Home Run Kiss

One

There was a chill in the air, one that I should have known would be there. It was mid-February, which meant that it would still be winter in the little town that I lived in. I knew that, and yet I was walking to school in a short sleeved shirt and a nice, bright pink skirt that was a bright contrast to the white snow around me. Apparently, I liked living on the edge. The edge of what? I didn't know, but I still did it anyway. If Sophie were here, she'd yell at me for not wearing warm clothes, but she wasn't there that day. This was my first day of walking to school by myself in four years, and it was both bittersweet and a little thrilling. I could do things that Sophie hated, such as not wearing warm clothes. 

I shifted the weight of my backpack from one shoulder to the other, reaching back and grabbing my phone from the side pocket. My headphones were wrapped around my phone, so I quickly undid them and popped the earbuds in. A smile appeared on my lips when I saw a text from Sophie. She told me that her little sister saw me walk past their house wearing my "skimpy clothes." Oh, Kylee and Sophie were so alike. 

Before I could even respond to Sophie's text, I got a call from her. I answered it and said, "I am not wearing skimpy clothes, I swear."

"Kylee sent me a picture, Lola," Sophie said, disappointment dripping from her voice. I could picture the look on her face: her eyebrows were pinched together, her lips were pursed, her dark eyes crinkled at the corners because of the frown on her face. "Why would you wear that outfit when you knew it was going to be cold?"

"Because I wanted to look cute today." With my free hand, I brush against the silky fabric of my skirt. It was the one that Sophie had actually bought me for my eighteenth birthday, so I didn't know why she was so upset about it. She was always telling me that I needed to appreciate her more, especially now that she was gone off to college. "Also, stop making Kylee your private investigator. You're teaching her that spying on people is okay, and it isn't."

"Whatever," she said, making me giggle. "I just feel like I need to watch over you."

"I'll be fine. I had a life before I met you, you know," I said with a laugh. I could hear her sigh in the background, so I quieted my laughter. "Sorry. Soph, I'm fine. I'm a big girl who can take care of herself."

"I know that. You should know how much I worry, though."

"You need to work on that."

"Okay, I'm going to hang up before you give me the worry spiel again," she said, making me grin. "I hope you have a great day! I love you, Lola!"

"Love you, too. Bye!" 

Sophie ended the call, and I clicked play on the music that was playing last time I listened to music. It blasted in my ears, but I didn't mind. The best way to listen to music was by blasting it; otherwise, what was the point? 

The scenery around me was the same scenery I had seen for four years. Nothing really changed around here. Shrubs got cut back, but then they grew bigger. Trees never got touched. Flowers got planted and then died and got planted again. Maybe that was why I hated change. My route to school had been the same for years, and the things I saw on the way to school never changed enough for me to notice. It spilled into my life and kept me from doing things I had always wanted.

In the distance, the school rose from the hills, looking like a castle. It was bathed in the soft morning sun, glowing ever so slightly with a bright orange and pink light. It reminded me of Hogwarts, though not quite as grand. In reality, the school was a little dilapidated. The roof was caving in because of water damage, and the outside color had faded from the amount of sun that shone on it. Overall, it served its purpose by providing a place for the students to learn. Being in a small town was amazing, but one of it's setback was that most of the money went toward keeping the town up and running. Much of the money was shelled out to the mom-and-pop stores, which wasn't an awful decision.