Thristy for us

Later that night, I’m sitting at my desk in our room working for school when Miranda comes in. All luck alone this time, without that boy of hers who’s been a little too present for me lately.

She grabs some stuff in a bag and comes over to me, looking over my shoulder at the essay I’m writing. “I would do this like this,” she says pointing to two paragraphs that I immediately change and look at her gratefully before walking out the door, still just saying that she’s sleeping with Wyat tonight. Again, can't Wyat sleep alone for one night?

Sighing to myself as I retreat to the bathroom to do my daily tasks, like taking off makeup, brushing my teeth, and changing clothes. Then I decide to get into my bed early, turn off the light next to me on the nightstand, and fall into a deep sleep.

I look around me suddenly. All I see is a forest, and all I smell are the pine trees around me. The trees that are near our mansion, the ones I would always recognize the smell of. Then I am startled by a growl. A little further away from me, a white dog with a twinkle in its eye is looking at me. I should be feeling scared or having the urge to run away. Actually, I am running toward the dog. Suddenly he sprints away as I try to keep up with him at a speed that cannot belong to a human until I lose the animal and look around in the middle of the forest. I hear a rustling sound from my right side, which immediately gives me goosebumps on the back of my neck because of the wind that starts to pick up. Between two trees I see a dark figure standing looking at me. A dark figure that I cannot recognize because it is so dark in the forest at this hour. Normally it is always lighter, but now it even seems that the moon has been extinguished and everything is shrouded in a black haze. The figure with two yellow orbs that light up in the darkness is coming closer to me.

Panting, I shoot awake in my bed. I snap on the light and look around me. Everything felt so real, I still feel like I’m in the woods, though I look around me and see the room where I went to sleep that night. After finally calming my heart from this so vivid dream, I fall back asleep. This time I can no longer perceive dreams and finally relax.

In the morning when my alarm clock goes off. I let out an exasperated sigh as I felt so tired again. It’s like I walked for hours this night and slept nothing. Even my limbs feel sore and overtired. Five minutes later, Miranda comes in with her key and grabs some books off her desk as she tries to leave the room, but before she does, she casts a single glance at me. “Everything okay Avery? You look rather tired and even white. You’re not sick, are you?” She asks me worriedly, though not too worried to not be shaken off with a single no from me.

When the door closes, I get out of bed and start my daily routine to leave for school, where I almost bump into Ellen. Still, that dream continues to haunt me that day. Even Ellen has asked me a few times if everything is okay. To which I shake her off with a short answer that I am too exhausted from the last busy days at school. Which she clearly agrees with as we walk down the hallway to our next class, biology.

We walk together into the classroom where we sit somewhere in the back when my gaze goes to Wyat who is alone without Miranda by his side. It’s like he feels my gaze on his back as he turns and looks straight back into my eyes. Normally I would avert my eyes now and pretend I’m not staring at him, but I don’t do anything. I keep looking, and he keeps staring at me, for the teacher clears his throat and takes us out of this magical moment. I feel Ellen tap me on my shoulder, “what was that?” She asks, absorbing me into her to get an answer, which of course does not come. The teacher is teaching, so I have an excuse not to answer Ellen’s questions. Not that I have an answer at this odd time when I have yet to figure out for myself what it was.

The teacher rounds out the lesson by giving us a few more tasks before I exit the classroom behind Ellen. Which is disrupted by a shove from Wyat on my side, causing me to stomp against the door frame. I look at him angrily as he passes me, smiling. “Jerk,” I mutter as I stomp after Ellen, completely devastated by what has just happened. At first, I felt when I looked into his eyes that he liked me. Until he gave me that punch that said enough about him and his thoughts about me.

“Why did you look at each other like that? And why did he push you? What is all this between you both? I know Wyat can be a jerk, but I’ve never known him to be this obvious,” Ellen lets out with an obvious sigh of annoyance. She wants answers that I can’t give her. “He doesn’t like me, Ellen. That’s all I know or can understand myself.”

She looks at me apologetically and grabs my arm to lead me to the cafeteria, where we go to get food at the counter. Only to return to a table with a boy and a girl whom I have not yet seen. “This is Avery,” Ellen introduces me to the other two at the table. The girl had dark brown hair just like tree bark that is wet, with bright mossy green eyes the boy in contrast had black hair, just the same color as I have. He has the most pronounced light blue eyes I’ve seen on a boy, even. It seems like he can look inside you with those blue sea pools of him.

“I’m Rondy and next to me is my sister Clara,” the boy says, still looking into me, taking me in for an answer. “Hello,” I say quietly and take a bite of the spaghetti on my plate, still feeling those eyes on me. It even feels like I’m being watched by multiple eyes. Normally I didn’t have that much attraction to boys until I came here and suddenly had several. Of course, attraction is a big word, although I do find Colten a fun guy to hang out with. Rondy asks many more questions, which I answer with a smile because no question can be taken seriously. This breaks the ice at the table, and we talk cheerfully about all kinds of things like where we come from. What we want to do, you name it. Although, I keep feeling like someone is picking me up. I let my body turn a quarter, so I meet the eyes that are watching me.

None other than Wyat is staring at me, not in affection or friendship for that matter. No, full of envy and annoyance, laid into his eyes. Quickly, I turn around and ignore his burning eyes at my back until the bell rings, and we continue walking across campus with us three.