„If somehow, on another planet, we were able to exchange lives with one another, we would judge by soul more than by looks, behaviour, strenght or anything else by that matter."- Peter Zahn
Vivien stepped out of her house. The cold breeze of the morning made her shiver the moment she walked outside her home.
She waited for the bus like she did every single morning, a routine that seemed very boring to her, just like any other schedule she had planned, but everything needed to be done in order.
As she was thinking about a conversation she had with her friends from school a few days ago, the bus arrived in the station. She stepped in and looked out the window, taking in the foggy atmosphere around. She couldn't wait to walk into school and talk to her friends.
She moved past the other people also trying to arrive either to work or school and stepped out the bus, the cold autumnal air biting.
She walked towards the school and opened the door, her boots scuffing against the worn tiles.
The same whispers still echo around the hallway of the school, a few of her classmates always talking about what she's doing and how quiet she is, but it started to roll off of Vivien like rain on a jacket.
She knew she would attract unwanted attention with her avoidant style.
She opened the door to her class, 12C, the letter C indicating the class that learns literature as their main subject.
Other classes are also structured by this system. Letter A is for art, B is for music, C for literature and D for dancing.
As she slid into her seat, thinking peacefully about what she'd need to do for school by the end of the day, she noticed a folded note. Of course it was from him: Sylas.
He never let her to reminisce about her own thoughts and feelings, he always needed to find something to pick on just so she wouldn't be left alone in her own peace. Sylas Jackson was the class clown, and he used to pick on anyone, it didn't matter which class you were from or how old you were. His new target was, now, Vivien.
The girl glanced across the room and noticed he was pretending to focus on something while trying to stifle a smirk from forming on his face. The note read: „Bet you won't eat one bite of Tim's stolen lunch today, loser."
It is their last year in school, everything summing up in a few words: senior year madness.
This dare was only making her question his intentions. If he sent this note, it meant he's willing to offer something in return for her eating the food, but obviously, she wasn't compelled to listen to him.
She decided to crumble the note and shot another glare at Sylas, then she took her overcoat off. Her long brunette hair got stuck in a button which she managed to untangle softly without much effort. Her brown eyes were going along the board while she was trying to dechyper the maning of today.
Mr. Williams, the history teacher, arrived to class, but her friends were nowhere to be found. „Why didn't they come?", she wondered. Perhaps they were simply going to be late, both of them were almost always late when it came to morning classes.
And she was right, her friends, Grace and Rachel, strode in as if a tsunami was about to break the door to the class down.
They excused themselves to the teacher and sat down at their assigned seats far from one another, waving at Vivien once they settled.
„Come in, Hughes and Standford. Was your ride late?", Mr. Williams asked after they walked in.
„Yes, we were freezing in the bus station.", Rachel answered.
The rest of the lesson was a bit of a haze for Vivien. She couldn't concentrate at all, her thoughts wandering off into random and nostalgic places. It seemed like all her classmates were also distracted, and Mr. Williams called the class to attention, his deep voice cutting through the chatter.
He continued speaking, Vivien wondering how a teacher could talk for hours five days of the week instead of listening to what he was explaining about history.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, and the others were walking out the classroom. Vivien caught up with her friends.
„Hey, how's life for Viv?", Rachel asked.
„It's fine...", Vivien talked afterwards about the note she received with Rachel while Grace was only listening. Usually, Rachel brought subjects for conversations while the girls listened.
After Vivien explained her current situation with Sylas, she stepped out of the classroom, telling her friends that she'd go to the bathroom when truly she just wanted to clear her head by walking down the hallway. She came back to the classroom, only to stuff her head in a book in an attempt to forget what's happened.
A few hours later, after lunch break, she heard footsteps behind her, then turned around to notice Sylas coming towards her. She stopped to listen to what he had to say. Sylas is tall, with black hair that's a little bit messy and gets into his blue eyes sometimes. He has a proeminent jaw and freckles on his face. The boy was wearing a brown hoodie.
„You didn't want to eat Tim's pudding, coward. Or are you waiting for witnesses?"
„I'm not waiting for any witnesses, that's a stupid thing to say.", she said, looking for a way to escape from him.
„Sure, sure. Try to make yourself believe that, but I assuuure you, it won't work. I've got my ways of finding everything out eventually."
„Don't you have anything better to do than to shoot out dares like these? Like... maybe, I don't know, learning about philosophy? It's important for our daily lives!"
„Philosophy, seriously? That's way too deep for my brain this early in the morning."
