𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 ━ five hargreeves

16│IN MIND AND MEMORY

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɪɴ ᴍɪɴᴅ & ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ ꒱


❝ IS THAT WHY I'M
NAMED DOLORES? ❞

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

[2011-2019]

Every morning, Lola walked to school. Every afternoon, she walked home.

The brunette girl was glad that the location of her school allowed her to do this; it gave her time to prepare for the day and relax once it was finished. In her early years, one of her three family members would walk her there with her tiny hand clasped in their larger one. Once she was deemed old enough, she walked alone.

She knew the distance between each place was four thousand five hundred sixty-three feet, which she had counted consciously the first few times before each step had gravitated towards the back of her mind once the path became familiar. The thing was, if asked, Lola could not describe a single building along her route to school bar her own home and final destination. This was because the girl took far more interest in the path her feet were taking than the one her body was.

With her blue eyes glued to the sidewalk, the girl would study each and every crack that was passed (there where two-hundred thirteen), each bump in the pavement (there were twelve), each weed sticking up between the slabs of concrete (this number ranged anywhere from ten to six hundred) and any oddities that might pop up on the day-to-day basis. Sometimes pieces of trash littered the sidewalk (there were usually twenty-four pieces on average and Lola would pick up each and every one), there could be dropped coins or the occasional dollar bill (as of April 1st, 2019, Lola had collected ten dollars and seventy-three cents) or not-so-pleasant dead animals that appeared in her path (thankfully, this number was only in the single-digit zone of five.)

On the whole, Lola found the sidewalk and adjacent street far more interesting than the people passing by or the mostly unchanging buildings that stood along her route. If people took the time to look at the ground, they would find that it was a surprisingly varied environment which might result in them taking more interest in the beige slabs of concrete.

✧✧✧
Dolores Gimbel, Resident Genius [2012]

Lola didn't have any friends.

As sad of a fact as that might sound, it hardly bothered the girl in the slightest. After all, you can't miss what you've never had.

She was a quiet girl on the whole and preferred to watch the world than take an active part in it. She was most vocal at home in the comfort of her family where she knew her slightly odd views and unique perspectives wouldn't be made fun of. At school, she had opened her mouth exactly five times to the current date. This would be the sixth.

In class, Lola was a back-row girl. She wasn't tough like Jane or outspoken like Ryland and she wasn't a quiet artist like Julia. Instead, she tried to scrunch herself in the seat and disappear in the hopes that she wouldn't be called on for an answer. It wasn't that she didn't know the answer— as she often did— but she didn't want the attention that a correct reply would bring.

The brunette was a diligent student and for the most part, the teacher left her alone and respected her space. After being in this career for twenty-one years, Mrs. Evans was confident in her ability to read any type of student and understand their preferences and personality without being directly told. However, sometimes she had to enforce the classroom policy of occasional participation which breached the comfort level of certain students.