Nothing's Fine

• 1: Forest Green •

Charlie

Monday morning. No one's favourite day of the week. The day that begins with a jarring alarm that is a stark comparison to Sunday's lazy sleep in. Or, it should have.

I dashed down the stairs in dark skinny jeans, and a green long-sleeved top, backpack slung over my shoulder and then into the kitchen. I was running late for school which started in a half an hour.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I groaned as I grabbed a granola bar and poured myself coffee in my travel cup. Lorraine laughed, taking a bite of her cream cheese covered bagel.

"I was trying to avoid a pillow to the face," she grinned. Lorraine was almost three years older than me and in her third year at the University of British Columbia. Her mom was the one who brought me in and adopted me three years ago.

Linda Wilson. An older version of the twenty-year-old standing in front of me. They were similar in a lot of ways. Besides both having light blue eyes and light brown hair, they were both selfless, fun-loving and kind. Linda's husband, Jay was also pretty great.

"That's fair," I said, giving her a half smile. Lorraine was much cheerier than I was, especially in the morning. "Can you give me a ride to school? I'd run, but it's raining."

I usually liked the rain, and if I wasn't running late, I'd take the fifteen-minute walk to school with an umbrella. But, running without it would mean getting soaked and it wasn't fun to spend the day in wet clothes.

"You're just lucky you're on the way to UBC..." Lorraine said, tossing her plate into the sink. "Let's go!"

***

I slipped into English class a few moments after the bell had rang, making heads turn as my damp sneakers squeaked against the tiles. Both my socks and my reddish-brown hair was a little damp from the run to and from the car, but that wasn't unusual for a Vancouver school morning.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Tiffany Richards sneered as I passed by her. "A sewer rat." A few people chuckled beside her at my expense and I stopped mid-stride.

"Did you use all three brain cells to think of that one?" I retorted. Her ice blue eyes hardened as students within earshot snickered. Mr. Morrison gave me a look, and I rushed to my seat to avoid a lecture on being tardy.

"How did you manage to be late? It's the second week of school!" The voice was musical but hushed and came from beside me. While I had the misfortune of being in the same class as Tiffany Richards, the universe balanced it out by putting my best friend in it too.

Emery Young and I became fast friends when I moved into the Wilson household the summer before high school. She lived in the house right behind me, waved from her deck when she saw me for the first time, and the rest was history. Her outgoing and sarcastic personality seemed to be just what my introverted and equally sarcastic one needed. While Emery was much more of a sunshine, girly-girl than me, we just seemed to work. Like peanut butter and jelly.

"If there's a will, there's a way," I whispered, making a wide smirk dance across the features of her pretty face. Her pink lips pulled up at the corners. Her dark brown eyes glimmering with humour, that seemed to bring a glow to her pale skin.

"Alright, class. Today we're going to start talking about literary devices..." Mr. Morrison started. I opened my notebook up and began doodling in the corner as I listened.

***

The bell rang relieving everyone from their boredom. Hasty to get to their next class – or at the very least, leave this one – my fellow students rushed out of their seats and into the hallway. Emery and I, on the other hand, weren't in a rush, and slowly gathered our things.