The Nightblog Girl (2nd Draft)

The Courtyard (Part 1)

"Alright, I know there's a place where people sit. Now, finding it's the trick." Issabelle thought to herself as as light panic washed over her.

She quickly realized finding her way around would prove quite challenging. She felt boot-clad feet wondering beneath her and her eyes searching for children- no, teens her age. That's what she was now, even if she couldn't believe it.

She was locked in thought until the soft whirring of a sizable motor slowly crept up from behind. Turning around, she watched who she assumed were the janitors moving along at a steady crawl in... a golf cart? It was the epitome of awkwardness, her frozen in a sort of disbelieving haze and the two female janitors staring at her knowingly. One white with white hair and ice blue- almost-white eyes, the dark-skinned with very round cheeks that the dawn's light bounced off of, the same effect with her circular glasses. They both wore their hair short. The one with the glasses gave her the type of grin that says "I know your secret."

What made this encounter even more awkward was that when her eyes followed the path of the eerie golfcart pair, she found the courtyard: an expansive outside area with very thick, simply, backless benches serving as borders to the unpaved spots with greenery inside. A few teens scattered around, on the chipping black-painted cement benches looking sleepy, she realized she was here too early.

Andradite found a spot in the first bench she came to and stared out into space, emotionally overwhelmed for what was about to happen.

At first, there was only one boy on the far end, but they sport-talking boys steadily accumulated while a couple walked back and forth between the two outside hallways on both either side, where they disappeared from veiw. She thought it was quite peculiar for there to be a couple in the beginning of the year, they must be a more long-term thing, how cute. As they passed in front of her, their eyes never left each other, smiling. Playful giggling interspersed with what sounded like fake-teasing-type inaudible comment could be heard through the echoing concrete mini-hallways on either side of the clearing before she saw them.

       But she needed to stop dwelling on the lack of couple-y cuteness in her life and move before she was kicked off the bench. Besides, if she heard one more comment by self-appointed experts of shoes, she might not be able to stop her mouth from making a comment the probably wouldn't be very nice.