I heard my best friend, Sydney, complain as she lay sprawled on the grass, in an overly-dramatic attempt to imitate a Vogue model pose.
"Excuse me, did you just complain? Who's the one hanging off a freaking tree branch here?"
You see, the cons of having an amateur-but-aspiring-to-be-professional photographer best friend, were that when it came to taking a picture of her, the standards were at the same level as her own photography. Which were sky-high. And given my own poor photography skills, to have said that I was struggling would've been an understatement.
I finally snapped the picture and jumped off the darned tree. Sydney disentwined herself from her "casual" posture and rose up to check them out.
She would normally be taller than me, but today the thick platform of my sneakers made me seem almost about her height. She tilted her head sideways, carefully studying the images, some of her dark brown curls falling in the way of her black chocolate eyes.
I heard her sigh. This could have meant two things: either she was just tired of this photoshoot or genuinely satisfied with the photographs. I hoped for the latter.
"Alright, screw this photoshoot, let's go."
I snorted. Welp, reading minds certainly wasn't one of my hidden talents. "So you don't like the picture."
"Not really." I gave her an offended look, intentionally exaggerated, as we started walking. "Oh no, but it has nothing to do with your photography skills, the angle was just perfect. It's just my face that ruins everything."
"Stop saying that! You know you're an absolute bombshell," I flipped her hair, deliberately overdramatizing, as she laughed at my attempt of lifting up her self-esteem.
"Sure thing, chicken wing," she said, with a hint of sarcasm.
"I'm absolutely serious—"
"Shh," she interrupted and stopped walking, eyes focused on something ahead of us.
"What is it?"I whispered, confused as heck.
"Look," she said, pointing at something in front of us, by the lake.
I gasped when I finally spotted it. Just a few feet away from us and nearing the lake, was a cute little fox cub. Its red fur glimmered in the sun gracefully. The tiny creature bent down for a drink.
"Aw, it's adorable!" I squeaked. I had a thing for furry little animals. Well, who didn't? They always managed to make my heart melt.
"Let's come closer," Sydney whispered. We discreetly approached the foxie, trying not to make a sound, until we were literally inches away. The foxie drank water nonchalantly, completely unaware of our presence.
"Foxie foxie," I risked, reaching out and stroking its silky fur. My face expression must have been beyond control as the fox stayed still and Sydney gave me an amused look.
"Give me this for a second," she reached for the camera hanging off my neck and quickly snapped some pictures of the animal. It didn't seem to mind.
"I didn't know there were foxes around here," Sydney said, while busy on her photoshoot. "How are we gonna call him?"
"Is it a 'him' or a 'her'?"
Sydney went silent for a second, as she paused to think. "Let's just give it a universal name."
I chuckled. "Yeah, good idea."
"Oh! I know, I know!" Sydney exclaimed, startling our fox slightly. "Swiper."
She gave me the smuggest grin one could possibly give, apparently excessively proud of her idea.
I was silent for a second, staring at Sydney blankly. "Are you serious?" Was all I could say.
"Yeah. Absolutely. Wait, did you get it?"
"Yes, Syd, I got it. It's from Dora the—"
"Exactly! From Dora the Explorer! Am I not a genius?"
All I could do was continue staring blankly at her.
"What? You don't like it? Come on, it's dope!" She got very emotional at this point. "Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!" She began chanting like a toddler. I had to give in to a laugh.
"Okay, okay. Swiper it is then." I looked down at our little Swiper, "just so you know, this wasn't my idea." I whispered to it.
Sydney slapped me, jokingly. "Ouch." I winced. "I want a photo with it."
I took Swiper in my arms and tried my best at a casual pose as Syd snapped a few pictures. Checking them out, I decided it was not bad for my unphotogenic self.
"Let's leave the poor fox alone and go to Barry's already. I've been craving lemon bread ever since I woke up." I announced, placing Swiper back on its feet. It made a cute purring sound and turned away from us.
Barry's Gluten-Free Bakery was our little secret heaven we occasionally escaped to. Don't get me wrong, Sydney and I were actually quite conscious about what we ate, but sometimes high school nerve-racking overcame the limit of its bearability and we just needed a break.
"The pics do look cute though. I'll print and frame them for you."
Knowing that that was great fun rather than work for Sydney, I didn't object.
A light breeze stirred the leaves on the path as we started sauntering in the direction of the bakery. The park's crowdedness grew with each step we took away from its woodier, more secluded part.
My eyes wandered about the area, settling on a couple on a bench. They looked around our age. The girl held her phone up to take a selfie, but when the boy whispered something in her ear they were both consumed by a convulsion of laughter instead.
