Important:
In this chapter, there is mention of anxiety and depression. The things mentioned are not at all meant to describe everyone who has experienced this. The thoughts or things mentioned are only from my point of view or thoughts which have then been edited to fit the characters and the situation. This is a fiction story, and though the setting and world are fictional, the issues are very much real. Please know that it is not my intention to disregard the importance or impact that these may have on a person. That being said, if you feel as if that is what is coming across or feel as though I did not describe it in the best possible way, please feel free to contact me.
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I wake up in shock, confused about the dream. I don't know where I was, but it seemed like I had been there before. Sitting up, I look at my clock where bright red numbers glare back that it's 7:48. Cursing, I jump out of bed and get ready as quick as possible, throwing a beanie on to try and conceal my messy hair at least until lunch when I can fix it. Shoving stuff in my bag, I sprint out the door 5 minutes later and keep running until I see Ruby and Andrew holding hands in the distance. I slow down to a walk and stay a few feet behind them. The tardy bell doesn't ring until 8:15, but it's at least a 10-minute walk if the weather is reasonable and you take the right shortcuts. We usually don't head to school until 7:50 anyway, but Andrew must have met Ruby outside and decided to leave early. Walking behind them now, I am thinking the same thing I was when Mia and Skylar met; they will be alright.
The front of the school comes into view, and upon entering the school, the buzz and the energy of the first floor, the underclassmen floor, makes its way through me; the PDA by the lockers, the dramatic arguments coming from the halls about someone cheating with their best friend, the students who don't care anymore and are ready for summer. The feeling is consistent. Every graduating class that enters in the fall conforms in a matter of days. My class did it, Andrew and Ruby's class did it, and we won't be the last. Being the only high school in Valmont, the energy that flows stays no matter the class.
As the two head toward their lockers down the office hallway, I head up the stairs toward the upperclassmen floor, consisting of juniors and seniors. The energy up here is a little different. Senioritis runs strong among those who have worked well through the past three years mixed with the worry from the other half of the student body, who have done nothing until now. I walk down the hall to the right of the stairs toward my locker, not paying attention until I get to my locker and find Jake is shutting his, looking around frantically.
"Hey, what's up?" I ask.
"Lily, please, please, please let me copy your history homework," he says, fear and guilt swirl as he looks at me, "Please. We are almost done, and you know how Mr. Rose gets when homework isn't done," he begs.
"Fine, you have 5 minutes." I sigh, handing over the assignment.
As he sits on the ground by our lockers to fill the sheet out, Mia comes walking up.
"Hey, where's Skylar?" I ask
"Counselor's office, he had a question about graduation or something," she says, waving it off.
We continue to talk until the first bell rings, Mia heads to English while Jake and I make our way to history. We sit down just as the second bell chimes and Mr. Rose collects the homework before continuing to lecture about the Threads' history. He mentioned that we would learn about it, even though everyone knows all there is to know about them and the Counters' history. I pay attention for about the first half of the class, then turn and stare out the window for the last half. I look at the forest that extends beyond the Walls of Valmont. The school sits right on the edge of the city. Even though you can't cross the Wall without specific permission, the school is just tall enough that you can see over the Wall. Looking at it now, something about the way the trees sit seems familiar.
Not just "looking at it every day" familiar, but in another way, it feels like the same treetops that I see now were similar to my dream; it gives the same feeling of peace as well. It was just a dream and doesn't mean that much, but, weirdly, I can't seem to take my eyes off the view. Only when Jake comes over and shakes my shoulder do I realize that class has ended. As I walk to my next class, I come to the rational conclusion that the only reason that the forest in my dream was similar to the one outside Rose's room is that I have looked out that same window for the past nine months.
That is the only conclusion I can come up with, though. I've never seen that building before, but it was like I knew exactly where to go and where everything was. My body moved on its own, and my brain had no say in the matter. Even when I went down the last flight of stairs, I could not only see in the dark, but I heard and felt everything, from that scratching on the crate to the cold of the stone floor under my feet. It was like I was there, but I know I wasn't. I had all of my senses and could still think rationally, but my body wouldn't divert from a predetermined path. I would say that it was just another dream, but I have never had a dream in my life that had felt like that, had felt that...real.
Only when Skylar taps on my shoulder during passing after gym do I realize that it was already lunch and I had gone through all my morning classes on autopilot.
"Earth to Lily. What's up with you? Mia said she tried calling you in passing, but you were like a zombie. You feeling ok?" he asks.
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm good. Just out of it this morning. Sorry," I say, shaking my head to break the trance.
We continue down the hall toward the lunchroom when we pass the office and see a large guy in his mid-thirties in a black suit waving his arms around like crazy and yelling at the secretary. He busts out the door past us and out of the school, hopping into a fancy-looking black car with tinted windows.
"What do you think that was about?" Sky asks
"Don't know, but the car says some random Elite who is trying to bribe the school into letting their child pass the school year."
"That's oddly specific," he stares at me with confusion surfacing in his eyes.
I shrug, "It happens more than you think. I've seen at least two, him not included, in the past month."
He contemplates this as we meet up with Mia at the bottom of the staircase, talking the ear off of a shy Ruby. As we drag Mia away and wave goodbye to Ruby, Andrew appears from around the corner, and excitement lights up his eyes when he sees her waiting. I watch them walk down the hall toward the gym and art classes hand in hand, both blushing, as the three of us walk into the already crowded and noisy cafeteria.
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