Silver Lining | Book #1

-Burning Sensation-

Outlined, Written, and Revised by tamtam778

Dedicated to @sarcastic-messand 

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15 years ago 

"You don't have to study, you know?"

"But starting early is what Boa does all the time," the young Lilith sighed in annoyance.

She flipped through the pages of the thick book between her fingers, trying to find the specific chapter to jot down in her spiral notebook. The history book held many contexts to everything she didn't want to know, and thus, she's taking the time trying to know. She borrowed the book from Josie soon after they had arrived at Trypothenthia. Following the blue gen into her wide but small office, she plucked the book and ran straight into her room. No one came in except for Tim,who was slouched in her bean bag chair in the far left corner of her wooden desk.

The room was completely saturated with pink wallpapers. Lilith didn't mind the color much over time, especially when it was the first color her parents agreed to paint it with. Her metal bed frame stood vertically from her desk, having a tv on the right corner by the door, and ripped posters glued around. Cluttered VHS tapes stayed piled by her tv, all either horror or comedy films. On the other side of her bed, she had a white stand chipped from its color. Holding a couple of picture frames of her, her Ma, and her Pa with the used bandages wrapped around them, as if they wrapped the pictures.

She spun back to her book, stopping at the bolded letters of Chapter 23: Clouded Minds Think Alike. Her eyes flew through the texts, before stopping at words she couldn't describe. Rereading, she still stood stumped when her mind wandered to other thoughts. Things are much better than what she consumed. All she could pick up was the Sects were led by green gen, and not no one liked that green gen...for some reason.

Her head began to throb as she looked deep within the text. Holding the book up for better clarity, her brows frowned again trying to read the text.

"You have a year," she heard Tim messing with the bean bag, "Why now?"

"Because I don't want to repeat a year," she said. "Bao is already ahead by 3 years."

"That's Bao, he does it because of that huge pain in the-"

"Tim!" She screeched, turning towards him. "Do you want to eat soap for the rest of your life?"

He swung his arms in the air, "I'm not wrong."

She knew deep down that he wasn't wrong but that she knew it wasn't right to say that, too. It was clear enough that Tim never liked Pa, Lilith knew even Uncle Max tried to convince his young lad to not hold grudges. Lilith feels like something started an ignition in him for him to grow such hatred, and he wasn't the only one, but they all know why Bao pushed himself. At least today, she thought, he seemed fine, especially when she saw him and Tim bicker all the way home. Glimmering in some joy when his smug smile glistened, it gave her some relief that he was holding up nicely. A grin spread on her lips from thinking about it, and before looking back to the giant book in her hands she let her head meet the desk.

"I'm just saying-"

"I know," she groaned, sitting her chin up, "I don't even understand what I'm reading."

"Maybe ask Josie for help."

"She's busy tonight, I heard she is still watching over Ma's patrol."