Fish of Oblivion
Guardian Angel Haruki
SkyeOfStars
redrootssss
Altered TundraThe morning after the carnival had gone much more smoothly. She had gotten up on time, showered as planned, and this time had enough time to properly put on makeup before getting dressed. She certainly looked better today, she decided as she slid on her sunglasses. It was hard to say for sure if her classmates would notice, but it certainly added a spring to her step as she went downstairs for breakfast. Nikki grumpily stirred his cereal as Selene grabbed the bad of caramels, kissed her parents goodbye, and then headed off to the high school. It had been a bit of a mild surprise, finding the schedule in the mailbox upon reaching home, but it was not unexpected. The carnival could not last forever, after all, and one day was fine by her. She had gotten to go home with a stuffed tiger in the end and a plate of funnel cake (which she had also bought for Amelia, unsure of if the girl ever had any before). It had been a fine way to end the summer holidays and ease the new students into the school year.
Though homeroom was pushing it a tad, Selene thought as she stared at the box of markers Mrs. Wayne had left on the table up front. She shrugged, picking a deep purple marker and wrote her name on the paper with a heart added into the curve of the 'S'. If they were doing this, may as well go all the way. She wasn't much of an artist, despite having signed up for the Art class, so that would be as creative as she got. The nice thing was, though, few people were really artistic. Sure, Nikki used to be but not so much anymore. This would do, she was sure. Selene, now, didn't know much about Mrs. Wayne, but she hadn't heard the name spoken back in 8th grade when the students were all gossiping about what high school would be like. Was she new?
And this would be homeroom for the next four years. Well, time to get busy. She obeyed as Mrs. Wayne instructed the class to crumple up their papers and then try to reflatten them. It wasn't possible, though, just a reminder of the power of words. Selene knew how badly words could hurt. She still felt the sting years later. Hopefully, high school would pass by much more peacefully than elementary school had.
And yet another activity - sharing lies and truths. Selene paid rapt attention, giving a quick wave to the first two up - of course, the two she had already met but didn't exactly know personally. So Nathaniel had lived in Japan thanks to his dad, and Wynona played guitar. Interesting. Amelia was up next - and boy, what bombshells she dropped. Selene filed away the facts for later consideration, and possible planning of a brief talk with Amelia - just her sympathies, if Amelia needed anything from here she was glad to oblige - instead to try to figure out the lie. The bit about her father explained some of her behavior yesterday. So, flute or working?
Selene raised her hand. "Um, sorry if I'm wrong - but you're the same age as the rest of us. You haven't been working for seven years...have you?" She tried to keep her voice soft. After all, there was a chance she was wrong, and certainly sounding accusing then would be quite mean of her.
Selene tried to avoid 'mean'.