„Oh, it's early for you?"
„Yeah, it's ridiculously early. Like... the sun is barely up. My brain doesn't function properly until at least noon!"
„Let me check the time, then. Oh, shucks, it's about 3 in the afternoon."
„Ooooh, crisis! Time has clearly betrayed me. It must be daylight robbery, or classroom lighting conspiracy. Well... since you're such a philosophy expert, if I dare you to do something after school hours, does that count as free will or peer pressure?"
„Good question. That would most definitely count as peer pressure."
„Huh... interesting. Peer pressure, free will... it's all just social constructs anyway. But seriously, what do you have planned after school?"
„Learning for our final exams. You should think about putting that up in your plans, too. It wouldn't hurt you."
„Final exams? Fine, let's make a deal. You eat this, right now while I'm watching, and I'll actually go to that library you so love and open a book. With words and everything!", he was holding a leftover pudding.
„I don't think I needed an explanation of what a book is..."
„You're scared eating this will mess up your perfect study schedule because it'll make you sick?"
„I'm not scared of anything, and I'm not eating that atrocious food. I don't like pudding anyway."
„So, if you're not scared, how about a different dare besides eating Tim's leftover lunch? Something more intellectual for miss philosophy scholar."
„I take it back, I am frightened beyond measure. Ask me a question instead."
„Alright. If you had to choose between a once in a lifetime trip to Paris or staying home with your boring and ugly books, which one would you choose?"
„What type of question is this? I mean... I've never been to Paris and I wouldn't want to miss out on such an opportunity. Thinking about it, I could bring my books with me on the trip. In short, I'd do anything in my power to make both happen."
„So it's not even a choice for you, all you have to do is find a way to make both happen? Huh, most people wouldn't be that determined, but not miss perfect over here."
„If we're done with this awful interrogation, I'd like to be excused, pretty please."
„Sure thing, you're free to go, but remember that our deal still stands. We have to meet today at the biggest library in town after school ends. You have been forewarned."
Vivien immediately left without another word and prepared for their next and last lesson of the day.
She walked to class and got in her seat, but this time, something was completely different in the atmosphere.
Perhaps it was only her mind telling her that each time the clock ticked was a reminder of the minutes she was losing not learning enough, as she should.
One of her biggest fears was time, since she always felt the pressure of it every single moment. It was an incredibly arid way of living, and she knew it, as if the land she was standing on continuously received very little precipitation and couldn't grow any plants, when everyone else's soil was perfect and had all the vegetation, prospering.
She felt like an outcast at school, and her brother, Luis, who was in college and working from home, was just as big of an introvert as her.
So who could she learn the art of blending in and talking a lot from? She tried to let the negative thoughts go and focused on the english lesson, as the teacher explained to them about one amongst the many novels they had to learn about.
The bell rang and Vivien was pleased to hear that sound.
She waited to notice the others standing up, then got up herself, packed her schoolbag and left without even saying goodbye to Grace and Rachel.
She had a lot on her mind, and she felt like her friends would be able to read her, so she didn't want to raise any concerns by talking to them. Evidently, she didn't go out with the boy and ignored his text messages for the whole rest of the day.
Once arriving home in a peaceful pace from her coffee shop writing session, the girl put her notebook in the drawer under her table. Her room was big.
The wooden table has been there ever since she was around ten. When she was little, Vivien would draw characters on it as a way to pass the time. She had many memories with it that she didn't want to untangle right then and there.
She looked to her right, where a big window had visibility to the outside. A tree was standing innocently in the way, making room for the moon to sometimes be visible.
The satellite of Earth was shining brightly, and she could notice a hint of orange. It looked like it was changing color, so it must've been a total lunar eclipse.
The girl loved to watch astronomical events, so she picked up her coat once more and stepped outside, in the yard, under the stars. The sound of her feet stepping on the grass seemed to comfort her, and she stood outside for a while.
She sat down in the grass and watched as the moon turned redder and redder as time passed by. A total lunar eclipse can be seen without the need of special glasses, which must be worn during a solar eclipse. Vivien was glad she didn't have to go search for the glasses and that she could watch the blood moon alone. It was a feeling of independence and comfort she seemed to enjoy. Suddenly, her hands started tingling. It was an odd feeling, and she assumed it was from something she touched in the grass. Vivien thought nothing of the weird tingling sensation and kept watching the blood moon as clouds started to form around it.
The girl wished she could blow the dark clouds away for her to see more of the occuring phenomenon.