the Fragment Chronicles: Katherine [Rewriting] ⊸

Prologue

FEBRUARY 2009

Walter was ready for a nice glass of chocolate milk and a good night sleep. He counted how many stops her had left on the bus until he'd arrived at his. He lived a routine life; wake up, get on the bus, go to class, go to the library, go to work, get back on the bus and go home. His life was anything but extraordinary.

At the seventh stop, he pulled out his iPod and began scrolling through his recent playlist to pick a song, when he felt someone plop down in the seat next to him. He glanced up to see a wave of bubblegum pink hair as the girl scrambled to pick up her paint brushes and notebooks that'd clumsily fallen onto her lap.

She brushed her hair behind her left ear, where Walter caught a glimpse of a small Deathly Hallows tattoo rested on her neck. Her eyeliner was a smudged under her eyes where her bags lied, several shades darker than her olive toned skin. The pink hair didn't suit her natural complexion, but Walter wasn't gonna point it out.

She eyed him once she put her belongings messily back into her bag. Walter fidgeted to readjust his ankle on his opposite knee and pick a song, looking down at the book in his hand.

"That's the worst book in the entire series," Walter heard the girl with the bubblegum pink hair speak. He didn't think her voice would sound like that; smooth and practical. Walter took a glance around the bus and noticed that there were plenty of seats available. To this day, he still wondered why she sat next to him.

"Excuse me?"

The girl had big brown doe eyes, Walter's personal favorite — now at least. She squinted, analyzing his face, admiring his flaws before taking a small pocket book out of her flannel and scribbling onto a fresh page. "Y'know your head's too big? You have broad shoulders."

Walter blinked, "What?"

"Have you ever noticed that the ball of people's nose mimics their head shape? Because yours does that too. If my calculations are correct, it has occurred amongst eighty-two percent of the people I have socialized with — well, every since I made that discovery at least."

The bus came to a halt. Two more stops, Walt, you can do this and you'll never have to see her again, his voice rang in his head.

"You don't like me do you?" He heard the girl speak again. The corner of her lips curled into a smirk.

"I don't even know you," Walter raised his brow.

She placed her bag in her lap and began rummaging through her belongings, only to grab and uncap a jumbo Sharpie and write on her palm. Capping the marker, she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you ... ?"

She wanted him to shake it. "But you just — "

"What's the fun in meeting someone if it won't turn into a quirky storytime?" She asked, her mouth grinning.

Walter shrugged and shook her hand, leaving ink on his palm. He managed to read the distorted letters, "Karen?"

"Katherine," The bright haired girl corrected.

"I'm Walt," he introduced.

"Like Walt Disney?"

Her response made Walter question her age, nowadays the thirteen year olds looked twenty five, and the twenty year olds looked fifteen. "I dunno, I never asked."

She nodded and faced away from him. "So..." she drew out. "You like Harry Potter."

Walter saw her eyes motion towards the book she was insulting when she sat down. "Uh, yeah. I'm a huge Potterhead."