They looked cheerful.
I guess the normal reaction would've been to feel happy for the lucky pair.
But unfortunately, I knew better.
Nothing is as simple as it looks. The vast majority of boys our age were players. As for the outnumbered sprinkling of the rest. . .well, they sure did hide very well. From time to time, I got the feeling they're all residing in the Romance section of the bookshop I worked in. Or — who knows — maybe the girl on the bench was the lucky one who got him. Or maybe he was cheating on her right now. . .
I sighed, annoyed at my own cynicism. You need to chill about it, girl, Sydney told me during one of those deep conversations we have had, not the whole male species is the same. The presence of bad doesn't mean the absence of good, remember? You know that.
She was right. And I did know that.
But how could I ever trust again when all I had from the past was evidence of why I shouldn't?
We came to an intersection and Sydney spoke up, at last, snapping me back into reality:
"Hey, let's pass by your house and drop the camera off. I don't wanna lug it with me all the way to the bakery —the thing's heavier than. . ." she trailed off, thinking of a suitable comparison, "my school backpack."
"But that's like four minutes of extra walking. . ."
"Oh, you lazy ass. Think of it as your booty work-out!" She slapped my butt. She really did that. This girl.
"Hey!" I protested, looking around the street nervously to make sure no one had witnessed the scene. Sydney must have noticed my concern as she rolled her eyes at me. "On a side note, I thought we agreed not to mention the S-word during vacation," my eyes grilled hers, in all its seriousness.
"S-word?" Her expression was innocently clueless. "Ohhh, you mean school?"
"Syd!" This girl was really not getting it, was she? "What part of not mentioning do you not understand?"
But she just laughed, not even pretending to take me seriously.
"Crazy, huh. Can't believe we're gonna be seniors in three days. Feels like just yesterday we were clueless middle schoolers, hiding in the bathroom to skip Mr. Diaz's music class."
"Oh my gosh, remember?" I asked, a chortle spilling out before I could suppress it.
My mind flashed right back to our second year of middle school — when Syd and I first met. Her family had moved here all the way from Ohio. Back then, my school by far wasn't the only thing she was new to.
The first time we talked was in the aforementioned Mr Diaz's music class, when we were paired up together for a duet. I was given a classical guitar, while Syd's burden took form in an old school recorder.
Still not sure how that combination works, to be honest, but okay.
Syd had been in the school for only about a week, but her bold persona was not one to wait with its manifestation to the public. She ended up making a fuss because— I quote— in no case in the world was she going to "make out with half the school population."
It got so intense that the principal had to intervene. The conclusion actually reached placed Mr. Diaz in the wrong — wet wipes did not save sharing woodwind instruments amongst students from being unhygienic.
Peeved and humiliated, Mr. Diaz lost the case in front of the whole class and (with a rather unkind thud, might I remark) planted a pair of bongos before Sydney, instead.
Needless to say is the tautness that their relationship stretched out with for the rest of that year. . .
As for Syd and me, we'd been inseparable ever since. Strange they are—the ways friendship has sometimes. Who would have thought that two such different people would end up bonding so closely and indissolubly?
Though I'm not so sure my homebody-self had been of much use, I supposedly helped her to adapt to this town. She settled in quickly, given her sociable nature. Now, I could say she was even better adapted to it than me.
We agreed to go to the same high school and throughout the whole of it, she was my main pillar of support. I can't imagine what I would have done without my curly-haired, crazy best friend. Even setting foot into the hallway of that hell my first day of freshman year alone, without a close friend by my side, would feel like a real nightmare to me.
We hurried up the front steps of my porch. I allowed the key set to jingle a little before picking the right key and opening my front door.
Instantly, I was overwhelmed by the heavenly smell of chocolate and hot fudge sauce hanging in the air. Brownies. Syd and I exchanged glances and moaned at the delightfulness. Was my mom back already? She told me she wouldn't be home until evening.
We walked into the kitchen, nearing the aroma. Suddenly, out of nowhere, appeared a feminine figure.
"Hey!" Throwing her arms around me fiercely, was my older sister.
"Hailey! You're back!" I exclaimed, startled. "Wait, what are you doing here?"
"Well, dang, was that a sweet welcome. I missed you too," she joked.
"I mean, aren't you supposed to be on this trip with your grad school class?"
"Was. Professor Cunningham's mother got very ill and he had to stay with her so it got canceled."
"Yikes. That sucks."
"Yeah, but oh well. I decided, since I've got a few more weeks before classes start, to return and give you and mom a little surprise."
