Shot In The Dark

ONE | RILEY

"Ley, are you going to your new school today?" Remi asked as we walked towards her school with Rowan a few steps ahead with his friends, he's 9 but seems to think he can act like he's my age
Our agreement is that he can walk with his friends but he is to stay in eye shot, he moves out of and we'll rain on his parade
"I am indeed" I said giving her hand a little squeeze. She's only 3 years old, luckily Rowan's school has a preschool attached, I don't know what I would do if she stayed home with Mum all day

"Is that why you are dressed all pretty?" She giggled
"You think I'm dressed pretty?" I asked making her nod franitcally
"I think that you are always pretty but sometimes you dress pretty too" She said practically skipping as we walked 

Mornings with the pair of them truly are my favourite. Mum is always passed out from whatever she drunk or took the night before, Dad is never home anymore but if he is he'll be out on the prowl long before we wake up
It gives Rowan, Remi and I time to ourselves. I'll make them breakfast, get them bathed and ready for school before we begin our walk 

"Riles!" Rowan called making both Remi and I look up to see him already by the front gates
"Can I go in?" He yelled again making me roll my eyes
"Have a good day!" I called back
"Bye Riles, Bye Rems!" He called
"Noooo I want a hug!" Remi practically cried out making me look over at Rowan who looked at his friends whispering something to them before charging towards us practically scooping Remi up making her irrupt in a fit of giggles again 

"Love you Rowie" She said as soon as she was back safely on the ground
"Love you to Mimi" He said kissing her cheek before rushing off muttering a bunch more good byes before finally disappearing into the school grounds 

By the time Remi and I had gotten to the preschool block, she had finished all of her little stories she likes to tell in the morning
Sometimes it'll be something she dreamed, other times it'll be about what she wants to do when she's a 'big girl or maybe a good grownup' 
"I'm so excited for you Riri" She giggled throwing her arms around me as I crouched to her level to say goodbye 
"I'm excited for you too Rems" I smiled pushing her brown hair out of her face and tucking it nicely behind her ear

"Take Bunny with you" She said handing me her comforter she has had since the day she was born
"I can't do that Ree, he needs to stay with you. What about when you need him?" I asked but she shook her head
"Take him, he needs an adventure. Starting a new school is scary so you need a friend" She said with the sweetest smile on her lips

It's sweet moments like this that infuriates how our parents are. They don't deserve Remi's sweet smiles, Rowan's kind gestures, my patience
The moment I can take these babies away from them without a second glance... I will

"I promise I'll keep him safe" I said pecking her giggled multiple times getting a bunch of giggles
"I know you will Riri" She smiled one last time before giving me one last big hug, she was soon to run into the room not even looking back 

--

Two buses later and I'm stood in front of the same blue doors that I spent most of the summer fighting for
Auditions to get into here were brutal, even more brutal for someone trying to look after a 3 year old and a 9 year old 
"You look like you've just taken a bite out of heaven" A voice said making me turn slightly to see a tall blonde stood next to me with a smile on her face
"From the doe eyed look on your face, I would say it's safe to assume you are the scholarship student all the teachers have been raving about for the last 3 weeks" She said 

"I uh what?" I blurted making her laugh
"My name's Michelle. Something tells me you are going to need some inside help" She said interlocking our arms as we walked through the halls 

We passed groups of kids, tons of them. A few batted their eyes towards us but none really paid enough attention to look too long before returning to their conversations 
"Like most highschools, there is a hierarchy. The school says their isn't but I know well enough to know there is" She laughed as we walked out into the courtyard that was full of tables all taken up by groups of students
"You have the smarts, I'm not sure why they are here at a performing arts academy but potato potato" She said nodding to a table where people were entertained by playing chess

"Then we have the drama kids, nice enough but get on the wrong side of them and they'll be the bitchiest group you'll ever meet" She explained
"The musicians" She said nodding to another table full of people with instruments
"They tend to keep to themselves but do often mix with the dancers in collaboration" She continued 
"then as previously mentioned, you have the dancers. Amongst them you have people who believe they are higher up then others but in reality, if someone dances better then you.. You fall behind them" She explained 

I looked over at the dancers to see a group of boys sat with them but further back so they could be counted as their own group, one of them were staring directly at me. His piercing brow eyes looking at me like he was trying to figure something out 
I had no idea what he was looking for but I wasn't going to stick around to find out 
Boys like him scream trouble

"So tell me Riley, what's your poison?" She asked  making me snap back to her
"Oh Dance, what about you?" I asked watching the smile grow on her face

"Oh we are going to be the best of friends" She said pulling me into a tight bone crushing hug