Paradise

Chapter Fifteen

Dreary, gray light cut through the windows, dispelling shadows, but not completely; it just sort of pushed them into the corners. If I hadn't already been sleepy this dim-lighting would definitely do it! It always did.

I leaned back with a yawn, my backpack resting on my lap. The bus paused at Kendall's house, but she wasn't standing outside like she usually was. It was definitely weird for her to miss school. Her parents expected a lot out of her, possibly more than my parents expected out of me. Maybe she had caught a cold? Although, it did seem unlikely for her to catch a cold in one day, but ... stranger things had happened (or WERE happening).

I guess I'd know what was going on if I'd called her Monday night like we'd planned. But it would have ruined my chances of laying out of school yesterday. My father felt if I was well enough to use the phone then I was well enough to attend school. It was one of his little annoyances. I'd even tried to call Kendall last night, but he still wouldn't let me. When I'd objected, my father had merely said the same thing he always said, "If you're too sick to go to school, then you're too sick to use the phone," and that had been the end of it.

It was definitely weird not having Kendall's bubbly chatter to fill in the silence. The ride was way too quiet without her. So quiet, I could hardly keep my eyes open. The hazy, gray light didn't help, either. I dozed on and off through the rest of the ride, and was feeling particularly bad when we finally pulled up to the school, like going to pass out and fall on my face bad. I had never been a morning person, and with the way I was feeling as I stood up to file off the bus, I suspected I never would, especially when the sole purpose of waking up so early was to go to school.

Sleep sounded so much better.

If only school started in the afternoon. That would be great. I'd be completely awake, completely refreshed, and I'd be able to stay up as late as I wanted to, talking on the phone, playing video games, surfing the internet, watching TV! It'd be a dream--

Yeah, and dreams aren't real, so get the idea out of your head and focus! You're holding up the line.

I muttered an apology to the scowling boy behind me, but it didn't seem to accomplish much, so I just walked faster, getting off the bus and feeling the chill of the air on my skin. I shivered slightly, zipping my green and black hoodie to my collarbone. I was still wearing jean shorts. I would wear them until it started to snow and the temperature dropped to freezing. Then it'd be time to trade them in for pants. My parents constantly fussed at me about wearing shorts in cold weather. My argument was that it wasn't cold inside, and I got uncomfortable when I was too warm. That usually made them drop it, but it was always picked up again the next time I went outside in shorts, almost like they'd forgotten our earlier conversations.

It was so much warmer inside that I just wanted to curl up in a corner and sleep for several more hours. Yawning, I lingered around the four-foot concrete wall until my eyes drifted to the wall-clock in the cafeteria and found, surprisingly, that we'd arrived at school nearly 10 minutes early!

"Huh?" I said.

"Looks like we've got time." Yvette's voice was suddenly in my ear.

I turned to her without smiling.

Yvette looked causal in skinny jeans and a gray plaid top; she'd pulled her hair back in messy pigtails, a few strands lingering out of the rubber-bands. I could see the hint of something shiny on her ears, especially when she moved and light flashed off them. She was still wearing that same necklace. It must have been her favorite.

I nodded mutely, not knowing what to say.

"I guess we should go somewhere a bit more ... private?" Yvette suggested.