I hopped onto the quartz kitchen counter and dipped my finger in chocolate sauce. "That's sweet but. . . " I licked my finger, "returning for just two more weeks straight after having left? You're weird." To be entirely frank, I was happy that she decided to come back. But to be even franker, teasing Hailey was real fun.
She was quick to formulate her own little comeback: "Well, we do share genes so. . ."
Hailey suddenly spotted Sydney who was watching this whole sister reunion from the entrance of the kitchen, unusually quietly. "Hey, Australia! How are you? Long time no see." She gave her a warm hug.
"Oh man, you're never gonna stop calling me that, are you?" Syd rolled her eyes slightly but smiled.
"Nope," the word hopped off my sister's lips matter-of-factly.
"What's with all this 'brownies' thing, Hails? Since when are you the baking type?" I asked, curiously.
"Dunno, felt like making some. But don't worry, not here to take away your title as the chef of this house."
I don't know what it was with my family about praising my cooking so much. Sure, I really liked to cook and try out recipes, just for the sake of it, but what I produced was far from the 'Michelin' quality, like they made it sound. I'm not saying I didn't like compliments, it's just that sometimes it felt like flattery. And flatteries reminded me of a certain someone I didn't want to be reminded of.
Hailey opened the oven, getting the baking tray out. "Alright, you two cut this up while I get the almond milk," she ordered in a bossy tone.
"Almond milk? Home-made?" I asked, wide-eyed, like a toddler who finally just got their favourite toy.
"Yup. I even was mindful enough to put it in the fridge so now it's nice and cold. Am I not the best sister?" She talked as the silk-like, creamy white liquid flowed smoothly into the three glasses.
"You certainly are." And not only because of the milk, I thought.
I frowned as she mounted the tableware on a tray and turned to carry it somewhere.
"Where are we going?"
"Gazebo!" She announced vocally.
"Ooh, nice."
My favourite thing about our house was the cute little gazebo in our backyard. It had a small round table surrounded by a soft bench and, to make it all even fancier, a hammock hanging from the mahogany roof. It gave off a homey vibe.
I sat cross-legged on the bench, taking my first sip of Hailey's self-made milk.
"You've added vanilla, didn't you?"
"Uh-huh." She nibbled on a walnut. "Did I overdo it?"
"No, no. It's quintessential," I stressed the sibilance, sending a chef's kiss her way. "Try it."
She took a sip, squinted her eyes savoring it, and concluded with a half-hearted shrug.
"I just realized. This is the last Friday before school for you two."
"Thanks for reminding, almost forgot," Syd grumbled.
"And senior year too! Oh my gosh, I didn't remember. You two are getting big." Syd and I exchanged amused glances.
"Sounds like you haven't checked on our age since kindergarten, Hails. You aren't that little as well, are you? Second year of law school, right? Sounds darn smart." I said, taken aback, slightly. It wasn't until I actually said it out loud that it hit me how far my sister had come.
"More like terrifying." Her tone changed. This didn't sound like my confident big Sis at all.
"Where was it? No wait, don't tell me! I think I know," Syd started rubbing her temples as if physically shaking up your brain could do something to help her remember. "Pennsylvania, right?" Well, that brain shake trick sure worked on her. I would need to try it next time I was stuck in a test.
"Uh-huh. Penn Law, The Ivy League," she stressed as if announcing something important but in a mocking tone. Then sighed. "You can't imagine how exhausting it is."
"Hey! You've come so far already, don't you dare lose heart now!" An unexpected surge of motivator spirit burst out of me. I decided to soften my tone slightly given that both Hailey and Syd were looking at me as if I were a mad teacher telling them off. "Okay, that turned out a bit sappy, but what I meant is that you'll be just fine."
Not much convincing, but she still gave me a small smile.
I took in the calmness of the weather. The blissful chirping of birds and the warm, pleasant breeze combined to create a peaceful atmosphere. I closed my eyes, trying to seize the last, fleeting moments of summer. It was moments like these that made you wish you could freeze time and stay in them forever.
I don't know where it came from, but I was feeling an odd sensation of tranquillity. An unusual thought struck me that maybe, just maybe, this year would spare me from the drama and chaos for once and I would actually have a nice senior year experience.
Or maybe it was just the calm before the storm.
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a/n:
hey there you beautiful hoomans!
this is the first proper story i've ever written on wp & i'm so excited sjkfjhfkg!
let me know your thoughts in the comments! I'd love to know how to improve and see my work from someone else's point of view.
anyhow, i really hope you liked the first chapter! and if you did, please don't forget to tap the little star to vote. . .that'd make me so so happy :) thanks!
until next chapter!