Early Bird | ✓

16 | heron

❁

Lizzy | JJ

❁

Lizzy woke with excitement, a dream of JJ dawdling in the back of her mind.  Thinking about him positioned a smile on her face just like how the moon was hung by a pair of invisible, powerful hands.  It occurred in a meadow of wheat, a large blanket bending some of the golden grasses to the ground, creating a little cove, a small haven just for the two of them.  A scrumptious picnic was spread out on the blanket; Lizzy and JJ lounged together nonchalantly and stress-free, her head resting on his shoulder and her lethargic gaze scrutinizing the cloudless sky.  Instead of staring at the sky, he was looking at her, his eyes full of admiration and something else that she couldn't decipher.

She shook her head like a wet dog after a run through rain, removing herself from that pleasant dream with reluctance.  Lizzy stood, grunting as she stretched, some of her muscles still sore from the party even though the pain was mostly assuaged.  Something about the way her room glowed from the morning sun or the way a robin greeted her with lilting tune by her window made Lizzy believe that the day was going to be a superb one.  Nothing ominous frightened her and everything was all as it should be.

The auspicious day continued breezily with her attention occupied by classes that were actually fascinating for once, a feasible amount of homework, and a general excellent mood floating through the student body like a sweet perfume.  At lunchtime, Mateo had rejoined their old lunch table along with Teagan, and Lizzy could sense only the slightest bit of tension.  Luckily, the friction was easily oiled by a few witty statements from Mateo, reminding his two friends that he remained the same companion that they'd loved and spent their valuable time with for years.  The three musketeers had reunited once more and Lizzy was overjoyed.  It was like Christmastime, every event she opened with her presence bringing about great gladness.

Of course, like any other day, this one too eddied into the toilet (although as Lizzy reflected, she guessed that it could have gone much, much worse).  Lizzy had utterly forgotten about her appointment with her guidance counselor to discuss her future plans—colleges, careers, financial situation, and the like.  She would much rather spend her free time sleeping, texting JJ, or toiling in her garden than plotting her future.  Lizzy was as spontaneous as the weather when it came to that sort of thing, flowing wherever the wind decided to take her.

Right about now, the figurative wind was leading her to the guidance counselor's office.

Lizzy loitered just outside of his door, desiring with all her heart to turn around and flee to the outdoors where the sunshine would welcome her into its loving embrace.  Her eyes skimmed over the pamphlets and booklets about colleges, financial aid, the SAT/ACT, and career options.  Other miscellaneous papers were tacked on a board alongside the school-oriented ones for curious students' benefit—a thorough book identifying sex offenders in the area, sheets listing of missing teenagers with the top one revealing a girl who lived in the middle of the United States and had only disappeared a few months ago, and some economics fact sheet recording the stocks for the year and the predictions for the next couple of months.

As Lizzy stared at these random assortments of paper, which she couldn't help but feel were a complete waste, her guidance counselor almost ran into her when he exited his office to search for her.  "Ah, there you are, Elizabeth.  Come in, come in!"  He gestured for her to enter, his arm holding the door open for her as she slipped inside reluctantly.

"Mr. Morris, you can call me Lizzy, remember?" Lizzy reminded him, quickly surveying the familiar room with his degree plaques nailed on the far wall, paperweights and pencils on his desk, and a large, wooden bookcase conquering an entire wall by itself.