Oxygen

Chapter 1 - Opening blinds

I remember it as clear as day. The car swerved left and right, and my mind span quickly with it. I looked out of the tinted windows at the Auckland harbour, before we tumbled into the depths of the ocean. When I opened my eyes, a sudden gush of water came into my mouth, and I desperately tried to breath.

I looked next to me and saw my sister lying in a pool of blood. I yelled desperately, gurgling water.

People dove into the water from above, and as they reached the car, they offered me help. I shook my head, and pointed to my sister. The men swam around the car and rescued my sister. I managed to jam the door open and swim to the front of the car.

Frantically trying to help my parents, another man came up behind me, giving me assistance with their heavy weight. I turned to look at him, and he ushered for me to swim back up. Reluctantly, I left him to save my parents.

It is quite a distant memory now. My life has changed a lot in the past two years since the accident. And here I am now, living a typical teenage girl lifestyle.

I'm sitting in my small room, drinking a coke while I watch season seven of The Vampire Diaries. I hear my Mum climbing the tight staircase. She pears through the door and smiles.

"Good night, honey" she whispers.
"Night, Mum" I smile back.

I turn off my laptop and get into bed. The clean sheets calm me as I embrace my soft yellow blanket, the one thing I have from my childhood.

My eyes stay wide open, unable to sleep, so I watch as the room darkens. I notice the pale shade of blue on my walls, by far my favourite part of the space. My small wooden desk sits happily in the corner, with a pile of study books strewn across it. On the far wall, I have a tall, white bookshelf, storing all my trinkets, photo frames and books.

And hanging on the wall are all my paintings. I used to love painting, until after the accident. I found that it just didn't comfort me anymore, it always brought back sad memories. The best one is in the middle of the wall, covered in splashes of white, black and pink paint, displaying the colour of the fireworks here on new year's Eve.

I finally manage to find a comfortable position to sleep in, one leg in, and one leg out of the bed. I grip on to my blanket and fall asleep calmly.

•••

It's one of the first times I didn't get a nightmare. I wake up and check the time on my phone, seven o'clock it says. I twist to perch on the side of the bed, sliding my favourite slippers on my feet and rubbing my eyes.

I wonder down the stairs, past our front door and straight into the kitchen, to find a plate of pancakes and a hot chocolate waiting on the counter.

"Morning, Fern. How was your sleep?" My mother asks me, as she walks around the corner, coffee in hand.

"Good, thanks. This looks good" I announce, taking a bite of the pancakes. My mother laughs and puts down her coffee cup.

"I best be going to work, I'll see you later Hun" she farewells as she heads to the door. "Bye Mum".

I finish the pancakes and devour my hot chocolate before heading upstairs to get changed. The blue walls in my room look brighter now, reminding me of the sky in the summertime. By seven thirty, I hear the honk of a car outside.

I peer out the window and see Evelyn waving up at me. I wave back, and rush downstairs.

I lock the door and head down the path to the car. I open the passenger door to find Evelyn singing to Ed Sheeran on the radio.

"Hey Fern!" She says in excitement. "Hey" I reply. I slip on my navy jumper as we drive, making sure not to get it twisted. It helps me stay calm when I'm at school, so that the crowds don't make me feel vulnerable.

"Come on, you don't have to look so depressed" she says. "I am depressed" I say back, covering my eyes from the sun as we turn the corner. "I'm like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh". "No you aren't, your not going to compare yourself with the fan theories of Winnie the Pooh" she turns to look at me before turning back to the road.

As we arrive she removes her grip from the wheel to clap her hands. "We're here!" She screams, and she turns into her traditional parking spot.

"Whoo" I cheer sarcastically, grabbing my bag to get out of the car. We stroll into the Hall, heading towards my locker so I can ditch unneeded books. "This is going to be the best senior year ever!" She says. I guess we'll find out.

As Evelyn stands with me, she spots Nicholas Sparks, the third most popular kid in our senior year, walking past with Kyle Hodges, the second most popular, and Jordan Kingsley, the most popular guy at our school.

I roll my eyes as I close my locker. Nicholas Sparks, or Nik, is Evelyn's long time crush. Ever since our first year in high school, Evelyn has found him attractive. She always talks about how happy it would make her to talk to him.

"Damn" she says, as they disappear down the hall. I laugh to myself, and walk with her to our first class. Luckily for me we share the same English and Maths classes, which we have first. I hate the start of the year, and having to make friends in new classes.

"He's not that great" I argue, but she gives me a death stare. She's really good at those. "Sorry, Ev" I say quickly. She smiles at my weakness and opens the door to English.

We take the seats on the left side of the room in the third row, so that we have a clear exit path and we won't get too much attention. A minute later Nicholas and his friends walk in and take the seats at the back. I notice Evelyn smiling to herself.

The teacher walks in once everyone is seated and shuts the door. She writes her name on the whiteboard, 'Mrs Olsen' it reads.

"Morning everyone" she begins, "nice to see you all, welcome back for the new year. I know you all have a lot to say about the summer holidays, so we'll start with a story about it that you can read to the class".

I hear growns from the back of the room, and some cheers from the front. Me and Ev shrug to each other, and open our books to the first page.

I write a couple of sentences before I'm hit on the back of the head with a ball of paper. I turn to see Nik smiling, urging me to read the note on the paper. I unscrew the ball and read the note: 'Can I borrow a pen?'.

I laugh to myself, and grab another pen. I Chuck it to his desk, along with a new note in the paper, saying 'give it back'.

He smiles when he receives it and mouths a thank-you before continuing with his blank page. Jordan notices our interaction, and smiles at me in response. I smile back, and quickly turn away, self conscious of the conversion with the most popular guys in school.

I write my story about The Vampire Diaries episodes I've been watching, and hope that I don't give any spoilers when I read it.

Evelyn volunteers to read hers first. It's about her trip to Australia, and meeting kangaroos. Although Mrs Olsen doesn't know me yet, she seems to know that I don't want to go up.

"Fern, you can go next" she insists. I sigh, but head to the front of the class. I read my story, and get some weird reactions once I'm finished. I begin to feel sick, not enjoying this much attention.

I look up and see Jordan nodding appreciatively at the back of the room, clapping silently. I wonder what he's thinking. He probably doesn't even know my name. Yet he's making eye contact with the least sociable girl in this school.