I sighed, opening the door to my school, instantly being thrown into a crowd of students, all trying to move at once where there was no space. I dodged past everyone, holding onto my bag so that I didn't lose it in trying to spot my friends.
I was part of a group of five, including myself—we're great. They grinned at me and I saw a hand reach through the crowd to me. It was Caleb, and I grabbed onto his hand so that he could pull me through the crowd.
"Wow," I said, breathing out, "that was a mission." Following procedures, Alex pulled out her mirror and angled it my way. I sighed, calming my hair down and wiping away smudges in my makeup.
"Does my makeup look okay?" Alex asked me, flipping the mirror around and glancing into it.
I nodded, "Yeah–"
"Come on you idiots, you look fine," Sighed Noah, who walked right through Caleb and I, breaking apart our proximity.
"'Fine'? What do you think about that, Caleb?" Alex asked tauntingly, throwing me a covert wink. I rolled my eyes—she'd never stop insinuating that Caleb had a crush on me, would she?
Caleb never responded, but Alex made me look at his flushing face a couple of times as we made it into our registration room. We took our usual seats at the back—all on one square table; Caleb and Alex usually took turns sitting next to me but, aside from that, it was all the same. This day, Alex and Hailey insisted that they sit together, leaving Noah with an empty seat beside him and Caleb next to me.
Our teacher called the register as Hailey and Alex laughed at something on Hailey's phone.
"What is it?" I asked them, raising my head from where I had it rested on my school bag, my eyes heavy and tired. They say that dreamless nights of sleep are the ones that leave you most tired. Those are the kinds of sleep I usually got.
They giggled, exchanging glances before flashing the phone at me. Great, another meme they've made out of my face.
I groaned, letting my head fall back down onto my bag. That didn't stop them from laughing, and Noah and Caleb joined in for a few moments. I drowned them out as my body suddenly began to feel heavy.
"Another bad night's sleep?" Caleb asked suddenly, moving my hair so that I could see him. Startled, I rose instantly, nodding.
"Wow, your past life must've had some scary stuff going on," Alex said, losing her attention on Hailey's phone. I hummed and nodded—they thought that my nights were full of nightmares, it was better that way; the alternative was way worse. I didn't dream at all.
"Maybe they were in the war," Hailey suggested, scrolling through her phone.
Noah pulled a face at her, "Are you stupid? Our timelines don't sync up with theirs."
She threw a spiteful look his way, not liking being challenged. "It doesn't have to be World War Two, you idiot, and anyway, they kind of do if they lived a long life."
"Well, wouldn't you be able to tell, Issy?" Alex asked, making me open my eyes and blink. "What happens in your nightmares?"
I straightened, lips parting. Nothing. Nothing happens at all. But I couldn't tell them that. I shrugged, "It's hard to tell, maybe a war, maybe just a very dark mind,"
Alex hummed, face thoughtful.
"They say that it's sometimes hard to tell, maybe you're just too closed off to it," Caleb suggested. I smiled at him. Or maybe I'm closed off to it altogether.
"Well, I had a lovely dream last night—she had a really good looking husband." I pulled a face at Hailey as she tried to lighten the mood.
"Aw, your first wet dream." Noah joked, ruffling up her hair.
She slapped his hand away. "Yeah, and you're like 5 years behind on puberty so you won't get your first one until you're 23."
I tuned out after that, leaning my head against my bag again. Soon, it was time to go to our first lesson, and Caleb tapped me on my shoulder when the first bell rung.
I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut as I cringed away from the noise.
"Look after her," I heard Alex whisper to Noah, who I had my first lesson with.
He nodded, swiping his arm over my shoulders and pulling me into his chest as Caleb passed me my bag. "Come on then, 'Sobel." I rolled my eyes, waving feebly at Caleb as Noah dragged me out of the room.
I leaned into him as we walked to Business Studies, my eyelids drooping.
"Maybe you should take some sleeping pills." I sighed, rubbing at my eyes.
"Maybe."
He pulled me closer, "I'm sure your mum could get some if you asked."
I inhaled deeply, eyebrows furrowing. "What aftershave is that? It smells nice. And I could always get Caleb to get it for me."
"So am I incapable of getting drugs?" He asked, ignoring my aftershave comment.
I stifled a laugh, "I don't doubt your drug dealing abilities, but Caleb's sister is a pharmacist, remember?"
