Black and White

Ringing Bells and Screaming Bands

High School is always said to be rough, complicated, emotional. Well, that's not really the case for Vivienne.

It's not that everything comes easy for her, like class work and tests and all of the similar sort. No, she does get confused and she does run into things she doesn't understand sometimes, but that doesn't mean that it's hard. The same is with High School drama. She did run into it, of course, because it's practically on every corner, but she was never part of it, never really cared for it. She always ignored it, and it always came easily for her. She barely communicated with anyone so she hardly saw a reason to get into anyone's arguments or any other kind of drama.

Even now, it was morning, cold wind blowing seemingly from every direction and still, Vivienne stayed outside, sitting under a lonely tree in the courtyard just outside of the school. She sat there, legs crossed and a book laying over her lap. It was peaceful and quiet outside, for once, all thanks to the cold. She didn't really mind it, having a thick black trench coat to save her from the wind.

Usually, the courtyard would be filled with obnoxious, loud teenagers, talking and laughing and causing even more drama. Viv hated it. She just wanted a place to read, or draw before school. Somewhere quiet and calm, and even the library didn't serve well for that purpose, to her great disappointment.

Now, however, there was no one out in the courtyard, except for the few people rushing to get inside, into the warmth of the building. It was nice. Very nice. But of course, nothing nice can last forever.

The shrill ring of the school bell sounded throughout the courtyard and the building, startling Vivienne a little. She looked up from where her eyes were running over the lines of text in her book, completely submerged in the story just moments prior. Viv gave a quiet sigh. Another boring day of school was just about to start.

Today would be different however, because today, her class was heading out on a week long vacation over the break. It was spring, though the weather sure didn't seem like it with its cold winds, snowfall and clouded skies. On days like these, Via wonders if Summer will ever come.

Slowly, she pulled over her bag, stuffing the book carefully inside after making sure to bookmark the page she had left off on. Vivienne rose to her feet, the bag quickly slung over her shoulders as she dusted off her trench coat.

Viv headed into the school, quickly swallowed by the crowd of kids. Some rushed to their classes, others hanged around with their friends, chatting and laughing. There were the jocks with their cheerleaders and preppy girls. There were the nerds and the band geeks. So many groups and Vivienne, by herself in the middle of it all.

She quickly maneuvered her way through the crowded hallways, looking for her classroom. Barely anyone was in yet, and those that were stayed at their seats quietly, not interacting with anyone around them.

Biology wasn't Viv's favorite subject, but she didn't hate it either. It was more of a neutral class that she barely cared about when it wasn't relevant. She was making perfect grades there still, not wanting to disappoint her parents. They were pretty much the only people, aside from a couple teachers, that Vivienne talked to. Her parents were great people and even though she barely cared about anything in her life, she wanted to give them what they wished for: a great, obedient child who got perfect grades and never got in trouble.

     The class stretched on and on, turning into the next, and the next, and the next. Biology turned to Algebra. Algebra turned to English. English turned to Art. It went on and on until the last bell of the day released the students from their classes, and for most, from school for the duration of Spring Break. Vivienne was the last out of the school, her eyes searching the parking lot for her mother's car, since she was supposed to drop off her bag for the trip. The search didn't last long.