When Shadows Rise | I

Ch. 10 | Friends

🥷

Ever since Talia could remember, she would always be weirdly ecstatic waking up on the first day of school. She never knew why, but butterflies always fluttered in her stomach when she put on her uniform and then traveled to the kitchen to help her mother make breakfast. Her father would always make a cup of coffee, snagging one of his many mugs from the hooks hanging from under the cabinet. He was big on collecting them and the quirky sayings never failed to make Talia smile. She was happy because she knew every morning, she would see her parent's cheerful faces. She thanked them everyday for their sacrifices so she could study and live out her dreams.

But this morning, Talia felt no such thing when she woke up after shutting off her alarm. Today felt different. There was no urge to jump out of bed and set a one-minute record to get dressed. Like a vampire sucking blood out of its victims, all the joy drained out of her and seeped into the cracks of the wooden floor, never to be seen again.

Talia exhaled and stretched, feeling the soreness pound her lower back like a hammer. She admitted she wished she slept in her old, nice bed, but for now, she was stuck using a lumpy mattress as her cushion. It did a number to her neck, which was so stiff, she almost mistook it for being made out of plywood.

She headed for the bathroom. Switching on the light, the giant square-shaped mirror was the first thing she saw upon entering. Her hair was like a bird's nest, and her eyes stared back at her deeply, as if she might turn herself to stone. This time around, rather than her aluminum eyes sparkling, there was a cloud of inky fog, cloaking any shimmer her eyes might have had, causing her eyes to appear dull and smokey. There were also two dark patches underneath her lower eyelids, which made Talia look like a raccoon. Nothing a little concealer can't fix.

Truthfully, Talia's fear of having another nightmare prevented her from shutting her eyes for even a second. Which, turned out to be a big mistake.

Despite her lack of sleep, she somehow found the energy to wash her face and go to her room to change into her uniform. She tucked her white button-down blouse into her plaid skirt, then slid on her knee-high stockings. The school gave students an option to wear either a navy blue blazer that had the school's emblem stitched in the front, or a button-down vest of the same color. Talia went along with the blazer.

Another mandatory accessory was a burgundy diagonal-striped tie, which Talia was able to execute a perfect Windsor knot. However, that was not always the case. She had a vivid memory from freshman year, where she struggled to tie a perfect knot, as she never had to wear a tie before that day. April was not any better; her tie defied gravity in all sorts of ways.

When Talia entered the kitchen next, she was a little surprised to see her father still here, apparently done preparing breakfast.

"Oh, Dewdrop. Good morning," her father said, wiping his hands with a paper towel.

"Good morning, Abba." Talia could smell honey, sugar, and all the other heavenly scents one inhaled waking up in the morning. "I thought you had left for work already."

"I decided to clock in a little later than usual. I did not want to leave without you seeing me— especially on your first day of school. I also tried to make your favorite." Seth set down a bowl of steaming porridge glazed with honey in front of Talia.

Talia was almost caught in a trance once seeing the familiar dish. It was like her brain froze. Her mother would always make this for her on winter mornings, but occasionally she grew to whipping up her daughter's favorite meal when Talia's craving was to be fulfilled— even if it was not on a chilly day. Talia remembered the satisfied look on her mother's face as she stirred groats, tossing out scraps of her life when she was a little girl while she watched the butter dissolve into the milk. Genesis was not much of a talker when it came to her past, but perhaps the nutty aroma loosened her tongue.