Not a Trio, it's a Squad

Flood, Sweat and Tears

Hey y'all!

I'm in a productive mood for once! Well at least I am when I started to write this but I'm in a productive mood rn nevertheless! That's all that counts!

Nothing else to say but

ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

The Song Household-

Ashlynn was rummaging through her desk, trying to find a special drawing she'd spent a week on. It was a black dragon in a clearing surrounded by trees with the moon peeking above the branches, fireflies casting a warm glow around the hollow. She'd just finished the coloring last night, getting the final touches perfectly after hours of work.

"Arghhhh, where is it?!" She scowled quietly, crossing her arms. She gave up, finally realizing the piece was gone.

"Dear, are you looking for this?"

Ashlynn slowly spun around, seeing her mother in the doorway. Her mom held her artwork, though not as proudly as you might think. In fact, she looked down upon it.

"...Yes, Mother. May I have it back now?" The teenager asked through gritted teeth, faking a polite smile as per usual.

"Sweetie, you may not. These silly little art projects need to come to an end. I don't know where you're getting your supplies from, but that needs to stop as well. You should be spending your time on worthwhile things, like studying. Art will get you nowhere. Academics will."

"But Mother-"

"No buts! You will not waste your time on these arts and crafts anymore! Am I understood, young lady?" Her mom tore the artwork in half, folding the pieces.

Anger flared in her eyes, tears pricking them too, but Ashlynn bit back her retorts, plastering on another fake smile as she nodded.

"Good. I expect good grades. Nothing lower than A's. If it must be a B then it better be an 85 or above." And with that her mother walked out of the room, taking the drawing with her. "Oh and have a nice first day. Make friends." She added on, as if it were a lazy second thought.

"I basically haven't had a friend ever since 4th grade but it's not like you care anyways." Ashlynn snapped as soon as the sound of her mom's footsteps faded.

She sighed. All she had left now was her small sketchbook and pencils. She doubted her mom left her her color pencils, markers, or anything of the sort. The only reason she still had pencils was because they were required for schoolwork. However, she hid her sketchbook, and her parents weren't aware of the sketchbook app on her tablet either.

"I won't even know anyone at my new school to begin with either. This isn't even in New York City. It's not even in New York!" Ashlynn huffed, flopping onto her bed in frustration. "Though I'll probably just be an outcast anyway. And, man, I worked really hard on that art. That took me forever."

She flipped over onto her stomach, tugging her black hoodie that she'd left on the bed earlier closer to herself. "Looks like I'll be needing you a lot this school year."

After getting ready for her first day, the noirette trudged downstairs to grab a couple snacks for the day. Just as she was about to leave, her dad stopped her in front of the open door.

"You're wearing that sweatshirt again? That's not clothing for success. You should change. This rebel-loner act needs to stop. I'm sure your mother would've reprimanded you this morning had she'd seen your outfit."