The Fractured Barrier

0.1 - Another Day

  It's pretty dark outside. I think I should probably retreat inside, but I, like the "rebel" I am, remain lying on the cold, rough grass, gazing at the stars. The night is peaceful. The crickets softly chirp a lullaby, the leaves of trees rustle softly, acting as the metronome to nature's symphony. I never want this to end...

  But unfortunately, I already know what'll happen. Any second now, my-

  Beep! Beep! Beep!

  As if on queue, my alarm clock starts blaring into my ears. My eyes remaining closed, I flail my right arm about, fumbling until my hand finds the top of my clock and turn off the wake-up call. I roll out of bed, trying to keep quiet to avoid waking up my mom. Instead of catching myself as I intended to do, I accidentally let myself fall onto the floor. "Oof..." I rub the side of my temple. That's gonna leave a mark. However, I just push my thoughts to the side and stand up, after all, it would be a shame to be late to school. As much as any teenager my age despises the prison cages adults call "education," I'll have to finish school eventually anyway, so I might as well get over with it now instead of working at McDonald's later in life.

  I wander over to my desk, where I laid out an outfit on the chair for today. I always think to myself, I'm going to plan an outfit now so I can look like I'm not a zombie tomorrow, but even when I do try to plan an outfit, I'm always too tired to put effort into how I look the next morning. I might as well accept the fact that nothing will stop me from looking like I haven't slept since 1800 A.D. 

  Today, I just threw on a gray-green hoodie and some skinny jeans, knowing that it'll suffice. I run down the stairs, stuff a Ziploc bag with Cheerios, shimmy my backpack over one shoulder, and make my way into the outside world.

  The walk to my school has always been a long one. From where my mother and I reside, it usually takes 5 minutes by driving (if I'm lucky and my mom is awake), and 15 to 20 minutes by walking. However, the walk to school is never boring nowadays, now that I have...

  I stop in my tracks, a smirk on my face. Someone is creeping up behind me, they make it way too obvious. They're being too loud with their footsteps, and I can hear their breathing and their attempt at stifling a laughter. But before they can jump on my back, I put my hand up, letting my friend know that I can hear her. She lets out her long-postponed laugh, before sighing.

  "Damn, Wren, you always get me. How do you do it?"

  I shrug, as if to say, What can I say, I'm a natural. I don't find her question too important, so I decide that it was meant to be rhetorical, and don't say anything back to her.

  "Man, not even a 'Hey, Emika'? That's cold, man," she says, winking at me. I merely tilt my head towards Emika and grin.

  I've always been a quiet person. I'm not mute, as many of my classmates have been lead to believe. However, I just find that it's not usually necessary to talk, so I don't say anything if I don't need to. Besides, I've never really liked my voice. People tell me that they mistake me for a boy over the phone or in a recording. Emika doesn't mind that I don't speak often, and she doesn't get mad about it, but she sometimes teases me about it, in a nice way. Now that I think about it, I don't think she's ever heard my voice before.

  Before I can continue my thoughts, I realize that we've arrived at the school gates. Emika usually goes to speak to another group of friends in the morning, so we wave to each other and go our separate ways. I decide it's probably best to just go to homeroom early, since I need to cram for my geography test. 

  I meander into my classroom. I'm surprised the door is unlocked, no one else is in here at the moment, not even the teacher. Well, not my fault if we end up having security "issues" because my teacher can't remember to lock shit. I slide into my desk, set my notebook and textbook onto the desk, and start the race against time.