Noah shrugged, causing my head to roll slightly, "The aftershave is new—I got it because it reminds me of you,"
I laughed, "Manly?"
"Sexy," I hit him, throwing his arm away from me. He laughed, "no, it was called Wood Fires."
I pulled a face, "That sounds like a candle name."
He grabbed my hand, pulling me back into him, "Does it smell like a candle?" He asked, making me smile.
"A manly candle," I commented, making him laugh again. Once we got to the room, he kindly pushed me in, sending me stumbling to our table. I got weird looks, but people were suddenly distracted by Noah. He was one of those people. Much like Alex, he was charismatic and quite popular. The rest of us kind of wanted our own space; introverts, but Alex and Noah often walked through the school corridors as if they owned the place. It didn't help that Noah was particularly pretty, too.
"You enjoy them staring at you, don't you?" I asked as he sat down next to me, eyes sparkling.
He frowned at me, as if he had no idea what I was talking about, before winking, "They're staring at you."
I sighed, pulling out my textbooks. "Yeah, probably because I have millennium sized eye-bags."
Noah was poised to say something, mouth open as the teacher began the lesson. He clamped his mouth shut and slumped back in his chair as I laughed at his annoyance. Noah loved talking or flirting. Actually, he and Alex were oddly alike. It's probably why they didn't quite get along most of the time; too similar.
I zoned out at multiple points in the lesson, forcing stories into my head about my past life, just in case I got caught out. I always did this. No one but me knew that I didn't dream, and those who didn't dream were often met with consequences. It scared the life out of me, and so I reinforced a system where I would try to believe my own lies so that those who questioned them would believe them too.
As it were, my past life belonged to a blonde girl. Or maybe she was a red-head. Nonetheless, she was much like me—quiet and such, but she was a lover of art and boring things like museums and operas. I haven't decided how she died yet, but I reckon I should invent a hamster or something. No reason, really, it just seems more interesting.
Someone jabbed me, and I jumped. I turned to Noah, who had poked me. He pointed to the clock. Five minutes until our next lesson, science with Caleb and Alex. Hailey was exceptionally smart, well, at some things. She didn't try at others, yet she'd still come out unscathed—I was not as lucky.
As the second lesson bell rang, I rose from my seat and began to pack up quickly, trying to match that of Noah's pace.
When we were out of the classroom, Noah nudged me with his elbow, "To our double date we go."
I smiled, "So you're finally out of the closet?"
When I got to physics, I was laughing evilly, Noah three steps behind me.
We met Alex and Caleb at the door, Alex glancing between Noah and me suspiciously. "What happened?"
I smiled, "Noah fancies Caleb."
"Aw," Alex said, turning to Caleb, "everyone fancies Caleb, don't they?" She asked, pinching his cheeks. I smiled, looking up at Caleb who shook his head, smiling as his cheeks coloured slightly.
When the teacher invited us in, Noah tugged at my arm, "Come on, let's get the good seats for our date."
This was a solid routine for me. Go to school, pretend to be normal Isobel, Isobel with dreams, Isobel with a past life. In reality, if my friends ever found out the truth, I think they'd all run away from me, scared for their lives.
Those associated with people who don't dream garner consequences. Those who don't dream...
Those who don't dream might be killed.
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Hi and welcome to my new book :)))
It technically isn't Friday anymore in the U.K. but I had to move home from uni today bc of corona so it's been manniicccc
Anyway we don't wanna talk about that
I hope this chapter was okay bc ngl I haven't properly edited it yet, but I wanted to get it up today !!!
Let me know what u think and I hope you'll keep reading on :))
-hey I'm back ;)
FABULOUS SONGS
Songs that played when I was writing this chapter (in order):
God is a woman - Ariana Grande
Touch It - Ariana Grande
Supersonic - Fleurie
Empires - Ruelle
National Anthem - Lana Del Rey
When It's All Over - RAIGN
Beneath Your Beautiful - Labrinth
Back To The Start - Lily Allen
Waves - Dean Lewis
Echo - Foxes
END OF FABULOUS SONGS
Date written:
22/11/18 (time ago !! I was writing this around the time I was writing Her Life!)
24/11/18
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Next update: Sunday 🥳
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CHAPTER TWO SPOILER:
In her seemingly mundane life, Isobel continues through the school day as if nothing is wrong.
In reality, nothing is right.
🌙