Trials & Tribulations

Chapter 1. "What was that?"

Lauren sighed to herself as she transferred a few assorted items from her backpack into her newly assigned locker. It seemed like only yesterday that she was finishing her sophomore year of high school and eagerly anticipating the summer break. Now, weeks later, Lauren found herself back in the same, bustling and chaotic hallway which she'd first been acquainted with two years previously, preparing herself for what would inevitably be a return to another year of monotonous routine. It wasn't that Lauren didn't like school, because, in actuality, she did. Lauren loved to learn and prided herself on being a straight-A student. She enjoyed the crisp and unsoiled feel of a new book in her hands, whether it was the fictional work of an
undiscovered author or a newly assigned history textbook. She reveled in the challenge of trying to solve complex math problems liked learning about the physiological foundations of the human form, losing herself in the lives and struggles of those who had lived before her.

Knowledge is power, or so Lauren had often heard and she couldn't deny the sense of achievement that she felt when she could apply something that she'd learned to a situation in her own life, even if it was only to ensure that she consumed the recommended amount of water a day to ensure that her kidneys didn't go into failure. It wasn't the routine of school that Lauren dreaded, because actually, she thought it would be quite nice to once again have some structure to her day. Instead, it was the tedious and mundane practice of everyone returning to their assumed high school clichés and roles which Lauren couldn't stand. Lauren wouldn't have ever described herself as popular but at the same time, she wasn't ever treated like a misfit by the rest of the student population. Lauren just kind of existed in highschool, suspended somewhere between the social elite and the socially unacceptable.

Lauren felt just as comfortable having conversations with the few friends that she had on the cheerleading squad as she did with those in the school band or show choir. Perhaps that's why she never liked the customary segregation which inevitably came with the start of the school year, because for her part, Lauren didn't fit into the stereotypical cliques which every coming-of-age movie liked to portray on screen. She was happy with the person that her parents had raised her to be, someone who wasn't judgemental, who was tolerant and open-minded. Lauren didn't pick her friends based on what they could do for her social standing; she chose them because of how they could enrich her own life, because of their experiences, their intellect, their talent, and their kindness. If there was one thing which Lauren hated about the tediousness of high school, it was the ignorance and cruelty of some of those who attended it.

Lauren sighed to herself once again, closing her locker door firmly and almost finding herself flattened against it by the weight of someone pouncing on her shoulders, a small shriek of excitement erupting from their mouths as they did so. Lauren smiled to herself as she felt the weight evaporate almost as soon as it had appeared and turned around to face the unannounced intruder.

"Hey!" Normani greeted animatedly, pulling Lauren into what could only be described as an all-encompassing bear hug. "I've missed you this summer!"

"Manibear..." Lauren just about managed to vocalize, her voice almost lost with the inability to draw oxygen into her lungs due to Normani's python-like grip. Realizing she was nigh on crushing her best friend, Normani released her hold on Lauren and smiled at her apologetically.

"Sorry," she said, reaching for Lauren's hand and tugging on it gently so that it was linked with her own. "I guess I got a little bit carried away after not seeing you for the last seven weeks." Lauren laughed, bumping Normani slightly with her hip as they started to make their way down the crowded hallway together.

"It's not like I completely abandoned you." Lauren protested. "We spoke on Skype at least once a week and we text every day. You make it sound like I was away in the Arctic with no available form of communication for the entirety of my absence."