[MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH 2019 7 AM]
It is now the start of the second week of the final year of school. The girl wakes up once again inside the body of Freya Wilson. She completes her normal routine of brushing her teeth, showering followed by skincare and brushing her hair. She then gets dressed for the day before arriving downstairs to eat breakfast with her family.
Nobody speaks much at the dining table with only trivial small talk being weaved in between bites of their food. Freya's mother only makes traditional breakfasts which were Freya's favourite. The girl used to stomach the taste of the omelette but after eating it everyday, it began to taste alright. She doesn't hate it as much as she thought, but it is something she wishes she could avoid. With her morning routine perfected, the girl, for the 7th time since entering Freya's body, heads towards high school.
Some things have changed in the week as instead of walking, the girl now takes the bus. It is actually slower to do so, but there is a reason. She can meet Amelia before school. Amelia rarely has the time to think to herself with how "destiny" works in relation to her school life. She occasionally receives a message from a contact on her phone labelled "Destiny". The contact is without a number attached so you cannot call it. Furthermore, the contact disappears after school and is not accessible until they next message you. After receiving a message from them, she barely has any say in what she does or what she says to Amelia.
However, she found one loophole that allows her to interact more modestly towards herself. The events may occur but what occurs does not have to be the same. For example "name calling" does not have to be anything negative. As long as "Destiny" does not specify, it can be changed. This is something the girl had realised almost instantly.
[POV CHANGE - Amelia Christabel]
Amelia, who had been diligently waiting for the bus to arrive, finally saw it approaching in the distance. Amelia had paid for the bus; it being half price was handy. She grew up in a poor household and because her parents both worked, she always had to catch the bus to school due to her living so far away. Her parents did not own a car and could not afford to book a taxi for her everyday and instead opted for the bus. It was cheap for students at £2.00 a ticket. Amelia took a seat towards the rear end of the bus where she used to sit all the time. It is never really packed at this time of day; being used mainly by students and those who are on their way to work. With each passing stop, Amelia looked out the window waiting for Freya to get on board.
"Oh hello Freya!" Freya heard a loud voice over the constant pumping of the bus engine causing her to scan the bus from the front.
"Hello Amelia, sorry I took so long getting on. I caught your message this morning. Why did you want to catch the earlier bus?"
"I wanted to talk before school started."
"Yeah? What did you want to talk about?"
"You know, you're the first friend I have made…at least you call me your friend. I know you're smart and I wanted to confide in you for a few story ideas. I have kinda hit a creative roadblock and needed something fresh to motivate me to write. I don't want to disappoint the publishers."
"I can't help you…right now. Sorry."
"Eh? Is that so? I'm sorry for asking Freya…"
"If anything comes to mind I will let you know."
"Oh really? Thanks!"
Amelia smiles softly at her.
'I've noticed her acting strangely from time to time. She always takes these long pauses in between her sentences. She's always dismissive of me. Maybe If I give it more time, she will start acting like usual. I'm certain. I have never been able to observe her so closely before. I can't tell if she sees me as her friend or not. She didn't deny it earlier when I said it, so I guess that's a plus? I need more time. What is wrong with you Amelia?'
"Are you okay?" Freya asks with a worried look on her face.
"Yeah I'm fine! I'm fine." Amelia lets out an awkward chuckle and Freya smiles at her and returns back to looking at her phone.
The rest of the bus ride was mundane to say the least. Both Amelia and Freya sat in silence, quietly waiting for the bus to reach school.
[POV CHANGE - Freya]
Amelia and Freya exit the bus and calmly walk into school as other students quickly rush off the bus behind them rhythmically thanking the driver as they exit.
"Amelia, what lessons do you have today again? It's the second week so we have a different schedule. I have maths, then science into double history and geography."
"Uhm I think I have maths, science, Spanish and double geography."
"What rooms are you in for maths and science? I'm in room P204 and G306 this week."
"Really? Me too!"
"I'm glad that we can sit together in class. Now then, shall we get moving?"
"Yes!!"
Amelia and Freya make their way to the Form room on the first floor of the school building. It takes about 5 minutes to get to the classroom from the bus stop. They arrive slightly early at 8:55 AM where only a few students have arrived and sat down in their seats.
