Cotard Curse (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 2

Nichole quickened her walk as the noise of the distant school bell rang in her ears from across the road. She didn't bother crossing at the junction and leaped to the other side of the road; not wanting to be late to her class for the third time that week. Rubbing her eyes with thoughts of being back in bed, she walked through the gates and towards her classroom. Her sleep last night had been restless; her mind was too full.

Nichole walked through the hallway when she heard her name being called by the teacher from inside her classroom. She leaped to the door, poking her head in. "I'm here!" She called to the teacher. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Too close Nichole. Next time I'll be counting that as late, okay?" Nichole gripped the folder in her hands, nodding as she walked to her seat. She heard fits of giggles beside her, coming from a lively, bubbly character who also happened to be her best friend.

Nichole tried to keep her face neutral as she elbowed the girl beside her. "Michelle! I got here on time, you should be applauding me instead of laughing that I made the same entrance as yesterday... and the day before..." She murmured, her lips turning into a grin.

"Sorry, I'm not that supportive," Michelle replied, elbowing her back. "Now get your book out and write or Sir will have a fit." Nichole pulled her book from the folder and started quickly copying notes from Michelle's book as the teacher droned on about particles and atoms in the background.

Michelle leaned towards Nichole. "Did you get a call back from that psychology ward yet? Do you know if you got a job?" She asked.

Nichole nodded, turning her head towards Michelle. "He called yesterday. I technically got the job, but it's only an internship. No money for me," She said, pouting her lips.

Michelle grinned under her breath. "Damn it Nikki! My birthday's coming up and I was hoping for you to get me a really flashy present that I wanted." She smiled and Nichole laughed.

She rolled her eyes as Michelle snickered before asking, "So when do you get to check out the place?"

"I already did."

"Really?" Michelle exclaimed, getting louder in excitement. "How was it?"

Nichole glanced at her. "It went fine," She said quietly.

Michelle looked at her exasperatedly. "Yeah right, how did it really go?" Nichole was incredibly easy to read, especially by anyone close to her. That never stopped her from trying though.

Nichole was about to tell Michelle everything that happened when she heard a slam at the front of the room. Her head shot to the front and she saw the teacher glaring daggers at her. "This is not the behaviour I expect from to girls like you who are planning to pass their H.S.E. This etiquette will not continue, understand?" Michelle and Nichole nodded, going back to their work with a silent exchange that proposed, 'we'll finish this conversation at lunch'.

***

"Am I crazy for wanting to go back? After everything that's happened is it bad that I'm excited for my internship tomorrow?" Nichole asked as she concluded her story.

"You may be a little bit crazy, but I'm sure it'll be fine! Maybe you're just reading signs wrong. It could have just been a bad time of the day to be there," Michelle replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Nichole nodded, trying to convince herself. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I hope so anyway, even just walking around the place made me kind of excited to help out. I think it'll be really good for me," Nichole babbled, more to herself than to Michelle. Her friend nodded absentmindedly and they sat in silence for a moment, hearing as conversations swirled in the air around them.