little bird // r.keene

xi. rue.

3rd December 2016.

"I swear, it's almost like Mr. Burr is trying to bury us under 6 feet of paper- like how much homework can one teacher set?" Rue moaned as she continued to russell her bag, trying to get her files straight and their abundance of homework flat, struggling and failing to do so as she kept pace with Wren.

The bag was black with zero pockets so it was a rather hard thing to do but instead of buying a new one, she had grown fond of the sunflower patch on the front and refused to throw it away.

"I mean it is his job but you're right, it is all a bit excessive." Wren agreed, slightly laughing at her friend as they walked home.

"It's almost like he likes printing fucking worksheets which make our lives miserable." They laughed and Wren wrapped her coat closer to her body and crossed her arms over her shoulder. The coat had been an old one of Rue's since she had been too scared to ask her parents for the money. But it did little against the winter evening, they had just left 7th period so the sun had long set.

"So how's Will? Has he started getting ready for college?" Wren asked, trying to keep talking to distract herself from her teeth chattering.

"Yeah, he's alright, considering he's leaving at the end of the month he's left the packing a bit late but he's excited to get out of LA I think," Rue told her and Wren nodded, that sounded like Will.

Will is Rue's older brother who Wren had a crush on for three years and counting, it all started when she was 11 and he made the girls hot chocolate and played cards with them until the sun began to come up. It was probably the best night of her life.

But he was going off to study marine biology further down by the coast, as far as Wren knew that was all he had ever wanted to do. Of course, she was going to miss him but he wasn't hers and she couldn't hold onto him forever and he only thought of her as a little sister anyway. Wren shrugged off the idea.

"Anyway- I gotta go make dinner tonight because mum is working a late shift at the hospital tonight and Will is still at work," Rue said and Wren looked up from her shoes to see that they had arrived at Rue's house, the walk from her house to school wasn't a long one.

"You can come in if you want." Rue shrugged but Wren shook her head. The pair stopped walking and all Rue had to do was cross the road and she would be at her front door.

"Nah- it's okay, I wanna get a start on my chem essay." She said, "Also, mum is in town for a couple of days and I wanna spend as much time with her as possible."

"Sound's good, I'll see you tomorrow." Rue smiled and lifted her hand and they did their handshake they had invented when they were 12 on a rainy day. They two grinned at each other then Rue began to turn to face the road to cross it.

"You know it," Wren called out to her and began to walk away, looking at her feet again.

Wren stood on the side walk across from Rue and Will's old house, it was the first time she had taken this route back to the shop since the accident and she couldn't help but stare. None of the lights were on, the porch looked run down and most of the plants in the garden were overgrown and wild.

Rue's mum moved out only a few days after Will had been sent to Juvie, she hadn't even shown up to his trial and their dad had never been in the picture.

She remembered the trial like it was yesterday. She had sat in the front row and watched it all first hand, she wore one of her mum's old dresses and had kept her hands clasped together in her lap the entire time. Will had looked at her when the whole thing was over and gave her a sad smile- as if he was alright with the whole ordeal and he was more apologising for leaving his little bird behind. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Wren took her eyes from the house and looked at the road before it.

The blood was gone.

It should have been m-

"Hey! Wren!" A voice broke from behind her and her gaze snapped from the road. She spun to see Miguel jogging to catch up with her. "Wait up!" He said, getting closer.

Wren hadn't been crying but wiped her eyes anyway, just in case she had.

"Hey- what's up?" She asked playfully, wiping her mind clean When he finally reached her, Miguel doubled over, resting his hands on his knees and taking heaving breaths.