"Hmm? Freya, you're coming to school with her now? You know, you have rarely hung out with us since we came back to school. Do you not like us anymore?"
Amelia and Freya avert their attention to the direction of the voice only to be met with a piercing glare. It was Grace Milton, one of Freya's best friends or as Amelia called them, a trio of witch sisters. They were wicked and mean, yet bonded together like sisters. She sat alongside the other, Holly Holden.
"Why are you staring at us? Come sit with us before form starts. We were waiting."
Holly scowled at the pair whilst waving a hand, gesturing us to come over. In quick succession Amelia and Freya sit down next to the two and for the second time, Amelia interacts with the unfamiliar foe. However, she, who is now Freya, is confident that she can get past the trouble her friends caused. The first incident occurred because of them. They convinced Freya to stop hanging around her as much, causing rumours to spread that she was a loser. Freya never stood up for her friend in the end even though behind closed doors she acted friendly. She never could judge the distance between the two and eventually put distance between each other, which in turn, only made the bullying worse. This caused Amelia to lose her trust in people. What the girl has now is the opportunity to change all that. After all she's been given the greatest gift one can receive whilst trying to change their destiny. A message from destiny itself.
"Hello Freya Wilson,
I'm sure this message finds you well. I will get straight to the point. Today is a fateful day. Once again, I will give you a run down of the things that occur today. If you wish to achieve your dream you may complete these events.
[7:50 AM] You will get on the bus and meet with [Amelia Christabel] who will message you to meet earlier than usual. She will ask you for ideas for her next book. If you give her an idea, that book will become a best seller cementing her as a revered and well liked author. If you wish to succeed as an author, you must not help her.
[8:55 AM] When you walk into Form time, your friends [Holly Holden] and [Grace Milton] will call out to you asking you to sit down with them. During that time you must not speak to Amelia. She will become disheartened by your actions.
[12:15 PM] At lunch you will sit with your friends including Amelia. What happens from there is up to fate. For the rest of the day, you are able to freely do what you want. Destiny is in your hands Freya Wilson. Make the wise choice if you wish to be free.
Best Regards, Destiny."
That was the message Amelia had received that morning and it was a scenario she was all too familiar with. Same-old exclusion. She was very good at excluding herself from things. Relationships, Friendships, work opportunities or even society in general. She was a typical recluse shut-in, so she was used to being alone. However, this Amelia was still not ready for that kind of treatment. So the girl has devised a plan to defy her destiny starting with the Form Time meeting.
"So Freya, what do you have to say to us? We have been sooo lonely without you, you know that right?" Holly remarked with a brooding tone. She was the first of the four girls to begin conversing.
"It's not like I've been avoiding you two, I just wanted to expand our friend group and Amelia here seems like a great inclusion to our circle. I have been hanging out with her and she's really interesting. " Freya replies with a chirp in her voice.
"Like how though? She seems so dull. All she did before this was just read books and stay quiet but now she's hanging around the most popular girl in school. Even when we invited her to join us on the first day for lunch she barely had anything to say!" Grace speaks out causing the incoming classmates to be curious about what the commotion could be so early in the morning.
"You will find out for yourself how interesting she is. You just have to give her a chance." Freya, noticing how things could escalate, begins to speak in a calmer and more reassuring manner.
"Freya, Thank you for-"
The girl signals to Amelia to hold her sentence, stopping Amelia in her tracks as she buries her head facing downwards towards her knees. Grace looks at Freya and Amelia confused.
"Are you two actually friends? This looks like you're blackmailing her or something! Amelia, make sure you stand up to this big bad wolf, okay ? she's actually a huge softie if you stand up to her" Grace laughs hysterically at the situation unfolding in front of her.
"Yeah…we are friends! I think so at least." Amelia's statement causes Freya to stare at Amelia and give a light smile in return. It's the best she can do right now under the guidelines of destiny.
"Aww you should be kinder to her…well Amelia, I hope we can get along well from now on, you do seem a little interesting. I will trust Freya's judgement." Grace, who was behaving snarkily just a moment ago, gave a bubbly kind smile. She's the most talkative of the group so naturally she is the friendliest too. However, she does have a mean side to her that Amelia was subject to in her original world.
