Autumn Leaves and Teenage Dreams

17. A Day With You

The week between Christmas and New Year's crawls at a snail's pace. It's a strange limbo, where seven days feels like a year, and all I do is wait for the new year to arrive so that I may inevitably return to school. Unfortunately, this is the time when most of my friends are out of town, with some coming home from their Christmas excursions and others heading off to another destination for New Year's. The last week of December is the week In which I almost desire to go back to school just to end the boredom that infiltrates my household during this time.

The musical cacophony of my phone's ringtone wakes me up in the morning. I let out a groan and move my arm over my eyes, shielding them from the bright light. Another downside of this part of break is that I sleep far too long and far too late into the day. I silently curse myself for not silencing my phone, but I figure whoever is calling has probably made a good alarm.

I blink a few times and reach for my blaring phone. At the sight of the name on the screen, I let out a shriek of panic and nearly drop the phone before I answer.

"Hello?" I say, trying to mask the grogginess of my voice.

"Did you just wake up?" she asks.

I lean back onto my heels and clear my throat. "Oh, uh, well, yeah," I say, glancing at my alarm clock to see it's already eleven in the morning. There's a pause, and I wait for Aurora to say something, anything. I'm too groggy to really make sense of what is going on at this moment, and perhaps that's for the better.

"Listen, I'm bored out of my mind," Aurora begins.

"Same here," I murmur.

"Do you want to spend the day together, then? The ice skating rink nearby should still be open, and we can even get lunch at the café near there."

I nearly bite my tongue as I trip over my own words. "S-Sure. Yeah."

"Pick you up in an hour?"

"Wait, I'll drive!" I say. I feel enough awake to at least suggest that.

"You sure?"

"Well, you drove last time, and you don't have your own car. It's fine. I've barely used any gas this break."

"Okay, then. See you in an hour?"

"Okay," I say. I end the call and lay back on my bed, holding in a scream. A day out with Aurora! My heart races at the thought of it, but I also find myself growing nervous. It has been a while since the last time we were alone in each other's company, and I'm already growing worried that I'll devolve into an anxious mess. Finals at least prevented me from seeing her and growing antsy, but now, I have no distraction.

Despite the stress, I smile and hug my pillow to my chest. This week has been boring, and I would be lying if I said I didn't spent the majority of my free time pining and imagining circumstances in my head that I know will never exist. Once or twice, I nearly picked up my phone and considered sending a quick text, but I could never find the willpower to go through with it. A part of me wonders if Aurora was doing the same and today she finally had the courage to reach out. In reality, I suspect she really is just as bored as she says and her other friends are busy.

It suddenly dawns on me that I need to be ready to pick up Aurora in an hour. I flee out of my bedroom and rush to the bathroom. Somehow or other, I manage to take a shower, put on a bit of make-up and a semi-decent outfit, as well as eat a small breakfast before I grab my keys. My parents are already at work for the day. As I depart, I tell Olivia and Oliver that I'm going out with a friend and they should try not to burn the house down.

My fingers are trembling when I pull up to Aurora's house. I text her that I'm outside and linger a few moments, wondering if I should head up to her doorstep or honk. Would it be rude to honk? But what if her parents are inside and I'm forced into small talk? Thankfully, the door opens before I have to make a decision, and Aurora descends her porch stairs. She wears black boots, black pants, and a cozy-looking green petticoat. I don't understand how anyone attending St. Joseph's can have any fashion sense after wearing uniforms every day, but her outfit still manages to take my breath away.