Mania

Lesson 1. First Impressions

'Clemence emptied the contents of her canvas bag on to the seat beside her, cursing under her breath as she realised she had forgotten her purse on the first day of school. She scooped her belongings back into her bag, unbuckling her seat belt so she could twist and reach around her car floor, leaning over her chair to find she had tossed it carelessly on the back seat.

She retrieved it, chucking it into her bag before flipping her mirror down to fiddle with her hair. She ran her fingers through the strands, still getting used to the light airy feeling of it resting on her collarbones as she had just gotten her Aunt to cut off a good couple of inches over the summer. The ashy colour was lighter from the sun, her skin warmer from the heat of France. She felt like her face looked rounder, offset by her strong nose and dark brows, eyes reflecting green and hazel.

She couldn't work out if she suddenly gone from 19 to 23, or from 19 to 12.

She checked the time on her watch, grabbed her bag, left her car and hurried across the parking lot. She pulled up her jeans nervously, tugged at the hem of her flouncy white shirt that had belonged to her mother.

Erin and Abigail were waiting for her by the doors of the library, Erin a pretty glow of long legs, peach skin, golden hair, iridescent eyes and teeth. Abigail was dressed in yellow, the colour exquisite against her skin, long braids over her shoulder and a wearing a smile that made her face look like sunshine.

Erin turned.

'Your hair!' Was the first she exclaimed, pouting slightly as she embraced her friend in a hug. 'I loved your long hair! Don't get me wrong though, this looks lovely as well.'

Clemence raised her eyebrows. 'Thank you.'

'Ignore her.' Abigail interjected. 'I love it; it suits you so much.'

'Thanks Abs.' She turned to give her friend a hug, both of them used to Erin's lack of tact.

Clemence had met Erin in her first year of college; they had shared a dorm together and quickly became inseparable. Clemence swiftly became enamored by Erin, her personality like a magnet, her charm and wit unlike anything Clemence had experienced in a person. She was irresistible to be around and Clemence had always been drawn to her, sometimes wishing she could pick up some parts of her and mold them to her character, sometimes wishing she knew how to break the spell. Clemence often unconsciously found herself shrinking in order to make Erin feel bigger. It was never Erin's fault, Clemence just found herself with an irrational fear of her best friend becoming bored with her.

They had meet Abigail later in the year and Abigail's laid back, self-assured attitude had meshed well with the girls. Abigail and Erin now lied together with a few other mutual friends in a shared accommodation on campus. Clemence had lived in the next town over from the college all her life and having finally passing her driving test she decided to stay at home and make the 40 minute drive down to college every day. She had always been a home body and even though she was close by, she didn't enjoy stepping too far out of her comfort zone. Moving back in with her mother and creating some space between her and Erin seemed like the healthiest thing for her to do.

'I missed you so much!' Erin exclaimed, pulling her friend back into another hug. 'It's so strange not having you around every day, I always feel like I'm missing something.'

'I missed you too.' She mumbled into her friend's shoulder, the sickly sweet vanilla perfume making her throat burn slightly. 'But we'll still see each other practically every day.'