Her World

Chapter Two

    Beep beep. Beep beep.
    River yawned and rolled over, drowsily hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock. Tucker had already climbed out of the bed, and cold air crept under the covers, causing River to shiver. She quickly rolled out of bed and slipped a hoodie on over her pajamas before heading downstairs.
    After days of feeling weak from her dissipated illness she finally felt more energized. After school she would be able to go out in the forest to her world and have some time to herself. She only hoped her mother wouldn't change her mind about letting her go. It was then when she read a text that popped up on her phone screen.
    I'll be home late today. If you go for a walk take Tucker with you. Love you.
    River quickly sent a short text back before making her way to the kitchen to grab a poptart for breakfast. Tucker was already waiting by his food bowl, whining softly as he gazed up at the girl. "Hungry?" she asked, to which he replied with a bark and a tilted head.
    "Alright, just a minute boy," she said gently, popping open the poptart and slipping it into the toaster. After doing this she made her way into the mud room to scoop out some kibble for the dog. When he caught scent of the food, his tail began to wag excitedly. Within a moment of it hitting the bowl, he buried his muzzle into it.
    "You really were hungry," River laughed. As her stomach growled, she added, "and you're not the only one."
    As if on cue, the toaster dinged and the poptart pushed up, steaming from the heat. Careful not to burn herself, River removed it and dropped it onto a plate to cool. It didn't take long, and she ate it within a few minutes. When she finished, she put her plate in the sink and went to the cabinet to get a glass to fill with milk. It only took her a second to finish it and add the glass to the collection of dishes.
    She spent the next thirty minutes preparing for school; getting dressed, packing lunch, cleaning up. By then, it was only an hour until class started, and she put a clean sweatshirt on before heading outside. She would've had plenty of time to wait, but she planned to go to the school's library and read for a few minutes before she had to go to class. It was something she did often, being quite the bookworm. Other than nature, books were her favorite thing on the face of the earth. She loved to read and had since she was a little girl when her dad would read to her at night.
    She frowned slightly at the thought of her father, but it disappeared quickly as she walked to school. The sun was barely up, and a cold breeze hit her as she followed the sidewalk, but she enjoyed being outside. Yesterday she had got a ride to school, and this was the first time she had been out more than a few minutes in a week. The cold didn't bother her, and she longed to stay outside, but she couldn't. As soon as she reached the schoolyard she was to go inside for safety reasons.
    Just eight hours, she told herself. You'll survive.
    Keeping that thought in mind, River entered the school. Not many people were there yet, it still be quite early, and it was almost silent in the halls as she walked to the library. Only a couple of her classmates were there - none were her close friends - so she made her way to the back of the room and sat at a table close to the window, pulled out her book, and flipped it open to the page she had left off on.
    As she read, she relaxed. For the first time in what seemed like forever she felt relieved of stress. The rest of the world faded out, and all there was was her and the book. Nothing else remained in her mind. It seemed as if time was passing by slowly, and she could've stayed in that spot for hours. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. After she had finished only a few chapters, the warning bell rang. With an exaggerated sigh, she marked the page and put the book away.
    Slinging her bag onto her back, River stood and walked out the library door into the halls, heading for her first class of the day. As much as she dreaded it, she was somewhat glad to be back. Now she wouldn't have to worry about getting caught up, and she would only have the normal amount of stress. When she had free time, she could talk to Lily or read instead of rushing to finish her extra homework. Things would be back to normal now, and that was a great feeling.
    "Hey River."
    River looked up to see that Lily was already sitting in the seat next to hers. "Hey Lily," she replied with a smile. "How are you?"
    "I'm great! How about you? Get that work done last night?"
    "Yeah. Mom wouldn't let me go out so I had plenty of time to get it finished. Tuck wasn't too happy about it, but he'll survive. I plan to take him on a walk as soon as I get home."
    Lily chuckled softly and nodded. "That dog wouldn't know what to do without getting attention every day. You have him pampered."
    River started to reply but was cut off by the sound of the tardy bell and knew that it was time to be quiet. Her teacher wasn't too strict, but she didn't want to be disrespectful like many of the others in the class. "We can talk later," she whispered. "I beg to differ."
    Lily simply nodded, scribbling down the answer to the bell ringer on her paper. River did the same after pulling out her makeup work and placing it on the corner of the desk in case the teacher came by. They were meant to put it in a bin to turn it in, but in the past he had picked it up if a student had it laying out when he walked around the class to save them the trouble.
    Today that was what happened. He took the work from her desk, smiling at her but not saying a word, and took it back to his own desk. She smiled to him before returning to her work, not wanting to fall behind again. Surprisingly, she understand what they were learning, and she didn't feel too bad about missing so many days. Yesterday had been full of stress and worry, but today seemed better.
    Maybe today won't be so bad.