BAD OMENS ✬ luke hemmings

4.3 | back to school

Wednesday morning, things are back to normal. The rush and last couple months are finally kicking in and are in action. One month until mock exams – until projected grades are released, – only two weeks until Aria's university applications are due. March is the last push in all the classes to get all the content finished, and April... April is the official last month of school.

April, which consists of two weeks of senior leave before exams, prom, the goodbye assembly, and most importantly, it is the month where everyone stops showing up and 'senior skip day' happens once every week.

There's not that much time left.

Nevertheless, Aria waits out on Michael's driveway, sunglasses on her face and the heaters in her car blasting while some playlist bursts through the speakers. Checking the time on her phone, wanting to beat any morning traffic on the way, Aria groans.

The girl rolls down her window, as she does everyday, "Michael!" She yells, seeing a flash of red-hair from the house, "Hurry the fuck up! I will leave you!" She threatens, seeing her breath in the cool air as she does so. She mutters to herself, cursing the boy she calls her best friend as she rolls back up her window.

The sound of Aria's voice pierces through Michael's house, reaching his ears as he finishes tying his shoelaces from the living room, knowing that he's got an unzipped bag and something that is definitely missing.

"Michael, your ride is here! Don't keep Aria waiting!" his mother shouts from upstairs.

"I know!" Michael calls back, grabbing his backpack and rushing out the front door. The chilly winter air hits him like a wave, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He scans the driveway and spots Aria sitting in her car, her hands tapping impatiently on the steering wheel.

Through the glass he can see the frustrated expression on Aria's face, "Get in!" She says, but he can't hear her, only sees the dramatic movements of her lips and the exaggerated pointing of her finger towards the passenger seat door.

Michael opens the car door and slides into the passenger seat, feeling the warmth envelop him as he closes the door behind him. "My bad, I couldn't find any clothes, so I had to dig through the racks." He explains.

Aria turns down the volume of the music, giving him a quick glance before putting the car in gear and pulling away from the curb. "How was Australia?" She asks, her attention fixed on the road, hands gripping the steering wheel.

Michael buckles his seatbelt, adjusting himself in the comfortable seat. He lets out a relieved sigh, finally feeling at ease after the frantic rush to get ready. "Boring, dad lives in Canberra, there's nothing to fucking do there." He rants, "It was hot, and all I did was stay at home playing games."

"Oh... so you did exactly the same thing that you'd do here." She comments, nodding her head at the lovely uneventful tale. "Well, I didn't do much either, I just sat around at home."

"Yeah, well at least you went to Calum's party." Michael says, glancing down at his phone to scroll through the photos that the girl posted on her finsta. It's all a flash of photos that have people who are far too drunk to even comprehend there's a polaroid in front of their faces.

Aria shrugs, "Yeah, but a shit ton of people got mad sick afterwards." She shakes her head, remembering the harsh flu that hit her the day afterwards. "I thought I was experiencing my first real hangover – killer headache, tired, felt like shit, dehydrated – but no, turns out I caught a fever that took three days to break."

"Shit dude!" He snorts, "Who else got sick, do you know?"

"Everyone," Aria confirms. "Sade, Jonah, Calum, Casper, Ophelia, Lu– every one who went to that party got so fucking sick." She explains, turning the wheel down the street and following the regular routine. "I mean, what else can you expect? Sticking a group of kids outside in the winter with the belief that the alcohol will keep them all warm."