"I don't know about you just yet Amelia, but if everyone else is fine with it then you're welcome to join our group." Holly declared sharply causing Amelia to slightly wince at her words.
"Don't be like that Holly! She's new, of course she needs to get the hang of things first. We don't have a lot of time before the teacher comes so we better settle down and we will talk later. You two go sit down in your seats."
"Thanks Grace."
That concludes the second mandatory event of the day. Amelia was testing the limits of what "excluding" herself truly meant. There was no clear line as to what she could and couldn't do other than not speak to Amelia. She can gesture to her, she can stare at her and smile at her. She just cannot talk to her. That is a pretty big loophole in Destiny's outlines. Freya sits down with a smile on her face after discovering such big information whilst Amelia is yet to speak a word since entering Form. Today was originally one that started her doubts.
In the first iteration of this conversation from Amelia's world, Freya told Amelia to sit by herself whilst she greets her old friends. However, the girl had gone for a cold shoulder approach. She knew Amelia was going to follow her. So she didn't say anything to her before sitting down. Now sat at the table with the group she was able to hear the conversation that Freya had with Grace and Holly.
This time they got to tell her directly how they felt about her joining the group as well as hear Freya speak about her kindly. It was a gamble as to what was said between the group as Amelia does not have full control over her own thoughts and actions. However, when she speaks she's able to feel the words come to her in advance as its events have already occurred, due to destiny's interference. With that small change the girl thinks that her past self will believe in Freya more. She still seems to be shaken on whether they were friends but now she has a more content look plastered across her face compared to what Amelia originally had endured.
[12:15 PM]
Classes concluded as normal. Amelia and the girl sat next to each other during Maths and science. Amelia was good at maths and science but having studied all the content already, made her well ahead of everyone else. It felt as though she inherited Freya's sharp and calculative mind. It made Amelia look at her in awe.
It is now lunch time at Brisingham High school. The cafeteria is filled with the sound of students shuffling and murmuring conversations as you walk through the large hollow area. Amelia and Freya reach the café section after navigating the crowd of students lining up or waiting around with their friends.
"Hey guys! You finally made it."
Grace spoke from a distance, waving at us to come over. Next to her was Holly, who gave us both a glance before quickly looking back down at her phone. As we approach them the girl quickly mentions getting in the line for food before it gets packed up. However, Grace had already prepared in advance and bought both Freya and Amelia food. She wasn't sure what Amelia liked, but she got a helping of potato salad with a cheese omelette for Freya and a simple cheese pizza slice for Amelia.
"Sorry Amelia, I didn't know what you liked so I just grabbed you a pizza, is that alright?" Grace looked at the girl waiting in anticipation of her answer.
"Yeah it's fine. Thank you very much Grace!" she exclaimed brightly with a warm smile.
"I see I'm glad you like it!" Grace says with a proud expression painted on her face.
"I don't like eggs." Freya states with her face drooping with sadness.
"Hmm? Freya didn't you like eggs? You said it was your favourite thing to eat for lunch and breakfast." Holly spoke out this time.
"Oh yeah? I did say that, didn't I? I have been a bit moody recently so I guess I'm just not in the mood for them right now haha." Freya laughs it off but she cannot bring herself to eat the omelette and ends up just staring at it.
"Do you want to swap them?"
Amelia looks at the pizza then at the omelette, salivating at the thought of eating it over the pizza.
"I didn't know you liked eggs, Amelia. I would've gotten you that too if I knew!" Grace states.
"Oh I mean yeah I love eggs! They're my favourite actually!" Amelia quickly swaps the pizza and omelette with Freya and begins to start eating.
"Freya you got a pizza now why are you just staring at it? Wake up girl." Holly sarcastically remarks.
"Oh haha sorry, I was just thinking about my next lesson." Freya nervously states as she begins to chew on her pizza.
[183 school days left.
The first incident was solved.
Time taken: 9 days.
Resolution status: Get Amelia integrated well with Freya's friends.]