Cherry Blossoms in Winter

Chapter III: Cake

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            Every morning when my alarm rang I died a little more inside, and even hoped for my death to appear just a little faster. Sometimes it felt unbearable that I was forced to go through another day against my will. I didn't exactly choose to be here, but it is what it is. I rubbed a hand through my hair before reaching over to shut off my alarm. 

          I could instantly tell how cold my room was when I reached my hand out to shut it off. I sat in my bed in silence for about four minutes before actually getting up. My uniform was already laid out on my desk, my headphones charged, and all I had to do was shower. I opened the curtains a peek to look outside, the skyline was covered in a thick fog that settled close to the ground. 

         After my shower I got dressed and pulled my hair back. My hair was one of the things I was proud of, it reached my waist due to years of never cutting it against my parents approval and biotin. My nails had also grown pretty long and I kept them neatly shapen into a skinny almond shape. I put some concealer under my eyes to hide my dark circles and finally made my way downstairs. It was my fourth day at Baudelaire and I had my routine down pretty well.

        My parents were nowhere to be found when I left, the doorwoman said bye to me on my way out. She was always very nice to me even checking up on me from time to time. I took my five minute walk to Grand Central station and looked for the least crowded car. But as one would expect the subway was always busy in the dead of morning. I saw business men with suits, nurses, students, anyone you could think of. 

       The ride took about twenty minutes and I was around fifteen minutes early to school. When I entered class most of my classmates were seated. I sat in my normal seat and stared mindlessly at the front of the room.

      "Thanks for waking me up that one day. I probably would've been there till lunch." A voice spoke from beside me. It was the boy from the first day. His hair was sticking out in all directions and his hand was stuck out for me to shake.

       "My name is Lixin." He had an uneven smile and his voice had a light lilt to it.

       "So-hee." I shook his hand.

       "And to express my gratitude I'd like to offer my friendship." Lixin explained, his hands clasping together like he was actually offering me something of value.

       A laugh escaped my lips as I watched him cautiously, what an odd guy. 

        "You don't seem eager to except, look I saw you hanging out with Aanya, Emiene, and Rosalie. I think I'm much better company." Lixin watched me back, both of us staring blankly for a second. 

        I paused before answering, warning signs blinking in my head. "Wait, is there something wrong with them?"

       I asked the question with genuine worry.