Pangaia: Agendas (Year One: Fall)

Chapter Seventeen - Cheyenne

 The subject of Cheyenne, her parents, or anything going on in her life was not mentioned much again by anyone.

She preferred it that way. If she didn't talk about it, then she wouldn't have to think about it as much. It wouldn't exist. Temporary moments spanning for hours or days at a time.

The plants provided the best distraction of all.

Never before had she seen so many different types of flora at once. Forests weren't a common thing in the suburbs where she grew up. She'd visited plenty of gardens with some exotic species, but the experience didn't quite feel as natural to her like the plants at school.

Miles of forest surrounded her now, and in them countless different kinds of trees, shrubs, weeds, and flowers in their natural habitat. Every day they called out to her, beckoned for her to come out to talk with them and play. Every day she had to decline. Classes, homework, and entertaining with her friends took top priority.

The second week of October, the trees begged her to come out.

"You need to see us while we still have our leaves. We want you to see how beautiful we are."

They chanted at her all day long. It gave her a headache. In an effort to stop the madness, she whispered a promise to see the trees after class if they could keep quiet enough for her to focus.

It worked, and she was more than happy to fulfill her end of the bargain.

Fresh air sounded nice after having been cooped up in the stuffy library for two hours. Mr. Thantos had given his students a project involving a lot of research on any major event which happened in BC. He even offered class time to help them prepare.

Cheyenne didn't enjoy the library. Three floors filled top to bottom with books. New ones, old ones, and some ancient enough to be placed behind glass and preserved.

There were a handful of windows on the top floor, which was where Cheyenne spent most of her time, reading a book on Ancient Egypt. Anj however kept trying to move her attention to some old book or another. She didn't have it in her heart to tell him she didn't care. He got so excited about history. He clearly had a passion for the subject. So she politely listened to him ramble on.

Following History were her other two classes for the day and then she was released.

Zes, per usual, waited for her when she finished with her sociology class. Her immediate homework for the evening was minimal, but it was a good enough excuse to use to get away so she could walk alone.

She went back to her room and put her things away so she could get ready. The goal was to get a quick stroll in before dinner. She loved the time between class and dinner on her block days. Her classes were longer but fewer, and she had more free time in between to take advantage of.

"You're going back out?" Halyn asked.

Cheyenne was busy putting on her sneakers and grabbing her coat. Halyn had a tendency to act like her mother. She always had to know where Cheyenne was going, whom she was going to be with, and when she was going to be home. Though she doubted it had anything to do with Halyn being worried. She had a hard time adjusting to this quirk. She was so used to her life being private.

"I'm going for a walk. It's nice out. I want to enjoy it while I still can."

She wasn't entirely sure a walk outside was the type of thing Halyn would be interested in. It seemed a bit too passive and quiet, so naturally she was a bit taken aback when Halyn leaped to her feet to go and grab her shoes.

"Great idea. Can I come too? I wanted to get a good look around the school grounds. I heard there's a pretty cool old cabin further down the road."

"Yeah, fine. I have things to do out there, nymphy things," she said, unsure of if it would be possible to get her roommate to back off as easily as the boys.