Taken to Underbriar Academy

Last Day

I woke up with a start from my alarm clock and rubbed my eyes. I had one day before school and I needed to get used to the horrific sound of the alarm clock. I walked to the empty kitchen and snagged a green apple before walking to my backyard. I pulled myself up into my tree and leaned against the branch to see the sunrise. The sky became golden. Beams of light extended through the sky and I smiled. I felt like I was watching something incredible. It would be so cool to be part of something so amazing. I felt like a helpless bystander. I took the last bite of my apple and stood on the branch. My arm moved backwards and I threw the fruit as hard as I could. It soared through the woods until it hit a tree and fell to the ground.

My mind got a ridiculous idea and turned to the tree branch Bailey usually sat in. I pushed off the branch and felt my body fly through the air for a small second before my bare hands connected with the thick branch. With only a millisecond of distraction, I swung off the branch and plummeted to the ground. I gasped for air with my fingers clawing at the dirt. "Air... breath" I told myself gasping. It took many deep breaths to finally feel like I was getting air into my system. I was able to get to my knees after minutes of careful breathing. "Stupid tree" I coughed and got up, brushed the dirt off my pants, and went back to try it again. I was determined to land correctly on the branch. I steadied myself before propelling my body forwards to the branch. Over and over I fell to the ground rolling and hitting my back.

I let a breath out and closed my eyes trying to focus. When they opened again I was flying towards the branch. My hands slammed into the bark, my body jarred, but I was still on. I swung myself over the branch before pain poked through my hands making me stop. I dropped from the tree and rolled onto the ground. Looking at my hands I cringed. Spots of red were everywhere but I couldn't care less, I had made the jump.

I brushed the blood onto my shorts multiple times until the bleeding began to slow. I moved my feet to go inside to wash away the sting. The frigid water that cascaded over my hand made me shiver. I put soap on my hands out of habit and sucked in a breath. After the sting, my muscles relaxed and I ran my hands under water again. Relief flooded through my hand while I mentally scolded myself for doing something so stupid.

 I wondered out of the room with my new book bag and the bag of school supplies. The rest of the morning was spent picking out a school outfit for the following day and organizing my supplies. I picked out my outfit for school and went back downstairs. Both of my parents were gone so I had the house to myself. I thought of the other people who would throw a crazy party in their parents' absence, but being my normal self, I went to by room and turned on the TV with nothing better to do.

I was starting to drift off when my front door slammed against the wall downstairs. I jerked my head towards the hallway and I turned off the TV. My heart rate sped up as I waited for some other noise. Were my parents home early? I stood slowly and cracked my door open. "Flaire!" Bailey screamed from below. With an annoyed and relieved sigh, I stomped down the stairs. "What the heck Bailey?" I said angrily. She laughed at my scare and opened my fridge.

"We have school tomorrow" Bailey said pulling out the orange juice. "No really?!" I asked leaning against a counter. "Hey, don't sass me. I came to take you hiking for our last day of freedom" She said pouring the juice into two cups and handing me one. I downed my drink and she took a small sip. "Hiking?" I asked. "Yep, ready?" She asked. I looked down at my athletic shorts and tank top. "As I'll ever be" I replied and we walked out of the kitchen and to the still wide open front door. I snagged my shoes and climbed into her car.

***

"Are you prepared for tomorrow?" Bailey asked me as we walked up to the mountain. "Yeah, I finished getting ready earlier this morning. What about you?" I asked her as the incline increased. "I finished last week" She said with a slight blush on her cheeks. "I don't understand how you prepare so early" I muttered. She laughed and we continued up the mountain in silence. The sun felt like a million degrees and with each step I felt my body breaking down. Normally people would hike on the easier side of the mountain, but Bailey and I took the more challenging side. We pulled ourselves over rocks and held onto trees when it felt like we would fall backwards at any moment.

We got to the top finally and I stood on a large rock looking out over the community. It was absolutely beautiful. "Whoa" I gushed. The suns' last rays of light exploded over the far off city leaving streaks of pink and orange in the sky. As if the streaks carried wind, we were shaken by a strong gust right as the streaks past overhead. I put my arm on a large tree to lean on when the wind began to shake the trees.

"Okay, come on. Let's go down" Bailey said interrupting my peaceful moment. "I'll race you" She yelled turning on her heel. I pushed off the tree and ran behind her. I stumbled for a second but regained my balance. The terrain was rough but bearable. I stepped in a puddle of water instantly soaking my foot causing me to cringe. I jumped over roots and maneuvered around rocks and trees. Bailey was two steps ahead of me and more each second. I pushed myself harder trying to run as fast I could. I would jump over the small rock cliffs and plummet to the ground. The impact shook my body, but didn't faze me for long.

 The bottom of the mountain came into view quickly. High tailing it to the end, Bailey tried to trip me. I gasped as a log came into the once clear path. I jumped over the log she moved nearly falling. As I ran, I spotted a quicker way to get ahead of her and changed my course. The jump to get ahead was three feet away and I looked to my hands to make sure they were okay from this morning. I didn't have much time to really check so I deemed them in good condition. I lunged off of a rock and flew through the air. My hands connected with the branch that was a couple feet away and I swung around propelling myself ahead.

Bailey looked over her shoulder but I was already in front of her. I hit the ground rolling once and coming up on my feet quickly. The noise made her turn around right as I stood up. My laughter and new position caused her face to morph into a mask of confusion turning to where I had been to where I was now. "We should do that more often, I like beating you" I teased. Bailey stuck her tongue out at me and punched me in the shoulder. "Rematch" She grumbled.

We drove home in silence. I watched out the window to nothing in particular. At the last reed light, I watched the person in the car next to us. The man in the front seat looked over at me a little scared. The locks on his car clicked and his door opened. "Bailey..." I said leaning back. She looked over to where I was looking and screamed. The man was trying to open my door. "Get off the car!" Bailey screamed. He hit the window repeatedly and I joined in Bailey's screaming. "It's green! Go Bailey! Drive!" I cried out. She sped through the intersection so fast that we almost ran into the car that merged in front of us.

"Who was that?" Bailey said in a panic. "I don't know! I told you something weird has been happening lately!" I said in a voice just as loud as hers. "Should we call the cops?" She asked thinking out loud. "No, he's gone now. We don't have his license plate number either. It'll be okay" I replied. We pulled into my neighborhood and Bailey swung her car into my driveway.

"Thanks again for the hike. I can't believe we have to go to different schools. It's not fair" I sighed. Bailey nodded still shaken up from the encounter minutes before. "It's not our fault we live in different counties" She said shrugging her shoulders. "Do you want to meet in a week or so after we get settled in to talk?" She asked. "Sure no problem" I smiled. "Have a good day tomorrow" I added and shut the door.

Bailey looked at me through the windshield and waved. I returned her wave and jogged into the house. After shutting the door, I ran upstairs, took a shower, and lay in my bed looking at the ceiling for what felt like hours. I was nervous for the next day. I was going to be all alone.