how do i title help

Asriel Gives Advice

The next few days passed in a blur. Neoma carried on her usual routine: get up at midday, get yelled at by Aunt, leave, come home at 3am, get yelled at again, sleep, repeat. Nothing out of the ordinary for her, really. This had been her life for the last 10 months or so, and she was starting to get used to it. Aunt had never liked her to begin with, but since they'd been living under the same roof she'd only gotten worse. Neoma used to resist her Aunt's constant dislike of her and would often manage to get back at her with one snarky remark or another {she had some brutal insults under her belt, and one of her personal favourites was "if gonorrhoea was a person". It usually got at least a couple of giggles at the dinner table}. Nowadays she just sat and took it. She'd stare off into space, thinking about God knows what and occasionally tune in to see if her Aunt was done screaming at her for breathing in the wrong direction.

By November 4th, snow had begun to fall on the city. Thick blankets coated the streets and blocked the railway so no trains could run. Neoma understood that this meant even more arguments at the station than normal, so she was there more frequently, sometimes getting up at dawn and only returning home at dusk. As expected, the chaos ensued thick and fast, with a few passengers even becoming violent towards train staff who really were trying to help {though inside they were probably thinking, 'I want to punt you across this station right here and now'}. Asriel had it worse than most. Being as high a rank as he was he received countless complaints about trains not running, which Neoma found ridiculous. When she got the chance to speak to him in private, she beckoned him over to a bench she'd found overlooking the huge staircase that lead up to the main entrance of the station. When he managed to get away from an angry passenger, he sat beside her, exhausted.She said, "I can't believe they're getting pissed with you over the bloody weather. It's not like you can doing anything anymore than they can."

Asriel sighed. "It is annoying. But we make do. Just about."

"I don't know how you do it, Asriel."

Asriel looked confused. "What do you mean? What do I do?"

"You manage to look on the bright side of any situation no matter how stupid it is. People are literally trying to hurt you over something you can't control, and you just 'make-do'? How'd you do it?"

Asriel thought for a second, and simply smiled at Neoma. "I don't see the point in worrying. Particularly if its something beyond your control. I usually tell myself, 'If you can't fix it, face it.' That's what my Ma always said, and it's got me to where I am, and I couldn't be happier." Despite his cheerful tone, Neoma noticed for the first time just how tired he looked. His eyes were bright red with deep purple bags hanging underneath, and his smile was cracked at the edges from having to force it whenever yet another angry customer emerged. Even his gair was droopy rather than fluffy and sort of poofy like it usually was. He didnt look himself at all.
  
   Neoma looked to the huge glass windows of the station, before sighing. "As always, Asriel, you're right. I don't know how you do that either." There was silence for a moment, barring the never-ending bustle of the masses of people below them.

Out of nowhere, Asriel sat up, as if just remembering something important, so quickly his thin glasses almost fell off his face. "I almost forgot. When are you planning to leave, Neoma?"

"No time in particular. Aunt does not want me at home at the minute and frankly neither do I. Why?"

"I have to show you something."