CREATIVE CHAOTIC MINDS

𝟎𝟔. 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓?

It was miserable at the bus stop. The rain had barely eased up, the heavy downpour daggers shooting at the pavement, puddles like little lakes gathering on the concrete. The road seemed full of cars - everyone was getting picked up but Quinn, they supposed - while they stood waiting windswept in the thin raincoat they'd shoved into their bag on the way out of the house, lonely and getting colder.

Eventually the bus finally arrived, and they stepped on. There was a slew of old people inside, staring Quinn down with their beady little eyes, but they ignored their pinprick gazes and took a seat, popping earphones in. The bus began driving down the boring town roads, and they slipped away into thought.

What had that been about? Amethyst had seemed so nice, and they knew Vinnie was a friend, they had been so upbeat and kind - so, what was this? There was history. There was something afoot.

Now that they thought of it, Aura had ignored them the whole botany lesson. They'd thought she would've talked, in that delicate smooth way she did - but she hadn't even looked at Quinn once - they hadn't paid much attention to her either - with a gulp, they thought further - maybe they'd pissed her off - maybe asking about the flask had been too much -

The flask. What the hell was that about?

Strange. It hadn't been juice. Nor wine. If Quinn had to say what it was...
No, it can't have been. Perhaps it was just some kind of... smoothie, the way it stained her mouth red...

Maybe they'd ask tomorrow, but it felt like none of their business.

Before Quinn could question it further, the bus reached the stop. They stepped off, and onto the pavement - foot right in a puddle. They slipped, landing face first in it, bag spilling open. The bus was already gone (and they could swear the bus driver hated them). They got to their knees and started scooping everything up. The sketchbook had survived, but their pencil case had spilled open - oops, they'd taken Raven's pencil. As Quinn picked it up, a shiver shot down their spine - and they realised - Raven had been strange too. They'd been not quite there, Quinn noted, as they picked up the rest of their stuff. Thankfully, only their lunchbox and some pencils had landed in the puddle. Nothing permanently water damaged.

But Raven hadn't gotten wet either - Quinn had seen them leaving, suspiciously dry, hair entirely dry and floating behind them - slowly. Too slowly. It was... strange, to say the least. Perhaps Quinn just needed some sleep after the excitement of making new friends.

As they got up, the rain continued, growing only stronger. An umbrella like Echo's would be good now, they noted. That was a massive umbrella, they could fit all their new friends under that. Which was... strange. Was Echo afraid of water, maybe? To think about it, she expertly dodged that puddle too. If only Quinn had been that good at dodging puddles too, maybe they wouldn't be soaked through to the bone like they were now, they thought, with a slight despondent chuckle.

Quinn's new friends were... weird. They stood out from the rest of the students in some imperceptible way, and not just that they were the people they happened to end up with. They were different, somehow.

And they'd been so weird about monsters...

Could they be? 
Surely not. They were making things up, Quinn had heard monsters terrorised this town a lot, surely they wouldn't get into the school?
Maybe they were just worried that Quinn was one.

They were outside their house now. Quinn stepped up to the door, and unlocked it, both parents at work, and slung their bag and dripping coat over the radiator to dry, before heading up to their room. They collapsed into the desk chair, and yawned. Today had been long and confusing, but it'd been good, too. The school was nice, and they'd made new.. friends.

Hopefully tomorrow would be just as good.

..and provide some answers.

Little did they know, it'd provide a lot more than that.