The Explorer's Apprentice

5:The Girl in the Rainbow Sweater

I thought this song(to the right)fit Abby's personality. Enjoy.:)

Abby Bronte

Abby’s day is over before it starts. The moment she’s handed her schedule, printed thoughtfully on Pepto Bismol-pink paper, she knows her grade is done for. She’s been hoping for something nice and easy to start the day off with – maybe drama, or music – something that comes to her naturally so that she has a whole period to get her brain started up before doing anything that required hard thinking.

Pre-Calculus… Room 201… Ms. Gina Howl…

If Abby was allowed to take drama every period of the day, she would. She wouldn’t even mind skipping lunch. It takes real talent to recite Shakespeare while eating a peanut butter sandwich. If she isn’t already grumpy about having to wake up three hours earlier than usual to catch the bus, pre-calc first period puts the icing on the petulant cake.

Abby’s backpack weighs a ton, and slams on the floor with a loud WHUMP as she slides it off her back. She winces, but the teacher doesn’t even look up, probably deafened by the sound of thirty other kids dropping their own mammoth book bags. WHUMP. Abby can’t complain too much though. She may have to struggle through pre-calc, but at least Isabelle is there to do it with her. Abby gives her closest friend a smile and a small wave as Belle scoots into the seat beside her. “Hey. Tired?”

“Very,” Abby replies, half-collapsing onto her desk. Her tussled dark hair spreads out around her. Her hair, she knows, was never one of her most attractive traits. It's always messy and knotted and she can never seem to find the time to fix it. Mornings, for example, always give a girl two choices: fifteen extra minutes to brush their hair, or fifteen extra minutes to sleep.

Abby always opted for sleep.

She can just see the clock from under her elbow. “You’re early. Where’s Jamie? No, wait.” Abby sits up and winces, remembering. “Suspended again, right? For what happened last weekend? I mean, come on. It’s the first day of school.”

“So unfair, right?” Isabelle laments, totally missing Abby’s sarcasm. “Can you believe they would think Jamie robbed a convenience store and stole alcohol? I know he’s innocent. He’s not like that.”

“Well,” Abby says carefully, bringing in the poison of truth with gentleness. “Those guys he hangs out with… I’m just saying, maybe he didn’t steal it, but if they—”

“He’s not like that!”

The outburst makes Abby jump. Even the girl in front of her, an unfamiliar girl with bright red hair, turns slightly in surprise, muttering something that sounds like “Jamie” and “thief”.

Startled by her friend’s razor-edged glare, Abby drops it. “Anyway, is he going to be able to pick you up from school?” she asks, pretending to be preoccupied with her pockmarked desk.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Isabelle shrugs, a little too quickly. The ice from her look is gone. “Why should I know? I mean, he dropped me off, and here I am. I didn’t bother him with questions. I assume he’ll be there. Why all this talk about Jamie? What about me? Aren’t you happy to see me? What a horrible first day of school! I’m dying! Dying…” She buries her head in her arm dramatically, pretending to cry, but Abby knows it’s just to hide a blush.

Abby can’t say for sure when it had happened, or even if it had happened all at once like lightning, or gradually, like lung disease. All she knows is that over this past summer, it’s gotten worse. It started with missed phone calls and lame excuses, but progressed into bad jokes, a sudden concern about appearance, and a 25% increase in nervous laughter. “‘I’m sorry I didn’t build you a stronger ship, young Rose,’” she quotes, giving Isabelle a good poke. Abby supposes she has nothing against Jamie. He’s obviously good-looking, but he doesn’t use it to benefit himself in any way. He’s charismatic. He can have any girl he wants, but he doesn’t, and it’s all a bit of a mystery. Jamie’s choice of friends is questionable, but as far as Abby can tell, they didn’t influence his rock-solid sense of reason. If Isabelle is going to fall in love with anyone, Abby is glad it’s Isabelle’s best friend.