DAYBREAK ᵇⁿʰᵃ

¹ DREAMER

───CHAPTER 01───

"Just another minute."

A groan left her mouth when the covers are ripped off her, and her face scrunched up in annoyance at the harsh light that beamed down from her shared window. Her lips twitched downward as she took her pillow and smothered herself, all the while a musical laugh came from the end of her bed.

"I already gave you ten, Rai," the girl chimed. Something elastic wrapped around Rai's pillow. Her roommate smirked wickedly at her.

Their gazes never waver from one another, the other girl's appearance mocking yet confident. In defeat, Rai threw her legs over the bed and slouched.

"At least I tried," she joked. Her roommate, on the other hand, nodded and tossed the pillow back.

As she listened to her footsteps grow farther, Rai's attention is then captured by her window. It was relatively large and arched at the top, glass scaling the entirety of the back wall. It gave her and her roommate the best view of the city outside the school walls, distant traffic and the beating of birds' wings faint yet present. The ivy on the walls climbed the length of it bricks effortlessly, the flower beds below it recently planted. Spring has finally arrived at Rosemont, as well as the eager reporters the city had to offer.

Intrusive bodies crowd led the front of the steel-wired gate, rolling cameras and dolled-up reporters with painted lips preparing to face the media. The soft shutters of long-range lenses are easily ignored, a daily occurrence to anyone who lived here. Despite it being Friday, the people below the gate seemed chattier than normal, and the streets filled with more cars and eager pedestrians.

"Here." She places a cup of coffee on Rai's night table. "Today is going to be a long one."

Her attention teared away from the window, Rai's clammy hands reached for the cool cup of coffee.

"Thank you," she mumbles.

Her roommate nodded in response already in her school uniform. "The bell is going to ring in fifteen minutes," she reminds her. "You should probably get dressed."

"Maybe I'll skip," Rai hums soundly. "I have the impression that people are going to be more annoying than usual today."

She didn't bother with a comment, a swift wrinkle of her nose as she turned her back to Rai. Her best friend walked around their dorm casually to put on her shoes, and Rai's eyes followed her movements as she sips her cold coffee in bliss. Her roommate pushed her thick locs behind her back, her violet eyes scanning the area as she rubbed her bare wrist.